Joshua in Transition

We call it transition—that space when you’re moving between this mode and another: job, divorce, gender, location. Now Joshua Grace, one of our pastors, is moving into a transition—and many of us will be going with him. I mean Joshua is such a fixture in the life of our church: a leader, a brother, a mentor, a servant, that when he is effectively gone for the next few months and then taking on a different kind of role in the church, we will all have to transition as well.

I know I am just beginning to feel what it is like to be on a leadership team without Joshua Grace “having my back.” It is kind of hard for me to believe how long ago was February of 2004 when Joshua emerged from the pack of potential pastors for a new congregation and we all decided the best idea was to deploy a twentysomething. He “put his hand to the plow” and did not look back. I am not sure he ever plowed a straight row, but he did help us to produce a lot of fruit!

People get to change around here. We don’t throw away our leaders just because they finished their service. They came from the church and they are still the church. Stay or go, we’ll love them till we die. Joshua, in particular, is an unforgettable friend, who has so many talents to share that even being deprived of them for a few months may seem like a long time. His new starting line is October 1. May the Lord bless you on the next leg of the journey. And God bless you, too, reader; you’ve got a transition to move through yourself!

Leave a Reply