One Stage To Another

    On Thursday, I will be presenting the final session of a four session series titled PUZZLES OF LIFE.  Thursday’s topic will be how to move from one life stage to another as we journey through the life God has given to each of us.  In preparing for this presentation, I have looked at ways that human beings prepare to move from adolescence to young adulthood, from young adulthood to middle age, from middle age to young old, and from young old to old.  I have also looked at how congregations move from being numerically small, to mid-size, to large.  Following are somethings that I plan to say:
    First, I want to affirm that every stage of life, be it an individual’s life or in a congregation life, is a gift from God.  Each stage has its benefits and its challenges.  The temptation is to overvalue the benefits of the current stage and undervalue the benefits of the up-coming stage.  The reason for this is that the challenges of the present stage are known, and hopefully mastered, while the challenges in the up-coming stage are unknown.  In addition, others delight in telling the horror stories about the challenges of the up-coming stage while forgetting to mention the joys and rewards.  Moving from one stage to another begins with affirmation of the benefits of both stages.
    Second, when moving from one stage to another, it’s helpful to make a list of what we will miss most in the current stage.  Once the list of what we will miss is complete, a second lists defines what will take the place of the items on the first list.  Until we find a substitute for what we will miss, we will be filled with mourning and grief for what we have left behind.  For example, we will miss our jogging partners who want to run five miles but we know that our maturing bodies can only run three miles. 
    Third, right on the heels of defining what we will miss, it’s helpful to define what are the opportunities that God is providing in the next stage of life that are not available to us in our current stage?  For example, when the kids were living at home, we spent most of our discretionary income on them.  Being empty-nesters allows us to spend our discretionary income on other interests.  It is a simplistic statement but I believe as God closes one door God will open another door.  The question is, Will we even look for a new open door as familiar doors close?
    Fourth, it’s helpful to re-phrase the above items two and three by asking, What are the ways we plan to serve God and make a difference in the world?  I believe that when we feel and believe that we are making a difference, life is filled with joy and meaning.
    In many ways my presentation is very personal for me and for Epiphany.  We all know that I as an individual and you as a congregation are moving from the stage of an interim pastor to the stage of a new senior pastor.  I am already thinking through the above questions.  As you begin to anticipate a new senior pastor, it might be helpful to think about the new opportunities and the new doors that God will provide and open at Epiphany.  It might also be helpful to think about the ways that you can help to make the transition to the new stage in Epiphany’s life easier for you and your new pastor.
Pastor Pete