Jeannie and I are reading the recently-published biography of Eugene Peterson, ‘A Burning in My Bones.’ [1] We are reading it the way Eugene and Jan read books, out loud to each other. The book is great; the way we’re reading it is very enjoyable. Chapter 10 is entitled, “Staying Put.” It’s about the struggles related to careerism, along the lines I wrote about in the last post.
Additionally in the chapter, Eugene shared his need to navigate his calling in relation to the inevitable moving around that clergy do. I found his comments very insightful, and given this is the time of year when pastors have to discern whether or not to move, I offer you his thoughts in his own words…
“There are so many uncertainties in making pastoral changes. I’m not always certain of my own motives—my capacity for self-deception is enormous….And when you look around you, there are so many instances of congregations calling the wrong pastor and of pastors responding to calls for base reasons that you have to wonder if God is able to exercise his will in this system at all [2]….But in this case it was almost as if God said, ‘I don’t very often do this, and I may well never do it again for you, but just for once I want to show you how I work. I want to demonstrate to you that my will is determinative in all the vagaries of the system and the conflict and ambiguity….You must trust me to be doing it in the future too, even if you don’t see it.’”[3]
Whether you move or stay in this season of decision-making, I pray you will find yourself held in the arms of the One Who says, “My will is at work in the vagaries of the system, now and in the future too, even if you don’t see it.” I hope you will move or stay…with confidence.
[1] Winn Collier, ‘A Burning in My Bones’ (Waterbrook, 2021). The entire book is inspiring and instructive.
[2] Peterson was in a Presbyterian system, but there are similarities in the consultative process in the UMC, and elsewhere.
[3] ‘A Burning in My Bones,’ 139.
Oboedire 