n e w c h u r c h l i f e : j u ly / au g u s t 2 0 1 4
I see my job
now is to find a
way to connect
with people
where they are,
get them to take
responsibility
for their lives
and make some
changes.
minister in about five year’s time, once they’d put
a program together. I’d lined up a job in North
Carolina that I was going to take, but in five years
I thought I’d like to come to Theological School.
The next thing I know, Andy comes back to
me with a financial package that met everything
I needed to sign up NOW! I wasn’t ready
mentally. My mind was in the “I’ll do this in five
years” mode, but the Lord kept saying, “Do this
NOW!” So I did.
In hindsight, it was clearly the best decision,
as I got to go through Theological School with
a great bunch of guys who really enriched my
experience. There were a bunch of us who went
through at the same time as second-career men,
and having them around certainly kept me sane.
I’m very grateful to them, and to the General
Church for the financial assistance that made the career change possible.
Now I work as pastor of the Hurstville Society in southern Sydney,
Australia. Jenn and I used to say that we wanted to move south, and we certainly
got it! We didn’t intend southern hemisphere south, but if I’ve learned nothing
else throughout this journey it is that you’d better be careful what you wish for:
the Lord will give it! And much He has given me.
He’s certainly given me a great job. My background is in sales and
marketing, and for as much as I did enjoy it, the more awakened I became the
more I felt that my job simply was making a big deal out of something that just
wasn’t important. When a customer got upset over an order being a day late,
part of me could sympathize, but there was also a part thinking, “There are
more important things to worry about.”
Nowadays my job is to get people to talk and think about important
things. Not difficult things, but simple, life-changing teachings that I hope,
like all ministers, will bring people to the teachings of the New Church so they
can make better sense of their lives and establish a better set of priorities for
themselves.
The trouble is, most people think they know what will make them
happy, when in fact they don’t. That’s what I learned. I thought my own
accomplishments would make me happy, but what I learned was that it didn’t
really matter what I accomplished, but how people were treated.
I see my job now is to find a way to connect with people where they are,
get them to take responsibility for their lives and make some changes. Too
often the challenge can be that people equate “responsibility” with “blame.” I
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