The Exit Strategy Interview – Part 6

So I’ve taken time out in the last few blog entries to address the exit strategy that’s been recently executed seeing me leave my job, the church to which I belonged and the city to move, apparently to the middle of nowhere.  Click to read Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four and Part Five of this series.  As mentioned in the last part this will be the last post covering the interview, although I’m quite sure that however I’ve answered the questions there will be tons of others that people would like answers.

Don’t you miss being back in Stoke-on-Trent?

No.  I enjoyed my time in the area, I am grateful to God for the opportunity to grow up further in the ten years I was there and there is a lot going for it as a city.  I love the brethren with whom I spent a good time of my life.  I love the North Staffs YMCA and the special people that I was privileged to do mission alongside.

I love all that and still feel right that this is the season for change.  Such has been the job of the need to move on through various hints over the two years or so that by the time I moved I wasn’t hankering to be back and since I’ve left I’ve not really longed for work, or the church or the special places I remember from my time there.

It’s not a dismissal of the place, the people and the memories.  It’s a state of being grateful for what has been whilst learning to embrace what is in the hope of being ready to embrace what will be.  My arms are not big enough to embrace all three, so to make space I put the past where it belongs.

What lessons do you feel you’ve learned from your ten years in Stoke-on-Trent?

Wow – that’s a whole other series of blogs right there!  So here at February 2010 as the month winds to a close I look back from the time I moved to the area in February 2000 and smile benignly at the journey that I’ve made in that time.  I arrived a naive, green, ignorant old boy/young man having yet to really step off and tackle life beyond the comforts of home and the artificial environment of university.  By the time I left I was a distinctly different person to the one that arrived.

I learnt about ministry and how faithful men have persevered in it for decades.  It was amazing witnessing some men carry on in their humble way leaving a legacy of lives forever transformed by their message and their character.  I learnt about mission and a better appreciation that life is too precious to be wasted on worldly pursuits like the comfort factor and the security blanket when there’s a gospel message to proclaim and a Kingdom lifestyle to live out.

I learnt a lot more about what it takes to be successful in relationships through much trial and error.  I learnt more about the cost of discipleship and some crucial decisions that need to be made to be faithful to God above everything else.  I learnt about how depraved I am without the abiding presence of God and how prone I am to wander without Him leading.  I learnt that getting to the core of who I am is not straightforward, but necessary work and that can only be done in the light of knowing God.

I learnt how many assumptions and preconceptions I carry about like a heavy baggage that weighs me back from embracing the things of God for what they are, rather than how I’d like them to be.  I learnt more about how real politics is in every aspect of life from the workplace to the home to the church – the desire to control the levers of power infects anyone anywhere near a position of responsibility and privilege.  I learnt more about how God works through the unsuspecting to bring about the amazing in the unconventional.  I learnt that the grace and mercy of God is more than a song I sing and can shape a better approach to people as a whole.  I learnt more that material possessions are just exercises in showing how spiritual stewardship expresses itself in how we deal with the blessings God gives and is not as impressive as someone’s love for God.

I learnt that being a husband and father is a greater privilege and responsibility than I could ever imagine.  I learnt that being a brother and a friend is a greater privilege and responsibility than I could ever imagine. I learnt that being a Son of the Most High God is the greatest privilege and responsibility that I have ever been given.

I learnt more of how little I know and how much I have to learn and how much I love to learn the things of God.

What are you going to do now?

Blog about what I’m going to do now, so it’s a case of keeping in touch with the blog to find out how life is going with dmcd.  Thanks for your time in reading this series of interviews.  By all means leave any further questions or need for clarification either in the comments section or by email.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

dmcd