NEW ROADS & CHANGING SEASONS

Photo Credit Ralph Felzer

NEW ROADS & CHANGING SEASONS

Back at the end of October, Phil announced that I (Ralph) would be resigning from my staff position at Grace as of Dec. 31.  No, I'm not going anywhere!  I'll still be speaking now and then, meeting with Phil regularly, and sharing meals with folks here and there.

So I thought this would be a great time to talk about one of our most important values here at Grace.  We refer often to our vision/mission statement on the front banners: "To glorify God as His faithful people by building a community to reach a community."  We've also shared often – especially in the last month as we looked back on our 50 years together as a church – about the high value we have historically placed on living together in community, specifically, living together in the same neighborhood.  At one time there were around 40 of us living within about two blocks of the Old West End.  

We wanted our whole lives (families, friendships, mealtimes, all of it) to be shared together.  There was, of course, plenty of dysfunction to go around as well, but we felt (and still do) that biblical community, the kind we see in the New Testament, and especially in the book of Acts, is really possible!  Living in community opens up possibilities for kingdom-of-God living that we could never enter into otherwise.  We wanted then (and still do) every aspect of our life together to be a testimony to the way the gospel shapes us together – as a people.  We believe that life in Christ enables us to live differently from the world around us, and that different life is a testimony to the gospel.

I say all this because when Phil announced my retirement from staff last week, it occurred to me that the way this decision came about – in fact, everything about how we make decisions at Grace – differs from the way these kinds of things usually get done in the world.  No businesses, few families, and even fewer churches go about making these kinds of decisions the way we do.  It's not always smooth or perfect or flawless, but we are committed to making decisions both with Christ and with each other.  Most people make decisions privately and then announce them publicly to be dealt with after the fact.  There's no communal listening or praying, just an announcement that everybody else just has to learn to live with.  At Grace, we believe our decisions, especially the big ones, are best made together, in prayer, listening to and depending upon the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  After all, as Proverbs says, "There is wisdom in an abundance of counsel" (11:14).

So let me explain how we made this decision in the hope that telling the story will inspire all of us to learn how to make decisions together, as a church family:

Several months ago I began to feel a vague shift in where my life was headed and how my time was being spent.  I'm getting older (I'll turn 70 next year) and I've been devoting a great deal of thought and prayer to what the next season of my life should look like.  Sandy was planning to retire from her job (which she did just a few weeks ago!), and we've wanted to do a little traveling before age makes that even more challenging.  More importantly, I have a book I've been working on for many years that needs to be finished – it's the one thing in my life that I feel needs to be completed before I go home to the Lord.  It's an obedience, a kind of calling even, and it feels like it would be more than just a "missed opportunity," it would be a kind of disobedience not to finish what I believe is one of the main reasons God put me here.  

So as all these ideas wandered in and out of my thoughts, Sandy and I talked about them, but just as importantly, I began to share them with Phil.  Phil and I prayed and talked several times about what this next season might look like.  

At this point, it might be helpful for you to know how I came to be on staff three years ago in the first place.  When our former pastor, Doug Rumschlag (Phil's dad), passed away in 2022, Phil was already in place to eventually become our senior pastor, but that was supposed to happen over the course of 12-18 months, not 2 or 3.  None of us were prepared for this.  God's anointing was on Phil, but the mentoring and transitioning plan he and his dad had put together had to be rethought.  As the elders and Servant Leadership Team met to pray about next steps, I began to sense a call to retire from my high school teaching in order to "come alongside Phil for the sake of the church."  My devotion to Christ, to Grace Church, to my long-time friend and pastor, Doug, and to my new pastor, Phil, drove me to consider coming on staff in order to get his "sea legs."  So together we decided that I should come onboard as associate pastor for "a few years."  

And here we are, three years later, and a new road seems to have opened up before us.

So back to my conversations with Phil.  It began to look like retirement might be a real possibility, so we decided to bring the rest of the elders into our prayer and discussion, and then the Servant Leadership Team and the staff.

Now, here's really the whole reason I've wanted to tell this story!  The point is this:  Living in community doesn't just mean living near each other; it means living with each other, and in situations like this it means praying together, talking together, seeking together, asking questions together, and then finally, deciding together.

I don't know if you have noticed, but very seldom does a ministry leader at Grace simply announce a decision to move on to follow God's call into a new season or ministry opportunity.  This is where we differ so greatly from so many other institutions – we don't announce decisions to the church that we have already made in private.  No, we share our inclinations. opportunities, and "open doors," and we pray – together – about what specific decision to make.  We don't see ourselves as individuals making isolated decisions that we announce later to our church friends; we are brothers and sisters in Christ devoted to one another.  Our model is the church we see in Acts 2:42: "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers."  That is, to life together.

And that was the way it worked here.  It doesn't always happen this way, but it should happen this way more often than not.  

I was not looking for these leaders to "rubber stamp" a decision I had already made.  In fact, I was far from settled.  Personally, I needed their prayers and their wisdom!  I have been very unsure at times what the path ahead looked like.  (And isn't that the way it goes with nearly all of the biggest decisions we make?  Why would we ever think we could do it all by ourselves?)  I vacillated quite a lot early on about whether this was the right thing to do and the right time to do it.  But most of those times, I wasn't thinking so much of what God was calling me to as I was wondering about how Sandy and I were going to make ends meet or whether there was some other option or "middle ground."  So this too I took to the elders to pray through.  We realized that what was called for was not to search for a way forward that would cover all the practical bases, but to discern God's purpose and direction first, follow that, and then trust Him to provide.  And that's where we have landed.

In the end, what really sealed the deal for me was remembering that this wasn't first and foremost a decision I was making for me and for Sandy; it was a decision I was making with mature brothers and sisters in Christ in the spirit of coming "alongside Phil for the sake of the church."  In the end, seeing the maturity and humility and faithfulness Phil was continuing to grow into led me (and the rest of leadership as well) to a settled conviction that he is "ready."  

Two vivid images have been recurring to me lately in regard to my place here alongside Phil.  The first is that of a young sapling tied to a stake.  The stake helps the sapling grow straight and strong, but when the sapling becomes a tree, the stake is removed.

The second image is of learning to ride a bicycle.  The child gets on, while the adult takes hold of the seat and the handlebars.  Gradually, you let go with one hand, then the other, but you keep trotting alongside.  And before you know it, the child is riding on their own.

There is a time and a season for everything.  And I love having had the opportunity to serve with Phil and watch him grow.  It does my heart and soul good to see what a faithful servant he is.  He is wholly dedicated to Christ and His Church.  I think you all can see this as clearly as I can – the Father's hand, Jesus' smile, and the Holy Spirit's anointing are on him.   

And there is a lesson for all of us in this:  We need each other!  I can't become the man God wants me to be without you, and you can't become the man or woman God wants you to be without me!  As the poet and preacher John Donne said, none of us is an island.  We aren't made for ourselves alone.  We don't belong to ourselves alone.  Every one of us belongs to the body of Christ by grace through faith.  And so it is the path of wisdom to involve our brothers and sisters in Christ in all the seasons of our life. 

What a glorious road we're on! I so look forward to seeing where it leads and how the Holy Spirit directs our steps in the days ahead. In the meantime, let's keep praying for Phil, for the growth and faithfulness of Grace Church, and that together we would truly "Glorify God by building a community to reach a community."

Be encouraged, friend, for God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, who spoke all worlds into being, is both with you and for you.