A few years ago, a long-held
dream shattered in pieces all
around me, and something
inside of me died. Out of that
death came an invitation to
something bright and brand
new, but it took a while to see it. My dream was to be the next
senior pastor at this church, and
it almost happened. It felt as
though I had been preparing
for this promotion my whole
life. I was certain that God was
leading me into it.
It turns out that dreams are
sturdy and stubborn things. “I dream of the day,” Dave told
me more than once, “when I
walk across the gathering place
and I hear people whispering
that you’re better than I am. If
you weren’t a son, you would
feel threatening to me,” he
said. “But because you are a
son, I can’t wait for that day to
come.” I believe that he meant
it, with all his heart, and I drank
those words in. I idolized him for
years; I patterned my preaching
after his when I was young. I
couldn’t think of anything in my
career that I wanted more than
to follow him as the next senior
pastor at this church. But things
went wrong. I love the people
of this church to this day, and
I love Dave, and I believe that
Dreams are all about where you
are going. But it takes a wise
person to know if your dream
calls you to where you need to
go or if it’s a dis-traction from
where you need to go.
Until the spring of 2014, I was the
associate pastor at a church I
had loved for a very long time.
The senior pastor (Dave) and I
grew very close. We often sat
on his front porch and talked
about the future. He has seen to
my shalom in very meaningful
ways. It was an unbelievable
honor for me to be able to see
to the shalom of this church—his
church—together.
CORRECTION
Solutions 11