More Life Changes

It is hard to believe it has been well over two months since my last post, and I may have lost the few readers I once had. But in case there is still a remnant, I write this post with a heaviness and sobriety that I cannot shake…and yet there is hope and enthusiasm within as well.

Our season here in Sweetwater is coming to a rapid end, and we have been encouraged by the leadership/elders of our primary church in Abilene to, in fact, relocate to Abilene. How we managed to arrive at this point and scenario is the story of our last two months, and in many ways the reason why I have not posted in quite some time. It is difficult to know even what to say or how to say it, and I want to be careful not to portray families here in Sweetwater in a negative light. I think what the last few weeks has revealed is that a) we began this multi-campus experiment with a wounded people who possessed an underestimated measure of distrust in leadership, b) we underestimated the cultural difficulties of a smaller rural community and its understanding of congregational life, c) many of the adults within our Sweetwater congregation did not fully understand and embrace the multi-campus concept from the beginning, and d) more time should have been invested initially in ensuring more families really endorsed the mission/vision and methodology of the our primary campus. Ultimately, the majority of the families within our congregation began to question the overall relationship we had with our primary campus in Abilene, and they eventually made a decision to reject Adina and I as the key representatives of that campus and its ministry philosophy and values. The process, for us personally, has been a difficult and hurtful one. I think we are still wrestling through the whole situation, trying to be mature in extending grace, mercy, forgiveness, and blessing.

I believe I can say with integrity that I still love these families and individuals, and that I have compassion on them. But never in my life have I been the recipient of such harsh accusations, attacks upon my character and values, as we have received here in the last two months. And never in my life have I ever been so blatantly rejected and deemed unworthy of even eye contact (much less acknowledgement). It has forced Adina and me to really question what is true about us, to seek out the counsel of many who know us well. And we have been encouraged by the reality that many of the accusations made were, in fact, unfounded and unjustified. But even beyond the personal attacks, what makes this transition so difficult is knowing that there are unresolved issues still looming out there with many of these families. They have an unwillingness to seek reconciliation, despite multiple attempts to pursue that end. So we will be leaving with loose ends, with broken relationships that are outside our control – certainly not neat, tidy, and cordial.