Moving Away

This year, I hit my 10th anniversary of being a small group pastor at Ada Bible Church. I don’t know about you, but milestones like this tend to make me all sappy and reflective. I’ll find myself thinking back to my old life before ABC and the period of time that God transitioned me from something I knew to something that was new. It became very clear to me during that time of my life that when God calls, I need to be willing to move away from something in order to move toward his desires.

Before ABC offered me the opportunity to work with the small groups ministry, I worked for United Parcel Service. I started part-time at UPS when I was in college and shortly after I got married, a full-time driving position opened up. For 11 years, I delivered packages wearing the brown uniform. It was a good job with great benefits and long-term stability. I knew that if I did my job faithfully, I would be able to retire in my mid-fifties. The work was hard but the pay and benefits kept me interested in staying with UPS long-term.

In the mid-90s, something began to change in me. I became discontented in my job. This wasn’t a bitter discontent or just boredom, but it was something deeply connected to my heart. I was beginning to understand that God may have created me to spend more of my time investing in the spiritual lives of others. I was discovering that God had wired me to be relationally invested in people. However, most of my day was spent alone. Yes, I saw lots of customers every day but the interactions I had with them were in 30 second increments. I spent 50 hours of my week outside of what God designed me to be. I was beginning to understand that my discontent was Divine. He was preparing to move me.

For three years, I wrestled with this discontent. God placed people in my life who affirmed my feeling that UPS was not a good fit for me. One of those people was a college professor named Ken when I had re-entered college to finish up a degree. Ken was the type of instructor who got to know each of his students very well. He taught his classes like a small group: lots of interaction, lots of learning from each other, and lots of relevant discussions. In his final class with my group, Ken took time to speak to each student in front of the group and to share what he thought about each of our futures. Because each person respected Ken so much, we all relished his words of encouragement and blessing on us. This is what I remember him saying to me, “Phil, you’re a people person. You need to spend your days investing into people to bring about spiritual growth and change in them. UPS is not a good fit for you.” He said a few other nice things but this is all I heard. This was all that mattered. God was moving my heart away from the financial security of a stable job to something new. I’ve never regretted that move in the least bit.

I’m growing to learn that following Jesus is a lifetime of changes. Some of these changes may require me to move away from something in my life or world in order to move closer to God and his way. Sometimes, it means moving from dark, sinful elements in life to choose God’s better way of living. Other times, God asks us to move from a point of stability in order for us to move toward a place of greater faith in his care and plan for us. But the one thing I know is that in order to follow Jesus, I need to be willing to move. I can’t follow without leaving, and I can’t remain the same and expect to change.