Put your hand on the knob…

Several years ago, a wise mentor gave me some advice about discerning God’s call. He said, “when you see a door that looks inviting, put your hand on the knob. If God doesn’t want you to go through that door, he will slam it in your face, don’t worry! But if you are truly seeking God’s will, and the door is one that is okay with God, it will open.”

There might be many doors that God would be happy letting me walk through, he went on to explain, so it’s up to me to choose one or another. I shouldn’t try to force my way in, if the door doesn’t open.  But I can’t just sit around waiting for a door to miraculously appear and effortlessly open of its own accord, either. I must seek doors that look like God might want me to try them, and then I have to choose one, put my hand on the doorknob and test it myself.

At the end of April, just as our conference was holding its annual meeting, an unexpected door came into view. When I gingerly touched the knob, not holding out much hope that it would budge any more easily than all the other doors I had tried, I was surprised at how quickly and easily it opened. And then the next door opened, and the next, and before I knew it, I was heading down a path that I would never have chosen for myself, but a path that God clearly wanted me to follow.

In a few weeks, I will become the pastor of a non-Covenant church. The fact that the church I will be serving not only accepts, but values my Covenant credential makes this transition easier than it would otherwise be. But it is still difficult to say goodbye to dear friends in my congregation who have encouraged me through each step of my call into ministry, through seminary, and into my identity as a Covenant pastor. While I cherish the relationships that have developed through the Better Together Facebook group, learning how to be a pastor in a new setting will probably mean I spend less time chatting online with the gifted worship leaders who make up that group.

And it means this is my last monthly post on the WorshipConnect blog. Two years ago, when Matt Nightingale asked me to join the blogging team, I wondered what I was getting myself into. It turns out that what I got into was a great community of dedicated worship leaders who pray for one another, help one another, and give each other more joy than I could have imagined. I’m glad that walking through this next door does not mean I have to lock it behind me. The door remains open, and everything I have become and learned is still there to remind me that we truly are Better Together.