A life of 9s - 1989

A life of 9s – 1989

Several significant events in my Christian life happened in years that ended in 9. These are 1969, 1979, 1989, 1999, 2009 and now 2019. This post recalls the third of those events. The earlier posts are tagged “A life of 9s”.

A change of ministry direction

In January 1989 I left pastoral ministry and we located to a new home that we had built in Mittagong NSW. From there I served as denominational director of Christian Education (part time); as a theological college teacher (also part time) and a church trustee (unpaid).

It was a big family move. My wife Glenda returned to full time teaching to help make family finances work and our three children (then 13; 9 and 6) went to local government schools.

For me, it was a big change in ministry direction.

This post tells the back story to that move.

The previous decade

From January 1979 to January 1989 I served in pastoral ministry.      

January 1979 to January 1983 were served at Henty in the eastern Riverina of NSW. As told in the last post, this was a small town of mixed farming activity and a small multi-centre church that had lost people in the 1977 church union that resulted in formation of the Uniting Church of Australia.

I was the sole pastor in this church. A typical week saw me with two to three Sunday services in different locations, three primary school Scripture class, an occasional secondary school Scripture class, occasional funerals and weddings, home visitation and sermon preparation.

My ministry model was mainly maintenance rather than expansion, for that is what I had seen in my own father. I put much effort into word ministry for I saw that as strategically key and also because it suited my gifting and temperament. There is no doubt that I had “L” plates as a pastor and I’m thankful for the patience of the church. I drove many klms, talked with many people and made many mistakes.

At the same time, I became involved in wider church affairs. At the start of 1980 I became a member of the denominational Christian Education Committee and in 1981 I taught a Westminster Confession class in the denominational ministry training scheme. These two extras set a pattern in both fields that was to enlarge over the next several years.

In mid 1982 it was a clear that a move was likely. I was appointed convener of the NSW Christian Education Committee and also as lecturer in Church History for the Presbyterian Church. Both posts were Sydney-based. In previous years I had been approached about a move to another church but declined as I felt I owed Henty a longer stint. Finally, an approach came from West Strathfield, a solid church in an area we knew. The ministry potential there was good, and it held promise of working well with the wider posts.

As in all my ministry moves, the move was a mix of objective considerations (my fit to the need; could I reasonably leave where I was); advice from appropriate counsellors; and the subjective (sustained prayerful conviction – did it feel right before God and within myself?).

Henty church was gracious about my departure after just four years. In God’s kindness my successors have by and large been good Bible men, a matter remarked on by some of the elders when I have visited in later years. In a twist of providence, the Presbyterian church there is now relatively strong and the Uniting Church which had taken many former Presbyterians is virtually no more.

From January 183 to January 1989 I was minister at St David’s West Strathfield. Immediately prior to my arrival there has been a good ministry by a Bible man, which made my work easier. However, I inherited some of the legacy of his predecessor – a theological liberal who was a warm-hearted pastor and who was there for a long time. Thus, the church had an older layer who wanted things done very traditionally in terms of ministry style coupled with theological moderatism, and a younger layer who wanted a distinct evangelical note. I gravitated to the latter which gave rise to, mostly latent, tensions with the older group.

My ministry there stayed word-centred with two different sermons to the morning and evening congregations The evening service moved to an earlier time slot (better suited to the mostly young audience) and use of the organ was largely replaced by a band. The organ and a shrinking choir singing traditional anthems stayed in the morning. Session developed a ministry plan for the congregation and formed some ministry task forces to implement this in various portfolios. We engaged in local evangelism through door knocking with leaflets and children’s outreach in a local park. I kept to a target of five pastoral contacts weekly, whether by hospital or home visits or by visiting people in their workplace.

I always had between one to three field education students which gave me the opportunity of involvement in hands on ministry training and which supplied people to assist in the ministry on my absences.

Denominational responsibilities grew as I assumed office as the NSW Christian Education Committee and as a theological teacher.

The Christian Education role saw me run an office, develop and implement a publication programme and develop and implement a training programme for local church educators. I also became a member and then convener of the federal Christian Education Committee which meant more publications and more travel.

The Presbyterian theological college was taking new shape in this period. Over time I taught church history and a variety of subjects in the cultural engagement, worldview and practical ministry spaces.

Life was busy. A typical week saw me in the Christian Education office on Mondays, doing sermon and lecture prep on Tuesday and Wednesdays, teaching on Thursdays, writing sermons on Friday / Saturday and then Sunday preaching. On many weekends I would fly intra-state on Friday afternoon, run a Saturday training seminar, preach at the local church on Sunday morning and then fly back in time to preach the evening sermon. It was no surprise, in retrospect, that I had a crash and burn episode in mid 1986.

One fruit of that was for Glenda and I to see another change of direction coming. After an open discussion with the elders in late 1986 we took the decision that I would leave pastoral ministry to work wholly in the educational sphere. Thus, Glenda returned to full time teaching to fund our family and we built a house at Mittagong on a block adjacent to my parents intended retirement home. And so began 1989 and our new chapter.

Stepping back

So ended my first chapter of pastoral ministry, extending over 10 years and involving the two churches mentioned above.

In retrospect, I don’t think I was a good solo pastor. For one, I was inexperienced. For another, I was distracted by wider denominational roles (prescient of my future). For yet another, my gifting at this stage was angular. I was a teacher and leader, but not yet a pastor.

The teacher leader identity reached back to childhood and adolescent. On the teacher side, I was a Sunday school teacher at 15; an army cadet instructor soon after and a swimming / lifesaving teacher for summer jobs. On the leadership side I held rank as a boy scout, became a commissioned office in the army cadets while at school and quickly moved into senior leadership roles in Christian youth work. However, I did not yet have the all-important pastor’s heart, which was develop some years later and in a surprising setting.

Given all the above, a move out of pastoral ministry seemed wise. There was a need. We had the opportunity and means to do it. I seemed suited to educational work. Glenda and I were agreed and others gave approval and understanding.

And so, we gave the church notice at the start of 1988 and left a year later. This gave time for all to get over the initial shock and to lay measured preparations for the vacancy the church would face. I was concerned to leave well and so the elders and I worked through measured steps prior top my departure. I had seen another pastor undo his ministry by an abrupt and poorly handled departure and had no wish to do the same.