On February 12th, 2018, I began employment at B4Church (also known as Beaverton Foursquare) in Beaverton, Oregon. The dream of serving the local church in the northwest had come true. My wife and I, recently married, decided to take a step of faith (and a pay cut) to uproot from Southern California and replant in Portland.
On February 12th, 2025, exactly seven years later, I informed the leadership of the church that Laura and I would once again step out in faith into the next adventure.
There is much that is unknown. For Laura and I, planners by nature, this is an unnerving time. Yet, in the midst of it all, we are overwhelmed by the love, encouragement, and support from folks around us and far away.
What’s next? I have accepted the lead pastor role at The Table Community Church in Belgrade, Montana. This is a community that Laura and I have come to love from afar. We are excited to get to know the community - both the church and the surrounding communities of the Gallatin Valley.
Since I was seventeen, I’ve held in my heart the dream of pastoring a congregation one day. A few months ago, I sensed that a change was on the horizon. After talking with my spiritual director about what I felt, two weeks later, I received an email about an opportunity to pastor The Table. After many prayers, ponderings, and conversations, we have decided to take this step.
Wouldn’t it be great if all of the steps of this journey of following Jesus were all mapped out before us? For Laura and I, the planners that we are, this would relieve some anxieties due to the unknown.
But that’s not how a life of faith works, right? Of course, we make our plans. It would be irresponsible not to. And yet, there are moments where the veiled path before us only reveals one step at a time. Taking that step is an act of trust. In the words of Joseph Campbell, “It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there is your treasure. The very cave you enter turns out to be the source of what you are looking for.”1
Sometimes, the leap of faith means staying when you want to leave. Sometimes, the leap of faith means leaving when it is more comfortable to stay. Right now, we know that the next step - the demonstration of trusting in the Lord’s guidance - is to say goodbye to those we love here in Portland, carrying in our hearts memories and love as we go.
As with seven years ago, this next adventure does not make sense on paper financially. We will make it work. But it’s by no means leaving one pastoral job for a much higher paying pastoral job. Therefore, if you are able, and it feels right to do so, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your contribution, however much, will help continue the work of this Substack - an extension of my doctoral research - reflecting and writing about the pastoral practices of the past, the trends of the present, and possible challenges and opportunities of the future.
There are many unknowns. But it is one step at a time. We anticipate looking back seven years from now, marveling at how the Lord has carried us through it all.
Joseph Campbell, Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion, ed. Diane K. Osbon, Reprint edition (New York: Harper Perennial, 1995), 24.
Hell yeah
All the best for the next phase of life✅👍👏