Chicken Little and Pastor Sandy

By Pastor Jeff Marian

Chicken Little and Pastor Sandy

• When are you tempted to put the worst possible “spin” on a situation without really having all the facts?

By now you’ll have heard the news that Pastor Sandy is retiring from pastoral ministry at the end of this calendar year. Perhaps you’re feeling like— and maybe even are telling yourself the story that— the sky is falling! The church is coming apart. Something must really be wrong if two of our pastors are retiring.

Well, take a deep breath. There’s nothing wrong or unusual happening here. It is perfectly normal, even expected, that when a Lead Pastor leaves or retires other staff give deeper thought to their own calling.

Pastor Sandy isn’t retiring because I am. Being a faithful follower, she has been listening carefully to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and is responding to what she is sensing and hearing. One of the reasons that I’ve so enjoyed working with Sandy is that she works hard to both listen to and follow that inner voice.

So here’s a better (and truer) story to tell yourself, “our pastors listen to and follow the Spirit’s guidance and the Spirit is calling them into a new and exciting adventure called retirement. And we can trust that the Spirit is calling Prince of Peace into a new and exciting chapter of ministry.”

Now that’s a story worth sharing!