Andy’s Retirement

Those who were in worship last Sunday heard me announce my intention to retire on June 30, 2009. This date, almost two years away, was selected after consultation with both the Staff Parish Relations Committee and Strategic Planning Team, because it will allow me to provide leadership for the first year in the new facility.

I shared in worship that I have very mixed feelings about retirement. On the one hand, I love being in ministry and I love being in ministry with you in particular. However, the accumulated wear and tear of 40 years of 14-hour days and 24-7 responsibility have taken their toll.

More importantly, I want to be able to spend more time with family and pursue other interests while still in relatively good health.

It will be good for Glen Mar, too, I trust, to have the energy and insight that can come from the leadership of a new senior pastor. While some may have assumed that Pastor John will succeed me as senior pastor, that almost certainly will not be the case. The United Methodist church rarely moves associate pastors to senior pastor in the same congregation.

Your Staff Parish Relations Committee is already at work, however, developing a profile of the kind of leadership Glen Mar will require, and the particular strengths and gifts desired in the new senior pastor.

Over the next two years they will be working closely with District Superintendent David Argo and Bishop John Schol to identify the best individual to serve as Glen Mar’s senior pastor.

For all my 40 years in ministry, and especially during the 28 years with you at Glen Mar, I have believed and preached that God will provide. I’m convinced that God will provide the right person to succeed me as your pastor, and invite you to share that confidence.

A primary reason for announcing my retirement so far in advance is to allow us together to strategically determine how my remaining two years should look in order for me to focus on doing those particular things that will best strengthen Glen Mar and prepare for the next senior pastor. Having two years should also help us work through the natural transitions after what will have been 30 years together. As I said on Sunday morning, we have a lot of work to do together over the next two years!

This entry was posted on July 13, 2007 at 1:35 pm and is filed under Staff News, Pastors Ponderings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.