We are officially one week away from my start date, when I will be diving back into the wild and wonderful world of ministry. Since accepting the position, and then having the announcement made to our campus, I have gone through a variety of emotions. Initially, it all kind of felt like an out-of-body experience since I originally was not going to take this path. Then, I was excited and it felt like putting on my favorite sweater that I thought I lost but just left at a relative’s house. Then, I was really stressed because I felt like expectations were already being put on me and the shoes I have to fill are pretty large. Now, finally in the homestretch here, I feel like I’m going to be okay. I kept the perspective throughout all of this that it was always going to be okay, and the overwhelm would be temporary.
As I stated, the stress I’ve experienced has exposed some weak spots for me. I have a growing list of things I need to address once I’m steering (a part of) the ship. By that I don’t mean to sound like a bulldozer. I just know that some things that have worked for the previous coordinator may not necessarily be what works best with my leadership style. That said, I also have to take into account the tech volunteers who also need to be served well. It’ll be many conversations and through trial and error, but we will find our groove.
I realized months ago that what worked in my last church won’t all automatically translate to the culture I’m a part of at my current church. In fact, a lot of what was encouraged in my leadership in the past will not work at all in the present. I have to kind of go back to the drawing board in a lot of ways. It’s not the end of the world, and it’s not even a bad thing. It just is.
I’m looking forward to getting started in my new role but also very sad to leave my friends at my current job. We are apparently celebrating/mourning my departure together on Wednesday. I will always cherish my time in that environment with those people.
SARAH HARPER 