Have you ever done something for a long time and then looked back and reminisced about it?

Well, I did that this week. On April 1st I celebrated 20 years as the pastor of my church. It sure seems like a milestone to me … and that’s no April Fool’s joke!

Nineteen years didn’t seem to be that big a deal, but twenty does. There is only one place in which I have lived longer, and that’s Toronto.

At 25 I left Toronto for school in Regina to be a youth pastor … with many questions and fears, but no other desire than to work my whole career with junior and senior high students.

Being five to seven years older than most of my freshmen class, however, I wasn’t so sure becoming a youth pastor at 29 would be something anyone else would think was a good idea.

All along the way though, my call continually reminded me that this was not something I had dreamed up for myself; it was God’s idea. Whenever I got to wondering about my future, there was always some confirmation that kept me going.

After getting to my first church, I didn’t think I was going to last there very long … the first two years were pretty tumultuous. Again God worked and I ended up being one of my senior pastor’s longest serving assistant pastors, and the longest lasting youth pastor he’d ever hired.

During my time there, I worked with over 25 pastoral staff, and over 30 office and secretarial staff. It wasn’t an easy decision to leave there after eleven years.

God once again was so clear in His direction, however, that I had to pursue a role as a senior pastor.

I remember being interviewed for the position at my present church, and at one point I was given an opportunity to ask some of the congregation how they saw the church in five years.

I will never forget the first answer someone gave. It was simply, “looking for another pastor”. I quickly responded to her by saying, “I hope not”.

Well, that was a long time ago, and I’m still here. I’m not sure, though, where the person is who made that comment.

I remember as a youth pastor when I was given opportunities to preach, I was always up really late the night before trying to finish my sermon. In those days I still had my full time work to do and had to squeeze sermon prep into an already busy schedule.

Still, coming to Kingston, I was concerned that I would be burning the midnight oil on Saturday nights, cramming hard to get that last illustration into my message. I was concerned enough to tell God I wouldn’t be able to do the job if that’s what would happen.

Now as I look back, there may have been a few times – but less than 5 in 20 years – that that happened, and all because of extenuating circumstances.

The last 20 years haven’t all been easy, but I’ve clearly seen God’s hand on my life and ministry over that time. Thanks, Lord.

Here’s the thing: The most important thing I did 20 years ago was obey God’s voice and the direction He gave me. If you will hear God speak, and obey what He tells you, I’m confident that God’s hand will be on your life and ministry too, whether that is in the market place or as a full time vocation.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How have you known when God was telling you to do something? Leave your comment below.