What Happened to Pastor Joe?

In June 2017 , I was an ordained minister and full time pastor of a small Wesleyan Church in Jersey Shore PA and I was coming up on my 7th work anniversary. As of July 10th, I was no longer an ordained minister or pastor.  It is now into August and I am beginning as a Produce associate at a local grocery store and a hired hand sub for the local school district. So what happened?

I  quit. I resigned.

 Part of the purpose of this blog is to share my story so stay tuned for a fuller answer.   

Beginning in January 2017, I began going through a faith deconstruction. If that term is unfamiliar it basically means the assumptions and beliefs you held to that point stop working for you.  I didn't know whether to call it a faith transition or faith crisis. For me it felt like an important journey and I was excited about the trajectory. I didn't feel fear or dread like I think one would in a faith "crisis". Nevertheless, "crisis" is probably appropriate in the sense that my life would never be the same again.

Let me share a few shifts I experienced:

1. My expectations of Scripture changed. I gave up any belief in inerrancy and had serious doubts about inspiration.  

2. I had questions about the divinity and resurrection of Jesus. I have been exploring the historical questions surrounding both.

3. I began questioning my non-affirming stance on LGBTQ issues. 

This is just a sample. These started as questions and I wasn't sure exactly where I stood on the issues. While I didn't know where I would land on them, I knew it would most likely be outside the bounds of what is required as a Wesleyan minister. 

Wesleyans affirm:

Inspiration of Scripture

Orthodox view of Christ

Non-affirming of LGBTQ lifestyle

So I called my Superintendent (Wesleyan Church word for boss) and basically shared #s 1-3.  His words to me were, "So what are you going to do?"  I told him I knew I needed to resign. He was gracious and let me finish out a few weeks. I assured him I would not preach or teach anything contrary to Wesleyan doctrine. I surrendered my credentials on July 10th, 2017.  

And just like that, Pastor Joe was no more.