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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.


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Comments

  1. andyheckathorneAugust 12, 2017 at 6:22 AM

    You took a huge step of faith! Talk about scary and exciting all in one...wow. I'm very excited to see what God teaches you and how he is going to use you in the days ahead!

    ReplyDelete
  2. JHWAugust 17, 2017 at 7:09 PM

    Thanks man...I am interested to see too!

    ReplyDelete

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