6 Months In Limbo (Part 1)

Will & Marilyn

After finishing up with Youth Week and saying farewell to the kids, I was dismissed from Wesley Memorial UMC- Tampa in June of 2005.  For the first time since October 1, 1986 (and only the 2nd time since September of 1978) I was not employed by a church.  It had been equally as long since Marilyn and I had not lived in a house provided by the church that employed me.  We knew we wanted to live in the same general area we had been in our previous 4 years in Tampa so that Will (preparing to enter the 5th grade) could finish elementary school at the one he had been attending.  We found a nice 2 bedroom apartment we could afford only about a mile from the church and moved in quickly.  Thus began a most interesting summer...


No one knew exactly what the church was going to do about replacing me, but it was clear it would take them a couple of months to bring anyone in.  I told the youth in my last address to them that while I was no longer their youth pastor, I would always be their friend, and they could call on me any time.  And they did.  All summer long.  Groups and individuals would call me and want to have lunch.  They would come by the apartment and spend the afternoons hanging out and swimming with Will.  They would call when they needed someone to talk to.  One young woman called me one night to come pick her up when she was locked out of her home in a battle between her divorced parents- and I went.  The Sunday meetings and hectic summer ministry schedule were gone, but I still felt like a youth pastor in many ways.

Another reason I felt like I was still doing youth work was that I was helping plan an event for WMUMC as well.  Lisa Jewett, who had been such a help to me as a volunteer, was now pretty much leading the entire ministry- just as I had predicted.  Lisa wanted to make sure the group got to attend Night of Joy at Walt Disney World in September, and asked me to help her put it together- behind the scenes, of course.  I gathered the information, made some phone calls and helped her set up registration for the students.  I was glad to do it, and Marilyn, Will and I decided to attend the weekend as well- just not as a part of the group.  By the time Night of Joy weekend arrived, a new youth pastor had been hired, but the trip went on as planned.  It was a great weekend.  Some of the group got lost on their way to WDW, and one of my former youth called me on my cell so I could guide them to the hotel.  I felt so useful!  I got to hang out with Lisa, some of the students and some of the other adults from WMUMC.  We spent an afternoon in the hotel pool at Disney's All-Star Music Resort (3 hours or so which the new youth pastor missed completely- RELATIONSHIPS, dude!) and just generally had an amazing time. 


Summer was over, Will was back in school, and it was time for me to start looking for a job.  It seemed like we had survived the turmoil of my forced resignation and moved on with our lives.  Sometimes things are not what they seem... (To Be Continued...)