Archive for the ‘Church Planting’ Category
Cultivate Gathering – April 2011
The next edition of Cultivate Gathering learning party is coming up on Saturday, April 2nd, 2011 from 10:00am – 5:00pm and the cost is just $25 per person ($40 per couple).
This time around the learning party takes place in a local church in London, Ontario that can host a lot more people than in the past… but we will still be limiting the number of people we register, so sign-up soon to avoid disappointment.
You can register by sending us an email with the contact information of those you are registering: pernellgoodyear@gmail.com
For more information click here.
People Have Been Asking…
“What are you up to, Goodyear, how come you never blog anymore?”
Well, remember that this Fall (until the New Year) is supposed to be somewhat of a sabbatical for me, as my family and I gear up for the next chapter of our lives… whatever that might be.
- I am working 20 hours a week at Hillside Church in London as an “interim teaching pastor.”
- I am coaching two church planters weekly.
- I am helping to facilitate a local church planting network with TrueCity.
- I am doing some web design. I currently have two clients.
- I am helping a group in Guelph get a church started.
- I have been interviewing in various denominations.
- I have been developing Cultivate Network.
- I have been speaking and teaching at various events/schools/conferences.
All of this in the midst of trying to take it easy and rest. Hmm, maybe I should re-think my schedule.
But don’t worry. I’ll blog when I can…
Cultivate Gathering – October 2010
The next edition of Cultivate Gathering learning party is coming up on Saturday, October 23rd from 9:00am – 5:00pm and the cost is just $25 per person ($40 per couple).
This time around the learning party takes place in a private residence in Hamilton, Ontario – making it even more organic and relational than usual… but also limiting the number of people we can register more than usual, so sign-up soon to avoid disappointment.
You can register by sending us an email with the contact information of those you are registering: pernellgoodyear@gmail.com
For more information click here.
I Am Unemployed…
… for the first time in my adult life.
Sunday night our family attended our final worship gathering at the church community we moved to Hamilton to start more than nine years ago. It was a beautiful gathering with people we really love. People told stories, shared their feelings, reminisced, talked about the influence we have been in their lives, and articulated their love for our family… oh, and we ate delicious food together too. It was really humbling and incredible. They had put together a scrap book for us with photos, stories, comments, etc. from the past nine years… and gave us a gorgeous painting which had been painted by one of the adults with developmental disabilities who we work with. Needless to say, we will never forget that gathering… and we will certainly never forget The Freeway community and the impact they have had on our lives.
The thing is, I have been leading The Freeway for a quarter of my life. As can be expected, it is with very mixed emotions that I prepare for the next leg of the journey:
Excited. I am excited to explore new ways for us to live authentic, holistic, mission-shaped, Christian lives. I like new challenges. New opportunities. New chances to be creative. New beginnings. New stories to be told. I have been dreaming a lot about what type of a life / community we want to be part of / help create.
Sad. I love The Freeway community. I mean, I really love them. I have found (and been radically changed by) an amazing, supportive, authentic community of people. I also love Hamilton. I love our neighbourhood. I love what my life has been for the last decade. I am really sad to move on.
Disappointed. I am disappointed that my transition has not been nearly as smooth as it could have been. That is all I want to say about that.
Scared. Really scared. The future is still unknown. What exactly is next for us? Will we be able to accomplish what we are supposed to accomplish? What if we fail? How will this all work out? Will our kids be OK? I am worried that I won’t be good enough. I shouldn’t be worried, but I am. Stepping into the unknown both inspires me and scares the crap out of me.
Grateful. I am so thankful that I have had the opportunity to live in Hamilton, start a holistic Christian community, start a coffee house, live where I live, form the friendships I have, learn what I have learned. There are people inside and outside The Freeway, inside and outside The Salvation Army, and inside and outside this town who have shaped me… and helped me… and formed me… and took a chance on me… and let me take a chance on them. I am so grateful for the opportunities I have had and for the people I have met.
So, what’s next for us? I will be taking a bit of a break this Fall. Slowing things down, as it were. I have some speaking engagements lined up and a possible part-time job… but I am purposely taking some down time to reflect, replenish, and gear up for what’s next. And what’s that? Well, early in the new year we will begin the work of starting a new holistic Christian community.
More on that soon…
Local Hamilton Network, TrueCity, & Cultivate
A few friends and I are forming a local network here in Hamilton for those interested in creating new forms of church in this area… not just church planters, but others as well. We are mostly folks who are involved in TrueCity in some way or another and want to encourage church planting in collaboration. Today was our first get-together at The Freeway. It went really well I thought. Nice to hang out with other folks who are kicking at some of the same things. We are meeting again on Tuesday, July 27 at 10am at The Freeway, and then on Monday, August 16th at 5:00pm for a BBQ at my place – families too. I will try to post more information about these events and dates beyond the summer in due time.
I am actively trying to catalyze church planting throughout Southern Ontario and beyond through Cultivate Network as well. It is pretty bare bones right now (except for the learning party we have hosted twice a year since 2005), but there will be a lot more action over there as the summer develops. I’ll try to keep you posted about that too.
If you are are interested in checking out our local Hamilton network, or want help starting a similar network in your town, or if you want to know more about Cultivate Network and some of the other things shaping up there, drop me a line: pernellgoodyear@gmail.com
I Know This Is A Bit Weird
This is the first time I have ever used Wi-Fi at Starbucks. Ever. I am waiting for my Ford Escape to get fixed at the garage this morning, so I thought I would kill some time at St. Arbucks and work on my laptop.
I generally enjoy working in coffee shops. Far from being distracted by the hustle and bustle, I sort of crave it. I need background noise and action to really concentrate well. So far I have seen and chatted with three people I know… kind of strange considering this isn’t anywhere near my neighbourhood. I enjoy running into people I know in random places. Good times.
Today I am working on a vision document. Drafting some ideas of what I think I am supposed to do with my life. I feel like it is important to write down some thoughts, draw some pictures, commit something to paper (or screen) in order to help get to the bottom of some questions currently on my mind: Considering our family is sort of “starting over” and re-creating our identity in a way (much of our identity was wrapped up in The Freeway for nine years), how do I want our life to be? What do I want to be different than it has been? Whether for my vocation or not, if I start another holistic Christian community (which is likely at this point), how will what I have learned shape what that looks like?
I admit that I feel a bit like Tom Cruise in Jerry McGuire: “It’s not a memo, it’s a mission statement.” Getting very little sleep over the course of a few weeks will do that to you, I guess.
Well, back at it.
Starbucks = mediocre (over-priced) coffee, mediocre internet access, nice atmosphere, and taking care of business.
The First Sunday After
Just a few weeks ago I spoke at a church in London, ON where a good friend of mine had finished up as pastor the week before. The week I was there was his first Sunday attending the church, but not as a pastor. I thought then that it must have been weird for him. But amazing that he could stay there.
Today I have a bit better of an idea of what he was going through, I think. This is one week after I told my congregation that I was leaving. A new pastor couple has already been named to replace me and a date set. To be honest, I feel strange about worshiping with my community today… not bad, just strange.
I am sure over the next couple months as I prepare to leave this church community, I will have a chance to think about what they have meant to me, and what difference this whole process of planting and staying nine years has taught me; how it has impacted my life, and that of my family, in profound ways. I have been changed by community. I have been part of a changed community.
As I reflected on this journey for a few moments this morning, I couldn’t help but think back to the twenty-eight year old kid who moved here in 2001 hoping to change the world, having been given an opportunity he didn’t deserve. I was young, I was energetic, I was determined, I had a lot of “out there” ideas (so I thought) about church, I loved Jesus and I wanted to do anything I could to be faithful to his call in my life. But I was also stupid, ignorant, too young, a rookie pastor, and too proud… among other things.
It seems to me that one of the things being part of this community has done for me, is help me to face me. To come to grips with some flaws in my character and leadership… constantly. To fail. To make mistakes. I have been beaten, heart-broken, humbled, shattered, disappointed, frustrated, and used. And I have been the cause of those things in others, unfortunately.
We have endured some very difficult circumstances being here. Some that I do not wish to go through ever again. But we have also seen miracles… even as recently as this week. We have seen lives literally changed forever. We have seen impossible circumstances become possible. I think we have even seen our neighbourhood change.
I have learned how to allow others into my space, and they have allowed me into theirs, and we have shared God there. I am a different person than I was when I came here. I will leave changed. No doubt about it.
A Tough Transition
The last several weeks and months have been very difficult in many ways, particularly emotionally, for me. I have really wrestled with who I am and who I think I am supposed to be. Part of that has to do with the community with whom I live, work and love (I will write more about how I feel about them in a subsequent post). I first had a sense that I needed to transition out of full-time pastoral leadership at The Freeway last summer. Previous to that I have had many, many moments when I wanted to quit, but those never really lasted long.
I remember being at the cottage we rented for two weeks last July and laying on my back on an air mattress in the lake on a beautiful, sunny day staring up at the sky. It was really peaceful and amazing as I floated out towards the middle of the lake. But suddenly a sick feeling came over me and my stomach physically hurt (it could have been the Crohn’s, I suppose), and the thought came to me: “Leave. It’s time.”
Well, that feeling never really left me, although I tried to ignore it for a while. By Christmas I knew I had to do something to help sort through how I was feeling, so I started talking with some friends and mentors that I trust in order that they might help me discern what was happening inside of me (not the Crohn’s, the transition). By March, I was confident that I needed to transition out of The Freeway – although I still desperately hoped it wasn’t true – so I began communicating with my leaders at The Salvation Army about what was happening and I formed a team at The Freeway to talk about the transition to new leadership. I have been committed to trying to ensure a smooth leadership transition although it hasn’t been easy.
Long story short… on Sunday, May 9th I announced my resignation to my church community and on Tuesday, May 11th new leaders were announced to take my place as pastors of The Freeway. They are a Salvation Army Officers from Boston, MA named Bill & Sue Dunigan. They will start at The Freeway on August 1st. They seem like really great folks and I am excited about where they, along with the amazing local leaders at The Freeway, will lead the church community in the future.
So, between now and then, I need to figure out exactly what I am supposed to do in terms of my employment and where that will be. I am nervous, excited, scared to death, and hopeful all at the same time. Welcome to the chronicling of the adventure my family and I are on at this point.
Back In The Saddle
OK, here’s the deal: I have started and then deleted three different personal weblogs (may they rest in peace). I started blogging in 2001 with Typepad and then in 2003 with Blogger and then in 2007 with WordPress. For various reasons, I deleted all of those blogs. It’s been well over a year since I did any personal blogging, but hopefully, it’s like riding a bike.
I am starting yet another blog (v4.0) because I want to chronicle my journey from this to that. I am a guy who is transitioning from one thing to another. I have made the major decision to leave The Freeway – a church that I planted in 2001 for The Salvation Army, though I am not sure exactly what I am going to be doing. I guess I want to post my thoughts along the way.
No promises how long this little blogging adventure will last. But this will likely be quite a ride… jump on.