{"id":207,"date":"2007-10-24T01:01:58","date_gmt":"2007-10-24T01:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2007\/10\/why-laity-lodge-tying-up-some-loose-ends.html"},"modified":"2007-10-24T01:01:58","modified_gmt":"2007-10-24T01:01:58","slug":"why-laity-lodge-tying-up-some-loose-ends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2007\/10\/why-laity-lodge-tying-up-some-loose-ends.html","title":{"rendered":"Why Laity Lodge? Tying Up Some Loose Ends"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 12 of series: Why Move? Stewardship, Wineskins, and the Enigmatic Will of God
\n<\/em>Permalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a><\/p>\n

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To read this series, Why Move? Stewardship, Wineskins, and the Enigmatic Will of God<\/em>, from the beginning, click here. <\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Earlier in this series, before pausing to reflect on the enigmatic will of God, I was chronicling the process that led me to leave Irvine Presbyterian Church and join the staff of Laity Lodge. I won’t continue to give you the play by play of that whole process, which began in February 2007 and culminated on July 23, 2007, when my wife and I, with the support of our children, said “Yes” to Laity Lodge. Suffice it to say that Linda and I spent much of those five and a half months in conversations: with leaders from Laity Lodge, with close friends and family, with other wise counselors, with each other, with our children, and with God. As I’ve confessed before, there were plenty of sleepless nights for me as I wrestled with my fears and with the Lord. I didn’t begin to feel a sense of peace about the decision to move to Laity Lodge until shortly before we made it.
\nSince that watershed moment, I haven’t questioned the rightness of our decision, though I’ve sometimes felt overwhelmed by its implications. Moving one’s entire life, ministry, and family from California to Texas has been a staggering task, and it won’t be close to over until we sell our house in California and settle into a new home in Texas. (Anybody need a great house in Irvine?) Even then, of course, we’ll still be dealing with the emotional and spiritual dislocation inherent in such a move. For example, for the first time in our lives, we’re church shopping. Yikes!
\nAt this point in my Why Move?<\/em> series I want to shift gears from a more or less a chronological sequence to a more or less logical one (logical to me, at least). I want to explain as clearly as I can why I believe that it was right to join the staff of Laity Lodge and, therefore, to move my family to Texas.
\nBut before I get to the logical stuff, I want to tie up a couple of loose ends I have left dangling. First, if you’ve been reading along, you know that my openness to Laity Lodge began with a phone call from Paul, a gracious man on a pastor search committee for a Presbyterian church on the east coast. I mentioned that Paul and I agreed to talk again, but then left the story right there. So what happened with that church?
\nPaul and I did indeed have that conversation, then a phone interview that included several other members of his committee, then a face-to-face interview with these same folk. At the end of that interview, I told Linda that these were fantastic people from an outstanding church. They had an exciting vision and were the kind of people I’d like to share life and ministry with . . . just like the folks at my own church! Though the east coast church was much larger than Irvine Presbyterian Church, and thus offered new challenges and opportunities, I didn’t sense that this was where God was leading me. So I conveyed this to Paul, who was gracious, as always. Not too long thereafter his church called a marvelous new pastor.
\nThe other loose end concerns my conversation with the elders at Irvine Presbyterian Church. As I noted above, we were engaged in a discussion about whether my sense of calling, which involved more writing and more expansive leadership, could be fulfilled by reworking my job description as the church’s senior pastor. The elders, though personally supportive of me, were also concerned about what was best for the church, as they should have been. This was, after all, their primary responsibility. The elders and I didn’t rush to any conclusions. In fact, when I told them early August that I was going to Laity Lodge, our conversation was still moving forward. By that time it was clear to me that God wanted me at Laity Lodge, no matter what might be worked out at Irvine Pres. The elders received my news kindly and supportively. Nobody chewed me out and said, “So why’d you make us go through this darned process with you?” In fact, as I had said to them along the way, our conversation turned out to be more about the next pastor than about me. At any rate, Laity Lodge was not some escape hatch out of Irvine Presbyterian Church, but an exciting opportunity to which God was calling me and my family.
\nSo, now that I’ve tied up those loose ends, I’m prepared to explain why I chose to join the Laity Lodge team. I could make it simple and say that I did what I believed God wanted me to do. That’s true. But I want to explain further why I believed this. And so I will in my next post.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 12 of series: Why Move? Stewardship, Wineskins, and the Enigmatic Will of God Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series To read this series, Why Move? Stewardship, Wineskins, and the Enigmatic Will of God, from the beginning, click here. Earlier in this series, before pausing to reflect on the enigmatic will of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-why-move"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Laity Lodge? Tying Up Some Loose Ends - Mark D. 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Tying Up Some Loose Ends"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/","name":"Mark D. Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}