I was asked the other day if I was moving anytime soon because I've been at my current appointment for four and a half years. I don't think the person was asking because they were hoping I would move (at least I hope that wasn't the reason!!!). Instead, they had noticed that most of their pastors had moved after three years of ministry. They assumed it was some type of 'policy' of the United Methodist Church that pastors shouldn't stay at a church for more than a few years.

I told them that I believe some of the reason why pastors move is because we see enough stories of churches that grow from 90 to over 200 that if it doesn't happen for us in a few years of ministry we believe it is time to move on to where it might. Of course, there are other reasons why pastors might want to move. There might be conflict that we don't want to deal with, or perhaps it just isn't a good 'fit' so we tell the bishop that we are willing and able to move.

Yet, I believe that the reason for many moves is because we lack the patience to stay. We believe that if we are just assigned to the 'right' church then things will flow smoothly, people will start coming to the church, the church will grow and the conference will rise up and call us blessed. We desire transformation to take place and pray that it happens quickly. When it doesn't, we become convinced that if we were only at a different congregation transformation would happen.

Mike King notes that the lack of patience, or what he calls, stability, is because there is an expectation in our evaluations. There is an expectation that we are able to make things change, or create transformation. In reality, the Holy Spirit is the only one who can transform, but we try to take matters into our own hands. King writes:

Why do we have difficulty living as if it's up to the Holy Spirit to transform them? The answer is because we're consistently evaluated in ways that pressure us to take results into our own hands. We're expected to have the "right kind" of kids in the youth group. We're expected to make our youth so spiritually mature that they don't get into trouble at school. (82-83)

Even though King is writing about youth ministry, the same is true in pastoral ministry. We are expected to produce results and that usually is equated with numerical growth. We feel so pressured that we simply don't have the patience to allow the Holy Spirit the time and space to work. We push, we pull, we convince, we beg, we plead, we manipulate. Then, when it all falls flat, we move.

If we are serious about transition in our congregations then it means we must be willing to take the long-view. It means we must be willing to wait for the Spirit to work within the lives of those we are called to serve. It means that there may be seasons when all we are called to do is wait and pray. It also means that we might not ever see the fruit of the transition.

While there are stories of overnight transitions and transformations, those are rare. Instead, transitions usually take time. Sometimes a lot of time. It must have been difficult for David to have to allow his son to build the temple. After all, David had done so much. It will be difficult for us to set transition into motion especially if it means we might not see the fruit of our labor. Perhaps that is just a reminder, that it isn't about us.