"Surprise, surprise." - Gomer Pyle

We moved to Oregon just over three years ago and it took us over a year to find a church we could call home. I don't think we stayed home a single Sunday during that time because we take having a home church where we worship and serve very seriously.

Finding a home church is a little like dating. Sometimes you know 30 minutes into it this is NOT gonna work. Others show promise, so you date for a few months before figuring out that though closer than that one-timer, this also isn't a good fit. We went to some churches that were more like a SNL skit than a reasonable possibility and attended two different churches for several months.

Our intent was to find a church that was under 150 and close to our home. That's the size church we served and we wanted to worship with people in our community. While everything in the Elmira/Veneta/Franklin/west Eugene area easily fit the size criterion they didn't work for reasons of doctrine or ministry style. (Old Bible profs tend to want something to chew on in a sermon.)

Almost two years ago we went back to a church we first visited on one of our property scouting trips. University Fellowship Church (UFC) is further away (central Eugene) and bigger than we wanted, with attendance in the 800-900 range most Sundays. But the pastor, Brett, preached the Word with accuracy, clarity, and application. And we literally never went a single Sunday without at least one person, and usually more, engaging us in conversation.

Fast forward to the present. Pam helps out with the 2-year olds once a month and attends the Thursday morning ladies Bible study. Together we attend one of the small groups (ours meets on Monday nights) that discusses Brett's sermon. I've done some pulpit supply when Brett is out of town and helped lead the on the occasional Sunday when we do throw-back hymns.

UFC is a good church. We thoroughly appreciate the church's commitments, the worship services are consistently vertical and done with quality, the preaching is consistently biblical and effective, and I have described it as the smallest big church I've ever encountered. It is friendly, diverse in every dimension, unassuming, and focused on the stuff that matters.

Over the last three or four months UFC has lost two staff guys. One, the pastor of discipleship, left to do a church plant, and the other decided he didn't share some of the church's core commitments. That put the staff under some stress and they worked to pick up the load from roles now vacant. I agreed to take the responsibility of writing the questions used for the small group discussions and also took on teaching the Sunday morning class for those who are doing the read through the Bible in a year program. I've enjoyed both tasks a lot and was glad to help out our church.

UFC hired a guy from WA who was in his mid-50's to take the position of discipleship pastor. He seemed like a great guy and very qualified. Unfortunately, the same weekend he was introduced to the congregation as the new staff member his wife encountered some health issues which required him to "quit" on Monday the job he hadn't yet started. Absolutely the right decision, but sure tough for Brett, the rest of the staff, and the church.

A couple of weeks ago Brett asked if I'd consider a part-time position doing some of the tasks of the discipleship pastor so the church could conduct a new search for a full time replacement at a deliberate pace. Pam and I talked it through and I met yesterday with the lead staff at UFC. The end result: we all agreed that works.

So, in about a week I'll start working at UFC 25 +/- hours a week. I'll continue writing the questions for the small groups and work with the leaders to make sure their groups are running smoothly and effectively. I'll continue teaching that class and also do some discipleship work with a rotating group of men. This last part will be new for me, something I didn't do (though should have) as a specific part of my pastoral ministry. That makes it a challenge, but one I'm looking forward to.

This certainly wasn't on my radar as something I'd take on at this point. (Hence the Gomer Pyle quote up there.) But I like that God throws a curve ball once in awhile.

Does it count as a second coming out of retirement if it's only part time? I dunno. It's an opportunity to serve God and his church, a church we've come to appreciate and respect. And Brett is one of those guys you just want to help if you can. Super nice guy.

So in the weeks ahead you may read the occasional comment about my work at UFC. I'm looking forward to it and my only concern is that I give them what they want and need. I'm depending on God's grace and enablement.

Here we go!