A lot of people have been asking me what my plans are for the future and while the truth is I don’t have any compelling answers to the that particular question, I wanted to communicate some of the circumstances that are helping to shape my decisions at the moment.

Earlier in the spring this year, I was informed through our communication structure (board to staff through Sr leader) that Westside was very close to making some decisions around a Sr leader for the fall of 07. At this point the Directors were already aware that some staff changes would need to be made for us to remain financially viable considering the downturn in attendance and donations. With a Sr Leader coming in, the role that I had been asked to step into over the past year, as primary communicator, was a potential redundancy. In addition to this realization, over this past year I had been growing interested in the opportunity to lead and teach on a regular basis and so with this news coming down the pipe I expressed an interest in planting a new church in the city with the blessing of Westside. A lot of us felt that this would be a great piece to the ongoing Westside story and so plans were set in motion. I secured a location for the fall and began assembling a plant team to help with the launch.

Unfortunately the information that was communicated to me turned out to be premature and options for a Sr Leader did not materialize at Westside. In mid June I had a meeting with the board around options for an interim strategy for the fall and perhaps beyond. At this point plans were already underway for my departure from Westside as one of the many changes that were announced to the community on June 23/24 weekend. After that meeting it was determined that Bob Osborne would take over as the interim leader heading into the fall. Following that meeting and before the announcement that weekend I communicated to the plant team I had been working with that our plans were on hold indefinitely due to the instability at Westside.

At this point, I haven’t made any decisions about what my future will look like beyond my departure from Westside on August 31st 2007. I would still very much like to plant a church here in the city but I have taken the position that I do not want to do that until after Westside has stabilized with a new leader. Therefore all plans for a fall launch have been officially put to bed. I am still considering the possibility of working for a year and attempting a plant once Westside has found and established a new leader or possibly looking for an opportunity in an existing church that might be a good match for my particular skill set and theological trajectory.

Please understand that I am not suggesting that I was pushed out of Westside by any person or agenda. I take full responsibility for each of my personal decisions over the last few months, both the good ones and the less good ones.

I know that doesn’t clarify a lot of the questions people might have but it’s about as honest and clear as things are in my head these days. I hope that helps for anyone that has questions about my headspace these days.