Last Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of my time at Doylestown Presbyterian.  It’s hard to believe that so much time has passed so quickly.  I thought I’d share some reflections on my first year as an associate pastor.

• Having a good Head of Staff makes a big difference, and I have an exceptional one.  I am also blessed to be working with our other associate, who is an incredible pastor.  I’m learning a lot from both of them.
• As much as I enjoy preaching, it’s not easy to do on top of my other responsibilities.  The weeks before I preach tend to send the stress level through the roof.
• It is a constant battle to balance evenings at church and evenings at home.  Being at a relatively large church, there are a lot of programs going on all the time, and people want a pastor at everything.
• I love working with kids.  I had no experience going in (and I made no secret of it) and was very anxious about how that would go, but it has been an absolute joy to get to know the kids in the church and to work with our 4th, 5th and 6th graders on a weekly basis.
• Staying connected with seminary friends is difficult but crucial.  I miss the community we had in Princeton, and I have done a mediocre job at best of keeping in touch.  But the time I have had with friends (I guess they’re “colleagues” now) has been extremely valuable.
• Getting reimbursed for buying books is the coolest thing ever.
• I came into my position last summer expecting to be busy all the time, and that if I wasn’t crazy busy then I wasn’t doing my job well.  Over the course of a year I have learned that busyness, even at a large church, ebbs and flows.  Some weeks are out of control, and other weeks are downright restful.
• As important and fun as a church’s programs are, and as much as I enjoy being a part of planning them and pulling them off, too much time working on programs is exhausting and unfulfilling.  I find things like new members classes, hospital visits and other face-to-face interaction essential to preventing me from feeling like a soul-less administrator of programs and generator of emails.
• On that note, I know that for many pastors preaching becomes a spiritual discipline.  As a pastor who is not a regular preacher, I need connection with God and study of scripture to help keep me sustained and grounded, and this has not been easy.
• Oh, and the people are wonderful.  We have our curmudgeons, our the-sky-is-falling crisis addicts, and those who will never be happy with what we are doing, as every church does.  But the people have been incredibly encouraging, supportive and welcoming both to me and to Kristen.  They have done much to make this first year as good a year as it has been.

I’m sure I’ve left things out.  How can I summarize a whole year in a single post?  Kristen and I both look forward to the years ahead and all that they will bring.