Surprise - (noun) the astonishment you feel when
something totally unexpected happens to you.
The fall of 1976 was a significant time for me. I was engaged to be married, I was in my final month of college, and
I did not have a job when school ended in December… I was one nervous young man.
In November of 1976 I was informed of an opening in my Indiana
hometown. The local denominationally owned Christian bookstore was in need of a manger in January. The possibilities of the
job excited me. It was in my hometown. The store was located directly across the street from my father’s shoe store,
within a couple of blocks of other businesses owned, and managed by friends and relatives. The store is one that I had visited
regularly during my growing up years.
In spite of my excitement, I had a lot of angst. What made me think I could manage a business that had a significant volume
and a solid reputation? What made me think that the powers in charge would hire a 22-year-old kid fresh out of college with
no experience for this job? The most haunting question however, was “Who am I to think I can have a job I want?”
A few weeks later I had the position. I was excited, and scared. However,
I was also surprised. I was surprised that I was entrusted to manage a business that represented the interests of a small,
but well-known denomination. I was surprised at being trusted to manage and hire people. I was surprised at being trusted
to manage inventory and assets worth several hundred thousand dollars. My purpose was to manage it well. I
was surprised by this purpose.
Several years later, I was invited to join my wife’s family in an entrepreneurial venture. This meant a major move
and plenty of risk. But I accepted the challenge. I was to be the marketing manager for this venture. I did not know anything
about marketing. I knew nothing about the product or the consumer segment that it was designed to impress. However, I was
excited! I learned. Again, I was surprised to find myself in a position with new purpose.
One thing that entrepreneurs know is that most new ventures are not a financial success. Less than one in
five last more than 5 years. Most close within the first year of operation. After four years of bumbling, yet honest, effort
we decided to close up shop. This was a tough blow to the finances and the pride.
The lesson I learned is that the purpose for entering one venture is often to
learn something that at the outset seems unrelated. I was surprised that the purpose of this venture was to teach me
about my ego and pride by taking something significant away from me.
By this time I was married with two children. One of my purposes was to provide for my children. The
quest for another job began. I was surprised to be invited by my former church employer to move to Kansas
to manage another store and to do some other marketing work for the denomination. It was off to Kansas.
I had spent most of my life living two places -- Indiana and Pennsylvania. Kansas was a surprise.
This
new position put me in a position of greater responsibility, managing more people and greater assets. It also put me in the
national headquarters office of the denomination in which I grew up. Judaism looks to Jerusalem,
Islam to Mecca, and the branch of Mennonites with which I was involved looked to Kansas!
I was now in the company church leaders that I had heard about and read about for years. What purpose would surprise me here?
Many consider church institutions to be special. Human conflicts and
power struggles ought to be able to be “simply” prayed or loved away. I soon discovered that being a church institution
did not make an organization better in any way. It was still a human institution populated and managed by humans with various
human interests and desires. I was surprised at the intensity of the conflicts within this group of leaders.
After six years, I was tired of the power positioning and decided
it was time to move on. What was the surprising purpose of this six-year stint in my life? I discovered that to consider any
institution, or any person, to be “special” was simply to set up a system of hierarchy that separates rather than
unifies. Separation never leads us to Truth.
Fortunately, the next job transition was not a geographical challenge. I only had to move to a new office directly across
the street. I took a new position with a travel management company owned by some friends of mine. This company arranged most
of my travel while I was working for a church institution so I knew they had a good reputation and provided a high level of
service.
Here I was surprised to find
a career home. I have worked for the same company for 18 years. I have built up a large and loyal clientele. I have become
a partner in the business. I have made good friends with my fellow employees and with many of those whom I serve. I have been
surprised to find stability and consistency in a company that is a leader in a volatile travel industry.
It would be easy to settle into the comfort of having a personally
satisfying job with a great company. I am so grateful for this. However, purposeful surprises do not stop just because one
feels that one has arrived in the perfect position. I have been surprised to find that when I get comfortable
in my situation doors open giving me the opportunity to stretch out and find yet more surprises.
In early 2000, I discovered a new church, which had recently been
planted in Wichita. The United Divine Science Church of Wichita quickly became the source
of my spiritual supply. As with all ventures, this church endured evolution. In 2001, we changed locations to give us our
own space and some stability. Shortly thereafter, we changed our name to New Thought Community Church.
From my first days in this church I was very involved. I had been
involved in church my entire life. However, I was finding a fresh and spiritually freeing message in New Thought. I soon found
myself traveling to take classes and be involved with more New Thought students. By 2004, my minister and her mentor thought
I had enough experience to receive an ordination.
When I was 18 years, old at a church potluck one of my Mennonite ministers made an interesting statement. We were visiting
in an informal circle when he put his hand on my shoulder and said, “We’re going to have to get this guy in the
pulpit.” I was honestly surprised that 32 years later his prediction came to pass.
I intended to use my ordination to be a supporting minister in our church. Imagine my surprise that
shortly after my ordination my minister announced that she was about to move on, following a new call she felt on her life
and ministry. She gave me a choice. I could become the lead minister of New Thought Community or we could close the doors.
I did not feel comfortable with either choice. But I was less comfortable with closing the doors. I surprised even myself
by accepting the position of lead minister.
For the last three and a half years, I have been the lead minister of a growing New Thought Community. We have expanded
our physical facilities and the number of people attending regularly. Our message of inclusive spirituality is a new message
to many. In addition to this privilege, I continue more than full time in my travel business, which is also growing considerably.
I did not consciously create
a plan to give me the lessons I have had thus far in my life. As you can see, I have had many opportunities to be astonished
and surprised by happenings in my life.
I consider myself a life entrepreneur. We normally assume entrepreneurs organize and assume risk for business ventures.
I have expanded this to suggest that a life entrepreneurs organize and assume risk for life ventures.
As we dissolve our ideas of separation between business
and life, new doors of opportunity open before us. As we stretch through these doors, I have no doubt we will all be surprised
by new and great purpose!
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Editors Note: At the time that this article was received, New Thought
Community Church is located at 434 N. Oliver in Wichita, Kansas. Services are every Sunday at 11 am. For more
info, go to http://ntccmusic.com