When God Answers "No"
In the last newsletter, I was so excited to announce that we had finally named a new leader for Genesis International College. But this was all contingent upon approval from MTW's vetting process. Our named leader and his wife participated in "Readiness Evaluation" last week, and the MTW assessors were not able to approve them.
This is very disappointing to me and our entire team. But I do trust the assessors, and accept their decision. They spoke with me twice during the assessment period to get my perspective on their observations. They fully involved me, and I'm so thankful for their wisdom and discernment.
What are the implications of this decision? That remains to be determined. It has been a long, long process. We have spoken with a number of potential leaders over the last three years. For various reasons, God has not called any of them to serve as our leader. At a certain point, we must consider that perhaps God is not leading us to move forward with our vision for Genesis College.
Over the next weeks, perhaps months, I will be having conversations with many people about the future of Genesis. Possible options include:
- continuing to work toward our goal of a new college to reach young men and women with the hope of the gospel;
- scrapping our vision for a college and going in another direction;
- dissolving our existing team (hopefully each missionary would be incorporated into another team in Japan);
- something else that none of us have yet considered.
Personally, this has been a difficult process for me. I never expected or wanted to serve as the leader of the Genesis team. Some have encouraged me to assume permanent leadership of GIC, but my time as interim leader has confirmed to me that God has not equipped me to be the number one leader of an organization; supporting that leader is more in line with my abilities. I've been tired, and somedays I've wanted it all to end. But I was confident that if we had a new leader, he would bring fresh air and new excitement to me and our team. In some ways, this is a relief; but mostly it is painful. My future is very unknown. But it is certainly not the first time I've been clueless about my future. Each time, I have seen God working in unexpected ways. God called me to Chiba, Japan where he equipped me for my time with Genesis. And I'm confident he will use my time with Genesis for whatever is next -- whether that is in Osaka with MTW, or something completely new.
I do ask for your continued prayers in the next weeks and months. I will be driving to Atlanta on Friday & Saturday of this week, then attending an MTW "Reconnect" retreat in the Blue Ridge Mountains. (This is a retreat for MTW missionaries who have returned from the field for their furlough.) I expect a good time of reflection and conversations there. Following the retreat, I will settle into Jackson, MS for some months where I'll get reacquainted with my home church, and have time for many more conversations and personal reflection.
