Konutkent and New Responsibilities



Yesterday was my last day at the church we were serving at. It was a sad day. Over the past several weeks the Turkish pastor of our small fellowship had come into conflict with the head pastor of the main church of which it was a part. The conflict grew as the Turkish pastor of our small fellowship wasn't willing to submit to the head pastor. Eventually the head pastor decided to withdraw his association with the small church, leaving the people of that congregation to decide whether to stay there or come to the main fellowship instead. The whole situation was sad.


I had been preaching every other week and several of the students in our training program were volunteering at this church during the week. I had developed good relationships with several people in the church and it was a highlight of our ministry here. Through the conflict I made it clear to both parties that I felt that the pastor of our small fellowship needed to submit to the head pastor, but I continued to maintain a good relationship with the pastor of our small fellowship.


Eventually, I knew that I wouldn't be able to stay at this small church in this situation, and since our training program is a ministry of the main church I am expected to attend an associated fellowship. So on Sunday the congregation that I have been serving since we moved to Ankara prayed for me and gave their blessing as I moved my family on from that ministry. We enjoyed lunch after church one last time together and there were warm good-byes as we left.


I think this course of events must have been able to be prevented at several points along the way, but as it unfolded over the past few weeks a split became more and more inevitable. Now we're praying for reconciliation at some point in the near future.


The loss of this ministry does free me to focus on other things for now, which comes at a strategic time as well. Our organization's field leader in Turkey has decided to move his family back to their home country this summer. Two weeks ago I was appointed as the new field leader for our organization in Turkey. This also means that I will be taking the lead in coordinating the training ministry, which I had been doing together with our field leader. We have already begun putting together a new leadership team for next year.


Change seems to be a constant factor for us since we have moved to Turkey. Every few months an entirely new set of circumstances presents itself. Just a few weeks ago I had a team leader and a preaching ministry at a Turkish church. Now I am the team leader and I'm mourning the loss of my church.

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