In staying as long as possible in one place, I have seen how that place has shaped me as much as I have shaped it. I have been employed on staff at Creekside for over 8 years. That is the longest I have ever held one job in my entire working life so far. I was 4 years at Bramalea Alliance, and before that 7 years at Penner International.
The milestone of the sabbatical has me thinking about how I have had the grace and the strength to hang in for 8 years. Those years have come with lots of challenges, but also lots of blessings. There were a few times when I honestly almost packed it in. Creekside has also been very good to me in all those years. I am well-paid and I know that I am cared for by the leadership.
I can see how I have adapted myself over the years to Creekside, and also how I have shaped Creekside to the degree that I have. As the primary worship leader and director, I exercise a certain amount of influence on the whole tone of worship, music and arts. In these things, Creekside is going to be to some degree a reflection of who I am and what I value. I'm not tooting my own horn here right now, because in all honesty I question myself and my effectiveness a lot, and always have. In working together with my Senior Pastor Ken and my other colleagues, we have grown over the years in our capacity to live in and manage the tensions of our various values and expectations, while all the while affirming our core values, the things we are committed to and will go to the wall for as a team.
I have had my thinking and my values shaped by Creekside as much as I have been a part of shaping Creekside's identity as an expression of the Body of Christ. Perhaps I am the one who has been shaped more. I am thankful for God's enabling me to hang in there these 8+ years and am eager to continue to shape and BE SHAPED by this place!
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