I wanted you to hear it from me: "I Quit."

I quit. Unequivocally and unapologetically. I’m done, and no one will convince me otherwise. I’ve done it for the last possible day, and I’m ready to move on.

Let me be clear:

No, I don’t quit on being a pastor, though pastoral experience informs my decision. Nearly 6 years as an ordained pastor has given me a wealth of experience, wisdom, and lessons to draw from, and lately it’s pointing me toward the undeniable fact that it is time for me to quit.

“Quit what?” What I am quitting are some things that I believe to be keeping me from being the best version of myself, the version God intends me to be.

Maybe that will make me a better pastor. We shall see. For now, what I know is that I must quit these  things, and I invite you to join me:

I quit listening to fear over faith.

This is a continuously quoted idea in virtually every social or professional circle I am part of. It is a biblical concept, and a necessary attitude for success…yet, it is probably the hardest thing in my life to actually do. I am a problem-solver by nature and that means I consider a number of possible outcomes for everything. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is more debilitating to progress than seeing a problem and not having the solution. It breeds a lot of things: doubt, uncertainty, worry — but most of all it creates fear. Fear of failure, fear of success that can’t be maintained, fear of impacting others, fear of no impact at all… Fear takes control if you let it, and pretty soon there’s no room for any other perspective, including one that trusts in God.

Before fear takes up roots that pull you under, faith should give you wings and the belief that flight is possible. Give faith the chance it deserves, because as Hebrews 11:1 reminds us: “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

I quit being defined by other voices more than by God.

Fear is one of many voices that try to define who we are, and it is often powered by a bunch of other voices; voices that try to limit us based on their own hangups and presuppositions. The voices that say you are too shy, or too dumb, or too young, or too old…the voices that say there is a limit not only on what you are but what you can be. These voices will try to define your life story when a new chapter has just begun; they will try to limit your future because they can’t imagine better for you than what they can see right now.

God doesn’t see it that way. He calls you His masterpiece (Eph 2:10), more than a conqueror (Rom 8:37), shaped for good works (Eph 2:10b), and most importantly, He promises He can do more than you could even think to imagine in your life (Eph 3:20). Be who God made you to be, but that must begin with believing what He says you can be.

I quit needing to know the answer to take a step ahead.

When it comes down to it, I quit using what little I understand as a reason to stand still. Uncertainty can cause you to freeze up; stuck in a perpetual cycle of evaluating, and re-evaluating, and so on. At the end of the day, you are choosing not to act because you cannot see or guarantee the outcome.

Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us that the better move is to trust God rather than our limited perspective. We understand in part, He understands in full. We don’t know what comes next, but He knows how it works in the end. When we don’t understand the situation, we understand that God will work it out for our good, because he loves us (Rom 8:28), and that should tell us that no matter what is happening, the right thing to do is always to take a step in the right direction; a step closer to God.

I quit things that don’t matter.

This one…oh boy! I have a lot of talents, and a lot of interests. I do a lot of different things, but sometimes that means that I am doing some things terribly, or worse, I am wasting energy on things that don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. I need to stop that.

There are always going to be things that compete for my time and attention, but I need to be committed to the things that matter most — the things that honor God, the things that help my family experience love and growth, the things that impact my community, the things that glorify God. This means some things that I consider priorities must become peripheral, others may no longer be worth my time and attention altogether. At the end of the day, I want to spend my time on what God has entrusted me with, and I want to spend that time well (Ecc 12:13).

I quit…on quitting.

Rest is found in God, right along with restoration, wisdom, and resolve. When things are hard, I don’t have to turn away, I can turn to God. I can pause. I can rest. I can recalibrate, but I cannot stop.

Practically, this has taken the form of an endeavor, or better yet a calling to establish community that begins in digital spaces. It may sound like I’m saying I am starting an online church, and maybe I am — eventually — but that will look much different than what we have come to define it as. In a world where people are increasingly living life in, around, and through digital platforms, the world needs a church that does more than give well-produced courtside seats to in-person church services and studies. Video-streaming should create new opportunities to engage through media, people should be able to plug into real community where people know them by name and love them in practical and prayerful action, even from miles away. An ever-growing internet should help us understand new problems and people, while mobilizing us to serve them together strategically, both near and far. And all of this, should work to grow God’s kingdom and strengthen the work of the Gospel in communities we can’t even think to ask about right now.

This is the vision I have: A community empowered by digital spaces and resources that impacts the tangible world. A community that exists to get people rooted in the reality of God, and growing in the purpose of the Kingdom. I call that vision Open Grove.

As with many things, I believe this will be a progressive path, and my next step on this journey is to take the next 12-24 months to establish a robust strategy of online ministry and community that will power the legacy of a ministry I love (so no, I’m not quitting on The View Church either). This will allow me to lay a framework for the vision given to me, and then, God-willing, the next stop on the path is working to make Open Grove a reality.

I don’t know how well this post will age, and I can’t focus on that…it will cause me to quit. Instead, I’m going to work at the habit of starting again and keeping things moving when it gets hard. I think the Bible calls that perseverance and not growing weary in well doing. 

I might get weary, but I’m done quitting on the good things that God has called me to do and to be a part of. I think that’s a better theology of quitting. You are invited to join me, but follow me only as I follow Christ.

Blessings,
Pastor Cory Jae