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Well, today I reached the conclusion that I am completely disengaged with any form of leadership or quasi-leadership work in the Church for the forseeable future. I am not shy, and I do go out of my way to talk to people I formerly worked with for many long hours of leadership callings in our Ward a couple years ago. However, the conversations are typically short, and if I didn’t reach out, there would be no conversation whatsoever. I honestly feel that my worth to God is significant, however, my worth to the people in our leadership — both current and former — is largely defined by what I can contribute to their organizational goals. When I am no longer willing to contribute in the way they want, I fall off the radar.
I am still engaged as a father/priesthood holder in the home, do home teaching, and when they ask me to lead workshops on parenting, budgeting, and other matters of interest to our Ward auxiliaries. However, I don’t see myself committing long hours to callings/activities which I feel are largely inward looking for our organization, and serve organizational ends primarily.
So, I’m planning to put together a new mission statement – or at least alter it so its worded broadly enough to mean all kinds of service, and not necessarily Church-oriented service. I do feel a bit of a gap in my life right now — that was once filled to the point of breaking with Church related service. So thinking of other forms of service is both a new and unfamiliar experience.
Any words of advice for ways I can discover where to put my talent, my business training, my speaking ability, my ability to organize, plan and execute, putting it to work in a way that fills the gap left by my exodus from time consuming Church service, while still maintaining control over my life balance? How I can discover a passion which replaces that considerable passion I once had for furthering the goals of our Church?
SilentDawning wrote:…I am still engaged as a
father/priesthood holder in the home, do home teaching, and when they ask me to lead workshops on parenting, budgeting, and other matters of interest to our Ward auxiliaries. However, I don’t see myself committing long hours to callings/activities which I feel are largely inward looking for our organization, and serve organizational ends primarily. So, I’m planning to put together a new mission statement – or at least alter it so its worded broadly enough to mean all kinds of service, and not necessarily Church-oriented service. I do feel a bit of a gap in my life right now — that was once filled to the point of breaking with Church related service. So thinking of other forms of service is both a new and unfamiliar experience.
Any words of advice for ways I can discover where to put my talent, my business training, my speaking ability, my ability to organize, plan and execute, putting it to work in a way that fills the gap left by my exodus from time consuming Church service, while still maintaining control over my life balance? How I can discover a passion which replaces that considerable passion I once had for furthering the goals of our Church?
I’d say… be the best husband, father, son, uncle etc… you could be!Hang out with each one more, doing things you both enjoy (or discovering something you both enjoy).
Maybe… teach parenting classes at schools… even be a peer parent for the foster-care system (tough job, but desperately needed!).
Moreover… whatever you feel passionate & inspired about.
I admire your genuine desire to do good.
🙂 I hope & believe God will guide & bless you in whatever you do!I agree with Featherina, FAMILY! Your kids will absolutely love it!! In 5 years there will be new leadership, but family will be eternal.
I have family in it — definitely. My daughter is absolutely blossoming with all my help and encouragement to develop her natural strengths and talents. My son — well, I’m focusing on him now in the last half of Sacrament meeting and it is doing wonders. But I feel the need for some kind of significant community contribution that leverages my talents. The Peer parenting thing sounds interesting.
It doesn’t really matter exactly what you do, as long as you are doing something to serve in a way you feel is important and meaningful. So, pick something about which you can feel passionate –
or about which your family can feel passionate as they serve with you.Who knows? Maybe your faith crisis was God’s way of prompting you to have an impact on a greater scale than you could have had solely in a leadership position in the Church – and maybe, just maybe, it will turn you into someone who actually can provide leadership of some kind in the Church in the future. However, I don’t care about that as much as what you can do in the here and now. Find it, then do it.
^^ What Ray said. 🙂
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