There have been two vocations I have thoroughly enjoyed in my life: Working with my hands and being in full time Christian ministry. Yet, something perplexed me as I pursued these two paths; that being in one meant that I missed the other. I enjoyed both and have spent a number of years wondering how the two could come together in one vocation...until now!
17 years ago my life was changed at camp when I embraced God's love and plan for my life.
17 years later I am returning to camp.
I have accepted the position of Maintenance Manager at Camp Imadene, situated on the picturesque Mesachie Lake near Lake Cowichan, BC. I will be serving alongside a multitude of magnificent people, some year-rounders and some during the summer months. My job is to make it safe, fun and wholesome for campers and staff alike, fixing, building, plungering and picking up around the site. The job is more than full time so I will be dependant on gracious volunteers who generously give their time and energy serving others in humble ways.
Most campers will walk through, by, on or behind something that myself and the maintenance crew have built, repaired or maintained, likely without much consideration of how much time, energy and cost the camp has committed to making their experience at camp safe, fun and wholesome. But being behind the scenes is my thing; organizing, preparing and executing a plan with and for a team of people. As a pastor and coach previously, this dynamic was one of the most exhilarating things I encountered and the reason why I identify with this quote:
"A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves." -Lao Tzu
After moving every two years in the first ten years of our marriage, my wife and I are looking forward to moving to a small town on Vancouver Island and rooting ourselves there for a very long time. I am looking forward to both the buzz of the summer months with emergency repairs, groundskeeping and janitorial duties, and then the quieter off-season months building projects, recruiting volunteers and repairing the effects of summer chaos. Now, I'm not naive to the fact that ministry isn't a walk in the park, and how working with multiple staff, boards, volunteers and donors can be taxing on the emotional, spiritual and physical levels, and that is why, for me, this is not a job but a calling.
So after several years of bouncing around and multi-tasking career options I believe God has brought us to this place for both a good and long time! When I think about people who wake up in the morning and can't wait to get to work, this position gets my blood flowing. And I think when people embrace what God has prepared in advance for them to do there is not only a peace, but a wholeness, a sense of shalom which permeates through their life and into others'. It is my hope that as I serve in this capacity, others will encounter God as we labour alongside one another, building relationships and partnering with God in what He's already doing in the lives of people we have the privilege of serving.
That, my friends, is why I am more than a maintenance man.
