Sunday, October 25, 2009

Dear Friends:

Over the past three years, Tiffany and I have been privileged to serve as your senior pastor. We have appreciated your prayers for us and generosity to us through actions both large and small. Mostly, we have appreciated your faithfulness to God and his church.

This past August, I found myself at a crossroad.

When I accepted your invitation to become the senior pastor of Living Faith Center, I did so with the intention of serving here for a long time. But 2007 was a very tough year emotionally for Tiffany and me. We were pleased with the progress the church was making, but we felt isolated and lonely and that Santa Barbara was not yet home.

It is never a good idea to make decisions based solely upon feelings, so we gave ourselves a two-year deadline, committed ourselves to working hard for the church, and began asking God daily to help us feel at home here.

And that brings me to the crossroad. In August, Tiffany and I attended the 53rd General Council of the Assemblies of God in Orlando, Florida. During the altar call of the first evening’s service, I went forward and found myself crying uncontrollably. Two-and-a-half years of conflict between what you might call my professional satisfaction and personal dissatisfaction were taking their toll on me emotionally. Tiffany felt the same way.

At the same General Council, a family friend whom I trust said he had a word from the Lord for me. I am a skeptical person by nature, but I really wanted to hear from God. The friend said: “You will have clarity about what you should do.” A few days after returning from General Council, I walked into the house at the end of a very long day, looked at Tiffany, and had absolute clarity that it was time to leave Santa Barbara.

So, today, I am offering my resignation as senior pastor of Living Faith Center. My last day will be Friday, November 13, 2009.

Throughout my ministry, God has led me by opening and closing doors of opportunity. When I felt that God was closing the door on my ministry in Santa Barbara, I had no idea what door he would open. That happened a few weeks later when Dr. Jim Bradford, who is the General Secretary of the AG, told me about an open position working for him in Springfield, Missouri. I applied for this position, and this past Tuesday, Dr. Bradford offered me the job. In this new position, I will be the Director of Ministerial Resourcing for the AG. In that office, I will be editor of Enrichment, a quarterly ministers’ magazine; Called to Serve, a quarterly newsletter; and team leader for the AG’s social networking website, MinistryDirect.com.

I know that my resignation catches many of you by surprise. I hope you understand that I have not made this decision lightly, precipitously, or without seeking God’s guidance. I hope you also understand that I consider it a privilege to have worked alongside you for these past three years.

We would appreciate your prayers as we take this next step on our spiritual journey.

May God bless you richly!

George P. Wood