Life happens.

Sometimes, it becomes necessary to find a new church home. For most, this is a painful and difficult process. Leaving a people and place you’ve called home is both painful and hard. Most only leave their church home because they feel they have no other choice.

Should you ever find yourself in such a situation, here are two things to avoid at all cost:

1. Avoid speaking badly of your former church
2. Avoid speaking badly of your former pastor.

As a pastor, when I meet people who are visiting the Little Church on the Prairie from other churches, and they begin telling me about their terrible experiences with their former pastor and congregation, I want to run for the hills. It literally makes my skin crawl.

Talking badly about your former congregation and your former pastor physically and emotionally hurts pastors.

You see, most pastors love the congregation they serve. They have a great concern and a great love for their people. And pastors serve congregations because they are called and they love their calling. So when you start bad-mouthing your former congregation, pastors who love their people, cannot help but take that personally.

And when you start bad-mouthing your former pastor, I can’t help but think – “That’s going to me. This is what they will be saying about me when they get upset with me.”

Both of these are cringeworthy.

I get it. Life happens and sometimes you have to find a new church home. And should that ever happen, do yourself and your new place a favor: please don’t bad mouth your former church or pastor.

If you’re a professional driver, drifting is both incredibly cool and amazing to watch.

Most other contexts, drifting is not cool.

The thing I find interesting about drift in life is that in life drift never drifts toward good or our intended goal.

Most people’s new year’s resolution includes getting back into shape. And the plan works great for a few days or even weeks. And then the temptation to drift enters. And when drift happens, drift never leads us to the gym or to the track. Drift always leads to the couch.

We decide we need to eat a healthier diet. That’s a great plan. We all should. And things go well for a few weeks, but then the temptation to drift enters. And again, when drift happens, it never leads to more carrots and celery sticks. It usually looks like a cheeseburger and fries and a milkshake, and pizza, and ice cream. I know. I’ve been there and done that. All in one sitting!

Same thing with relationships with our loved ones, our friends. This also applies to our spiritual walk with God. When drift occurs, drift never takes us closer to God.

Here’s the thing about drift. Drift happens. So don’t feel bad when drift happens.

The key is not that drift happens, but that you get back on the plan and correct the drift….get the drift? The thing that determines whether we achieve our goals is not that drift happens but what you do once you drift. The ones that succeed get back on track, get back to healthy habits, get back to the things that lead to health. And the ones that don’t succeed…well…they’re still drifting.

Don’t feel bad that drift happens. When drift happens, get back with the program.

Growth, maturity, health is a journey. On this journey, drift will happen. The key to getting to our goal is that when drift occurs, we get back on the program and stay the course.

Get the drift?

Spiritual journey…our “walk” with God…is not an event but a journey. And since God is infinite and since we are finite, our journey with God will be an eternal journey…there will never be a time or a moment when we will be able to fully comprehend or appreciate the fullness of God’s awesome glory, God’s limitless sovereignty, God’s amazing majesty.

Since our “walk” with God is a journey, and since we will never “arrive” at our destination, whether we just started our “walk” with God or whether you have been “walking” with God for decades, we find ourselves in the same situation: we are further along than we used to be, and we have a limitless love and grace yet to explore.

Since our “walk” with God is a journey, what matters is not how far along you are on this journey. What matters most is that you are heading in the right direction and that you keep going.

So find your true North in Christ…and keep on keeping on!