I walked away from the pulpit a year ago for what I assumed would be the last time. That has turned out to be the case, except for one opportunity to fill in for a church without a pastor.

A year ago, I didn’t know how I would survive without preaching. It was my life and what I had lived for since I was 14. I had preached thousands of sermons and had loved every minute of it. 

When I stood to preach, something turned on. My introverted self took a back seat to my preaching persona. Simply put, I loved preaching. Pastoring…not so much. I loved many of the people I pastored, loved winning people to Jesus and seeing them baptized and grow in their faith. I loved seeing churches grow in numbers, which I was blessed to experience in every church I pastored. But the politics and challenges of congregants who were never happy often frustrated me.

I walked away a year ago, wounded once again by the thoughtless words and deeds of those I had poured my life into, prayed with, and visited in emergency rooms. I had taught and loved their children by preparing children’s sermons each week. I had worked hard to improve what the church offered the community, but it wasn’t enough. I just couldn’t do it anymore.

So how did I survive? Some people might say I reinvented myself. I didn’t. But I did change my pulpit. During this last year’s journey, I realized that the stage and wooden pulpit were only where my ministry took place. It was not my ministry. My ministry was sharing, teaching, and expounding the Word of God. It was leading people to the sacred place where they committed their lives more fully to God. It was challenging the lukewarm, complacent believers to experience holy discontent and begin running hard after God.

And guess what? I get to do all those things while preaching from my new pulpit. As I sit at my laptop, typing away, day after day, churning out books, blogs, newsletters, devotions, and social media posts, I have a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction in knowing that I am still honoring my calling in a way that pleases God. My pulpit is now my pen!

I am healing. I’m much less wounded than I was a year ago. I am less stressed and more emotionally intact than I’ve been in a very long time. And God has allowed me to touch more people in one year with my pen than I did in fifty years behind the pulpit. My voice has been transmitted to over 100 countries thanks to podcast and radio interviews. My writing has been downloaded and read around the world. God has been good.

So what should this say to you? First, God will always provide a way for you to complete your calling. Second, God’s calling is without repentance, so remember it is a lifelong endeavor. Third, don’t play the martyr. There will always be difficult times and heartache, but it mustn’t be fatal. Honor your calling, but protect your emotional, spiritual, relational, and physical health.

Your pulpit may be a pen. It might also be a classroom or a cubicle at the office. You may have a stethoscope hanging around your neck or be ringing up groceries at the local supermarket. The place of your ministry is different from your ministry. Your ministry is the unique and empowered calling God has given you. You can change your pulpit but not your calling…so preach the Word! In season and out of season…preach the Word!