I’ve worked in Christian publishing and church resource development since 2005, with only one 18-month interruption along the way. I got into it almost by accident directly after college. I had no intention of making a career out of publishing, mainly because I didn’t have the sense or planning to intend much of anything or plan long-term. I just needed a job to pay my bills and, hopefully, not be miserable. I quickly discovered that there was huge benefit in doing good work under the leadership of godly people who excelled in their field, and I really enjoyed the work.
Fast-forward 14 years and that first low level sales job I fell into became a career, a real adult career, covering three companies and two states and more than a handful of roles. I have sold, marketed, edited, acquired, trained, aggregated, managed, and written. I have worked with excellent professionals who are equally excellent people. In short, God has been remarkably and undeservedly good to me. I am deeply grateful for my years at Crossway Books, Moody Publishers, and LifeWay Christian Resources/B&H Publishing – for the friendships built, the lessons learned, the ministry done, the goals accomplished, the challenges overcome, and the personal growth I’ve experienced.
Now God is opening a new door. On August 1 I will leave B&H Academic to join the staff at my church, Immanuel Nashville, as the Director for Community. My primary area of ministry will be the oversight and equipping of our small group ministry. I’m excited for a pile of reasons; here are a few.
- The leaders and staff at Immanuel are incredible – godly, humble, gifted, invested – and working with them will be a privilege. And fun. It will be fun too.
- Immanuel is my church home, so I get to be part of serving a body I already love and who has invested in and cared for me. And I don’t have to uproot or relocate myself or my kids.
- I wasn’t looking to move into church ministry (in fact, I had resisted the very idea for a long time for a variety of reasons), but when Immanuel’s leadership approached me about the possibility it was clear that God was in it – the right church, the right time, and resolution to many of my reasons for resisting.
- It’s more evidence of God’s grace in my life. I have no business being in this place, I do not deserve it, and I did not expect it. My life has been marked by a succession of wrong turns and dumb decisions, but God keeps redeeming and healing and making something of it all. Immanuel’s mantra sums this up well: