| | August 9, 2009 will be my last day as Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church. I'm going to post an email below (slightly edited) that I sent to my siblings and parents. I appreciate your prayers as our family moves on.
Hi everyone,
In case you haven't heard, I resigned from my position as pastor of our church. That sounds so ominous, but it really isn't that way. In a nutshell, I've realized that at this time in our lives, our family needs me more than the church does.
This will be a big adjustment. Since Bev and I have been married, we've always either been in Bible school training for the ministry or I've been a pastor. For the first time we'll be "church shopping". Kind of a weird feeling, which I'm sure will get weirder as we actually start the process of finding a new church. We've been at Cornerstone for almost 14 years (a third of my life). Tara is probably the only one of our kids that even remembers going anywhere else for church.
This Sunday, August 9th will be our last Sunday with Cornerstone Baptist. I'll be preaching the message for our 16th anniversary service (the church's, not Bev's and mine!). ...
Anyway, just wanted you to know what's going on with us. Hope all is well for your family.
Below is my resignation letter given to our Leadership Team and then read to the congregation:
July 24, 2009 Dear Leadership Team and church family at Cornerstone Baptist, This is a very difficult note to write. Please accept this letter as notice of my resignation from my position as Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church, Lititz PA. The Lord has made it very clear to me that this is His will at this time. Please understand and believe that I’m not stepping down because I’m discouraged over things at the church, nor am I frustrated with anyone in the congregation. On the contrary, this has been a hard decision because I love this work and all the people that make up Cornerstone. I’m excited about what the Lord’s doing here, the new families that have been attending, the excitement for outreach and the unity in this body. Our church isn’t perfect, but there’s a love here that transcends human ability. However, the Lord has made it clear that my family has needs that I can’t fulfill while being a pastor. As my children have grown, I’ve seen areas in our family calling for attention, yet I’m unable to focus on those while serving in this role. The saddest emotion in life is regret, and I don’t want to look back in ten years and think, “If only I’d acted when the Lord told me to do something.” Because I’m resigning as Senior Pastor, my family and I will attend another church. Many men have tried remaining in the church they used to pastor, only to find that they hurt the church’s health. The congregation needs to move on from my leadership, and that’s hard to do if I’m still here. I also believe that I personally won’t be able to effectively accomplish my family goals if I remain at Cornerstone. This is undoubtedly the hardest part of this decision. I’ve served a third of my life with this church, and I love the people here deeply. Our last Sunday at Cornerstone will be August 9, 2009. Until that time, I’ll help the Leadership Team in whichever way they deem most appropriate to make this as smooth a transition as possible. Please pray for them, for my family and for the congregation. This will be a difficult time all around. I’m not sure exactly where the Lord is leading all of us, but I know that the only successful choice is to obey Him. Much love in Christ, Brian Volpone Senior Pastor Cornerstone Baptist Church
This will be a new chapter in our lives. I expect we will do some grieving, but ultimately I'm convinced that we're obeying the Lord. Again, thanks for your prayers for our family and for our church.
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