Today is the big day: my first day at my new job. Lord willing, by the end of the day, I’ll have a fancy name badge and everything. I’ve spent the last week and a half getting settled into our new town and apartment, doing paperwork, and trying to do everything I could to be ready to start work today.
Now “today” is here, and my head is spinning. Here’s a look at what’s going through my mind right now as I take this next step:
It’s my first “first day” in nine years. I haven’t had a “first day of work” since 2007, when I started at Compassion Canada. It’s strange to think about, really. This is the first time my kids have ever seen me go to a new job. They’ve assured me I’m going to do a good job, which is encouraging.
I’m more nervous than I thought I’d be. I’ve been dealing with a bit of an imposter complex lately. By “a bit,” I mean a huge one. By “lately,” I mean pretty much from the moment I learned we were making this move. I’m working with some incredibly sharp and capable people, and I keep thinking, “But I’m just a dude from Canada.”
It’s dumb, I know. But the good news is I’m an imposter just like the rest of us.
I’m looking forward to working with fantastic people. At the same time, I’m also super-pumped to work with these same incredibly talented people. I want to do a great job promoting The Gospel Project, and I’m looking forward to learning from my colleagues, while cooking up some cool content and ideas.
My morning commute is going to be fun (seriously!). At my last job, I had a roughly 3.5 minute drive to the office. It was wonderfully convenient, but not terribly helpful for listening to anything. I could maybe finish a (half of a) question on The Five Leadership Questions podcast, or listen to a song or something like that. Now, I’m looking at something like 35 minutes each way. So, since I’ll have some more time on my hands, I’ve got a new Audible subscription to make it go faster. What am I listening to first? As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes with Joe Layden, as read by most of the surviving cast members of the film. After that? G.K. Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday.
I’m actually part of The Gospel Project team! I can’t stress how huge this is to me. From the first time I was introduced to it back in 2012, to my last time teaching TGP in our kids ministry at our church in London, I’ve been impressed with its focus on exalting Jesus through all of Scripture. I love seeing when people “get” this. I love seeing people grow in their worship of Jesus as they see how God had worked through all of human history to redeem people from every tribe, tongue and nation. To grow as disciples and carry the good news of Jesus forward. I want to see more of that. And I am grateful I have the opportunity to play a small role in it happening as the church carries out her mission to make disciples.
Photo credit: Drpoulette via Visual hunt / CC BY-NC-SA
