Stories of what now, and what’s next.
There is Life After Ministry.
Jason VanDevere once thought returning to his family’s car business would mean he’d failed. When we sat down together, he was planning to go back.
Years earlier, he’d left a path toward becoming a fourth-generation car dealer to create the Goal Crazy planner. Building a business brought opportunities, but leaving also exposed how much of his identity was attached to his work.
We talk about his daily practice of dreaming, what he learned from interviewing business owners, and the disappointment of reaching goals that didn’t make him as happy as he’d expected.
Jason isn’t a pastor, and his experience isn’t a prescription for every ministry transition. His story gives us a useful way to consider what might come next, including how our desires change as we pay more attention to God and the people closest to us.
Key Takeaways
Give ourselves room to consider possibilities before turning an idea into a commitment.
Explore unfamiliar work by speaking with people who already do it.
Expect a change in role to raise questions about identity as well as employment.
Examine what we hope an achievement will provide and how the pursuit affects our families.
Bring our plans into prayer and leave room to reconsider them as we learn.
Chapter Markers
00:00 – Dreaming about what comes next
03:33 – Leaving the family business to build a planner
11:12 – Identity, dreams, and practical next steps
18:55 – Why Jason was planning to return
26:00 – When dreaming becomes more like prayer
Resources
Find Jason’s Goal Crazy planners, Dream Driven book, and related resources at goalcrazy.com.
Listen to this episode here.
