My wife, Emily, periodically recalls the story of our first Member's Meeting at Canby Christian Church. She remembers it so well because Pastor Aaron made her cry during it. It was the second time he had made her cry in the short time we had known him. The first was during one of my interviews before coming on staff at the church, when Aaron asked her, "How are you feeling?" That was all it took.

We were coming off of years and of stress-filled ministries where I either didn't have the skills required for the position, or I was simply underappreciated for what I was contributing—and sometimes both. She had seen me several times seriously question whether I should be doing ministry at all. I don't think I fully understood how difficult it was for her to see me like that….