I was born and raised in Montana. After eighteen years in Big Sky Country, college took me to Portland, Oregon and then to Southern California. My first job out of college was in the San Francisco Bay Area, about five hours north of where I finished my college education. When I arrived, I joined a group of college friends in a small, three-bedroom apartment. Two years later, now married, I moved into a two-bedroom condo with my new wife. Another two years later, my wife and I were on our way to Louisville, Kentucky, so that I could attend seminary. Our first home in Kentucky was a thousand-square-foot apartment.
About midway through seminary, we moved across town into a slightly larger home because the Lord added a baby boy to our family, my window cleaning business was growing, and we needed a little more room. After seminary, we moved back to the Bay Area (now with two boys in tow) because I had recently accepted a job at a church on the Peninsula. After living with my wife’s parents for four months, we found a home in south San Jose. That was ten years ago. About three years ago, we were able to move a little more north and into a home closer to our church.
Since high school graduation, I’ve lived in eight different locations in three different states. For some, that may seem extraordinary; for others, these numbers are not remarkable. I once met a couple who had moved ten times in five years. I know of another couple who has changed homes every two years for the last three decades. I’ve known others who have lived in multiple states and even different countries over the last twenty years. Some people may live in different houses over their lifetime but never leave their hometown. Others may live in ten different states before they reach their fifties.
As a pastor, I am regularly confronted with the question of “moving.” Our church is located in an area that is fairly transient, and it is not uncommon for people to move to the Bay Area for work and then leave after two to three years. Cost-of-living, housing prices, location of extended family, and political preferences are often the primary reasons for their departure. Recently, California has seen a net loss in overall population due to these and other factors.
Regardless of the relative transience of your church’s membership, the question of moving is always a relevant one. Hopping from one end of the city to another may not be as monumental as moving to another state, but both are significant and require wisdom. In this article, I want to consider how Scripture offers us a Penske truck full of divine insight that God intends for us to apply when thinking about moving.
“Moving” in the Bible
Scripture, strictly speaking, doesn’t give us any direct commands about where to live or when to move our home from one place to another. God told Abraham to leave his homeland and roam the Middle East en route to the land of promise (Gen 12:1). This instruction, however, was given specifically to Abraham, not to God’s people as a whole. Early in his kingship, David was forced to move from place to place due to Saul’s murderous pursuits. After his kingship was established, David remained in Jerusalem until he was forced out again by his rebellious son, only to then return and live in Jerusalem until he died. Job lived in the land of Uz, and there is no indication in the text that he didn’t live out the rest of his days in Uz after the Lord restored him.
Coming to the New Testament we learn that Jesus stayed in his hometown of Nazareth for thirty years until he began his ministry. Once Jesus started his ministry, he would travel from town to town all throughout Israel, preaching, teaching, healing, and training his disciples. We know he made a home in Capernaum (Matt 4:13), but we also know that there were times when he didn’t have a predictable housing situation (Matt 8:20).
The apostle Paul was born and raised in Tarsus, but after his conversion, he took the gospel from region to region throughout the Roman Empire, living in different cities as he planted churches and trained leaders. Two of Paul’s co-workers, Aquila and his wife Pricilla, were forced out of their home in Rome due to Claudius’s order to remove all Jews from that city in AD 52-53, though it appears that they were able to move back to Rome by AD 56 (see Rom 16:3). They eventually ended up in Ephesus by AD 64-66 (see 2 Tim 4:19). Timothy traveled throughout the Roman Empire with Paul, but eventually ended up in Ephesus as a pastor. Other than the fact that he was arrested at some point (Heb 13:23), we simply don’t know how long Timothy remained in Ephesus or if he moved at all.
The point of this brief survey is to underscore that God’s people have lived through a variety of circumstances. Some were told to leave their homeland and lead a nomadic life (Abraham). Others were stationed in Jerusalem for its protection and leadership (David, Solomon), while others seemed to live out their days in one location (Job). Still others, particularly Jesus and the apostle Paul, due to ministry priorities, did not remain in any one geographical location for very long.
A Theology of Moving
Nevertheless, Scripture does provide us with ample principles upon which to develop a robust theology of moving. We will see that even the New Testament examples supply us with some important insights into how a Christian should think about moving from one location to another.
Reflection #1: Consider Your Motives
Out of life’s many decisions, moving is among the most significant. Uprooting from one’s neighborhood, state, and church to replant oneself or one’s family in another neighborhood, state, and church entails several major changes and challenges. As I’ve already noted, Scripture doesn’t provide any direct instructions about the specifics of when and where we should move. But, like any decision that doesn’t find explicit instruction in Scripture, the first concern should be our heart’s motivation. We must ask ourselves, “Why do I want to move?”
There are plenty of legitimate reasons why one may want or even need to move: you recently accepted a new job, you need to care for ailing parents, you are helping with a church plant, and so on. But there are plenty of illegitimate motives for moving. Moving to escape difficult circumstances is usually not a good idea, for our troubles always follow us. While this isn’t an absolute rule—Jesus, for example, instructed his disciples to flee from one town to the next when persecution arose (Matt 10:23)—we must remember that we will experience difficulties wherever we go because we live in a fallen, cursed world. Attempting to find a place in this life where our circumstances are perpetually blessed is a foolish venture, for such a place only exists on the new earth (see Rev 21:1-5).
Even moving for a new job may be born from a lack of contentment. But if you are moving because you lack contentment, a new job and new location are unlikely to satisfy you. Why? If you are not satisfied with Christ, you will find the same lack of fulfillment and restlessness in your new location. You can change your job and change where you live, but you can’t escape your heart. Your discontentment will follow you wherever you go.
Reflection #2: Pursue Contentment
It is vital, therefore, before considering a move to a different city, state, or church, to make sure that you are actively pursuing contentment in Christ (Phil 4:11; 1 Tim 6:8; Heb 13:5), for only a content heart will have the capacity to make a wise, sober-minded decision about such a significant event like moving, especially if that move takes you from your church (more on that below).
We must be aware of how a lack of contentment often grows from an inordinate focus on ourselves. In his commentary on Ecclesiastes, Charles Bridges (1794-1869) makes this connection between selfishness and the love of novelty.
The love of change is a dominant principle of selfishness—insensible to our present blessings, and craving for some imaginary good. “The man is rarely found, who is not more taken up with the prospect of future hopes, than with the enjoyment of his present possessions.”
Bridges notes that a longing for change is a sure sign that we are thinking primarily of ourselves. This is a devastating but important word for Christians. If Bridges is right, it means that people—including Christians—who are consumed with thoughts of moving from one location to another are likely operating from self-centered principles, not godly ones. He also observes how rare it is for one to be presently satisfied with their lot in life: most people dream of some future “imaginary good” they have concocted in their minds with the hope that they can someday acquire it. What they crave, however, is not real and will never deliver the satisfaction they believe it can. While contentment should be the norm for Christians, it is rather rare (which is why Jeremiah Burroughs [1600-1646] titled his book The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment).
Unlike the longing for novelty, contentment is Christ-centered and others-oriented. First, our contentment shows that we are satisfied with the never-changing goodness of Jesus Christ (Heb 13:8). This heart-attitude displays to others how good our shepherd really is as we walk happily in all that he has provided for us (Ps 23). Second, our contentment demonstrates that we are satisfied with the people our Lord has providentially placed in our lives. When we are not consumed with looking elsewhere, we can focus on blessing and serving the people right in front of us. But when we are bent on finding happiness elsewhere, we will most likely neglect the people and responsibilities God has entrusted to us (see Prov 17:24).
Have you ever been to a Christian conference where you knew popular evangelicals would be either in attendance or teaching at the event? At least once during the conference, you will probably find yourself in a conversation with someone who never looks you in the eye or engages with you in any depth because they are constantly looking past you to find someone else—someone more important, more interesting, or more likely to serve their career interests. I’ve been on the receiving side of such “conversational discontentment,” and it is always discouraging and a bit humiliating. To my shame, I have also been guilty of looking past people to find someone else to talk to.
Before a Christian moves, therefore, it is vital that they make sure they are pursuing contentment in Christ before they make such a significant life-changing decision (Phil 4:13).
Just like this experience at Christian conferences, discontentment in our lives is often the fruit of selfishness and keeps us from truly serving those whom the Lord has placed in our path. This mindset keeps us from realizing how good we have it in our current situation and how much the Lord has given to us. Discontentment, then, is not a state of mind from which we should be making serious life decisions. Yet, it is precisely a lack of contentment that serves as the primary factor for many Christians’ choices to move from church to church, state to state, and job to job. Before a Christian moves, therefore, it is vital that they make sure they are pursuing contentment in Christ before they make such a significant life-changing decision (Phil 4:13).
Reflection #3: Consider Your Church
Sadly, when Christians consider the prospect of moving, it is not often that they first consider their local church. In my experience, the primary considerations are usually proximity to extended family, work opportunities, or disagreement with state and local politics. By the time I am able to talk to someone about their decision to move, much of their mind has already been made, and yet very little, if any, weight has been given to questions like, How will my move affect my local church? How will this change affect my brothers and sisters in Christ? Can I leave my current ministry? What holes will remain after I’m gone? Am I thinking about the people of my church or mainly about myself (Phil 2:3-4)? Overall, am I giving biblical priority to my local church when considering this move (Heb 3:12-15; 10:24-25)?
I’m not suggesting that a person never leave their current local church. As I’ve already noted above, there are legitimate reasons why a person may move to a different church, city, or state. But what I am saying is that because Scripture places a high priority on the local church, it should be our first consideration—not our last—when thinking about a move.
Reflection #4: Beware of Nostalgia
You know that feeling you get when you pull out a few pictures from high school or your old baseball glove from junior high? Or that sensation you experience when you bite into a burger from a restaurant you haven’t visited since college? What about when you hear a favorite song from ten years ago? At times, the feeling can be so strong it’s like we’ve been transported into the past for a few brief moments. This is nostalgia: fond, powerful memories of the past.
Nostalgia isn’t bad in and of itself. But it is an unstable foundation upon which to build your decision-making process. Sometimes, people may desire to move in order to return to a setting in which they had many enjoyable experiences. A recent college graduate may want to move back to the town his school was located in. A wife may want to move back to the city where she grew up. A husband may want to return to the place where he was first employed because the memories of those days were so wonderful.
The problem with each of these scenarios is not that a person has had enjoyable past experiences. These pleasant experiences are gifts from God that we can thank him for whenever they are brought to our remembrance. Rather, the problem with each of the above scenarios is that each person is making decisions based on those experiences. This practice is patently unwise for two reasons.
First, the events from which we derive these pleasurable memories can never be replicated. It is foolish to allow nostalgia to play into our decisions about moving because we will be chasing something that doesn’t actually exist. Also, our good memories often outshine our bad memories, so we tend to over-romanticize our experiences in a particular place and time. Solomon reminds us that this posture is not rooted in wisdom: “Say not, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For it is not from wisdom that you ask this” (Eccl 7:10). If you move locations because of nostalgia, you will surely be disappointed, for you are chasing the wind.
The second problem with making decisions based on nostalgia is that it is mainly selfish. A person may move locations because they want to care for aging parents or an ill sibling or to help start a new church or ministry. In each of these cases, the decision to move is based on considering others. Making a move based on nostalgia is allowing our desire for pleasure—the hope to recapture the pleasant experiences of the past—to dominate our decision-making process. But Scripture tells us to “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Phil 2:3). It also warns us not to be lovers of pleasure (2 Tim 3:4). Instead of allowing our pleasant memories to dictate our decisions, we should first think of how our move will affect other people. Are we moving to please ourselves, or are we moving to please Christ and others (see also Rom 15:2-3)?
Conclusion
For the Christian, moving should be a big deal. You are making a deliberate choice to leave your local church, your ministry, and your brothers and sisters in Christ. You are removing yourself from a community where God has placed you for the good of your neighbors. You are leaving a job where your boss and fellow employees depended on you. As I’ve already said, there are good reasons why a person may move. But we must be careful that we are not changing locations flippantly or out of mere discontent. We must also think about the interests of others and not just our own interests when considering a potential change in location. I’m afraid that many Christians only factor their own desires into the decision-making process when they think about moving. But this is not the way of Christ. The Lord would have us make his glory and the benefit of his saints the primary factors in our decisions to move from place to place. May it be so among Christ’s people.
