My wife and I were missionaries in Hungary for over 10 years, where we were doing church planting and humanitarian work with Calvary Chapel. In 2012, we moved from Eger, Hungary to Longmont, CO.
A friend recently asked me how I knew it was time to leave Hungary, and how God spoke to me and led me during that transition. I thought that a video blog would be the best forum for answering that question. Check out my response in this video.
If you have any questions about this topic, leave a comment below – and if you have any questions you’d like me to answer here on the blog, feel free to email me at nick [at] whitefieldschurch.com
Theology for the People 
i have never seen Indian Jones, so how can i know for certain if i am in the right place?
It’s IndianA Jones – like the state. Have you seen that one? Here’s a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFntFdEGgws
Also, I think checking your motives and asking God to lead you are important. You came to Colorado for the right reasons, in my opinion. I hope you will continue to see God’s will for your life and not just go with whatever feeling overwhelms you in the moment.
Well i have not seen that one either or if i did then i was not impressed, but that was a nice scene.
Maybe God uses my feelings to move me. i live in or on my feelings/ It is all i have.
I believe that our feelings and our minds are the main battlefield for spiritual warfare. Feelings are good things, but not to be trusted above sound wisdom.
But how does one know when something is sound wisdom? Perhaps my feelings are telling me sound wisdom and the people are telling me unsound wisdom.
I say:
1) Seek godly counsel (not just someone else who will tell you what you want to hear in a different voice, but people who are godly and who you know love you and want the best for you).
2) Soberly count the cost. Think through, rationally, all the benefits and consequences of your decision.
3) Check your motives. Make sure your heart is in a place of humble submission to God and you are driven by a desire to do what He wants with your life. Weigh your decision against scripture: does God’s Word speak to it directly? Maybe not – but if it does, then that is a major criteria.
Feelings can be influenced by any number of things, from what you eat to how much sleep you’ve gotten, to chemical imbalances. Decisions can not be based on just feelings alone.
Nick, thank you so much for your response to my question. James and I watched the video and it was confirming for us. To iamoceansroar: would u mind if I share something with you? I went to high school with Nick, and witnessed his conversion. I was raised as a Christian and when he got saved I thought that I had Christianity all figured out. I remember Nick was always straight forward with me, but at the time I just got angry. He wasn’t telling me what I wanted to hear. After he left for Hungary I followed my feelings or my heart as we call it. But Jeremiah says “the heart is deceitful and wicked above all things. Who can know it?” Jer.17:9. Needless to say he is right….I’ve experienced this first hand. It’s been almost fifteen years now since high school. Following my feelings had led me slowly but surely away from Christ. I had to learn that His Word needs to be the authority of my life, and I will never have anything all figured out. The more I know Christ the more I realize I don’t know. James says “be doers of the Word, not just hearers only deceiving yourselves.” Nick is someone who has been a doer of Gods Word since he got saved, and I’ve seen the fruit in his life. I asked him about Hungary knowing that he would give good counsel. And then it was so awesome to listen to it with my husband, and to have confirmation to some things, also some encouragement to seek God and place our lives completely in His hands. Yesterday we prayed together and asked God to close some doors that have recently been opened if it’s not His will. I would encourage you to take Nicks counsel to heart, and let Gods Word be the authority in your life…not your feelings.
Corrie, thanks for the comment. I have very few people in my life who have known me that long, so I appreciate your perspective!
I pray that God leads you guys. So cool to see your hearts for following Him! I’m sure He has great things in store for your family.
In 2012, I felt like I was at the end of my rope; my job was about to fire me because I couldn’t hit quota for sales, I was being kicked out of where I was living, and I felt like I couldn’t really amount to anything because I was a college dropout. My best friend, who was born and raised in Longmont, had been trying to get me to move out to Longmont for a few years. His dad paid for us to drive from Johnson City, TN and gave me a place to stay. I felt like this was the perfect thing to do because I could escape everything that was happening. The longer I was in Longmont, the more I loved it; but the longer I was there, the more I knew that is not where God wanted me to be (he might want me back there sometime in the future, only he knows). So I moved back to Johnson City, TN. Unfortunately I did not have a job to move back to, but I had a few leads. I had some money saved up to make the drive to TN and live for a bit. I started a new job shortly after moving back. I attended the church I did before I left and went with the church plant on the opposite side of the city. I am back to doing tech stuff and leading middle school boys’ community group. I love the church community I have and I love the people in our city that we go out to. I have since asked a man I look up to to be my mentor. He started a company called Orange Leaf Media. It isn’t very big, but it is pretty awesome. I am a cinematographer/editor/IT/whatever else he needs. I am currently only working on a job to job basis, but that will change. We make awesome wedding videos, videos for businesses, non for profits/churches, and music videos. Our vision is to make movies. Christian movies. But not the kind that is popular in the Christian circles. We want to make movies that people who aren’t Christian want to see and will like, but still have the easy connections to the Gospel. I’m still not doing the best financially and I am back to selling stuff, but I am also doing what I love with my church family, people in our city, and Orange Leaf Media. I feel I am personally growing closer to God and am given more opportunities to glorify God and spill out some of his abundant love and grace.
We miss you here in Longmont, Chris, but I’m glad you’re where God wants you to be. Some people let the fear of ‘making the wrong move’ or going to the wrong place cripple them and hinder them from doing anything. Your story is a good example of how if you go somewhere, God will use you there, and then he can still make it clear to you that he wants you somewhere else, and he’ll use you during that season, wherever you are, if you’re humbly submitted to Him.
Nick, great to hear that, glad someone asked you about leaving. Very good explanation, funny how the entire exit and re-entry thing works differently for everyone. But one thing for sure, God gives confirmation if you are willing to listen, just like you guys did.
Great to hear from you Mike! I recently heard an explanation about the link between mission and joy – that mission is a requirement for joy. I have observed that those who come off the mission field to step directly into another “mission” find the transition easier than those who don’t have a specific mission.
How has it been for you guys?
Wow, I hadn’t heard that before. Yes I can directly relate to that and I have noticed that people that returned from the mission field back into full-time ministry seem to have the easiest time.
That is what I wanted very badly, to come back to the US and do some kind of full-time ministry. I didn’t realize how much I expected God would provide that. But it didn’t happen, well, except that I did get an offer after we were back. After much prayer and talking it over with Lori I turned it down because it was so far away from our family. Missing our family so much was one of the many driving forces that brought us back off the mission field. So I turned that offer down thinking God would provide some other option.
Re-entry can be a very difficult process. Really enjoyed Neal Pirolo’s book. That helped a lot.
Sorry to hear that’s been a struggle for you. I know for sure that having a concrete mission and then transitioning to not having a concrete mission very much affects a person’s sense of identity. That’s not totally a bad thing; it forces you to reevaluate your identity in Christ, which is a good thing to do, but the process and transition can be quite difficult.