Same Title. Different Role.

A priest once said to me, 'Nobody told me running a parish would feel like running a small business.' I had a feeling I knew what they meant.

The title hadn't changed. They were still a priest. But alongside preaching, worship and pastoral care came newer things like budgets, buildings, governance, staff management, community relationships, volunteers, fundraising and a hundred competing expectations.

Nothing had changed. Yet everything had changed.

The challenge wasn't simply about learning new skills: important though those are, they can be acquired. The deeper challenge was learning how to inhabit priestly vocation whilst leading a complex organisation.

I'm sure this is just as true for other roles as well. The title stays the same but the reality on the ground changes.

And somewhere in that space lies the work of learning how to navigate the gap between vocation and reality.

Not abandoning one for the other.

Not pretending the gap doesn't exist.

But finding a way to inhabit both faithfully.