Hi friends. Below is an email that I sent out earlier today.
Dear friends,
Forgive the sharing of this information over email, but it's the best medium to get the word out right now.
As of September 10, 2008, I have officially stepped down from SPACE. I will continue to work for the next few weeks closing out 2008 and tying up any loose ends. Please know that this decision was not made lightly or impulsively. The reasoning behind it included a convergence of a few factors, including desiring a season of rest and the necessity for some personal ministry evaluation in light of a proposed change in Grace's missions vision. Both the Missions Task Force and the Director of Student Ministries have graciously understood and accepted this decision.
Each of you knows how much fun SPACE has personally been for me, how it's been a great medium for my personal vision and how I love each one of you. Your contributions and investments have been absolutely crucial to launching some beautiful students to engage the world in any culture and any locality. We've had so much fun together - and each of you has made an indelible mark on the world, our students and my family. For those of you that have served on a SPACE team or experience, know deeply that you have been an agent of change - in your communities, with your friends and in your church. Look closely and you will see that you have helped redefine what it means to be a Jesus follower - one that functions so others may live. You have helped transform others from merely attending to belonging, from consuming to creating, from observer to servant. I'm confident that your life will continue to be a testimony to many others - both here and to the nations.
Be confident, I'm still passionately convinced in the mission of Jesus, the biblical mandate of global missions, and the original vision of SPACE - engaging students for the realities of the world because of who Jesus is in their lives. Also know that I count your friendship very valuable - we are friends because our hearts have been set aflame together by the mission of Jesus.
Hope to see each of you soon.
Here are a few other things you need to know:
+ The Sheng's are far from done with living significant lives. You can be certain of that.
+ I have two things I'm participating in that I'm really looking forward to. Both of them have a high responsibility-involvement/investment-in-Tony-and-pure-fun ratio and they both will help with that "dream and evaluate" season we are intentionally putting ourselves in.
+ This blog stays. There is a ton of history here and even if it were just for me, I'm hooked.
