Case Studies
TOUGH TRANSITIONS: FACING JOB CHANGES IN AND TO THE SECULAR WORKPLACE
by Neal Kunde
Dan May was a pastor of a small missionary church in Idaho when he felt God leading him into something else. Feeling he needed more education, he worked as an accountant in Minneapolis/St. Paul while attending night classes. After landing a job as an accountant with North Central Airlines, he was promoted to treasurer, vice president of finance, and chief financial officer. He eventually became the company’s president at about the time the company’s name was changed to Republic Airlines. When Republic was sold to Northwest Airlines in the 1980s, he retired as its chairman of the board. That’s a lot of transitions...
Métier: You’ve seen a lot of changes in your career. Tell us a little about the first one, where you left the pastorate to enter the world of finance and business.
DM: The Lord was really blessing my ministry in Idaho. But after five years, I felt God’s call to move on. When I started working as an accountant, I struggled a bit with that choice. I had never heard of God calling people into that. And most people felt I should go back into full-time Christian work. You usually hear of people going in that direction. So it took some time for me to feel affirmed in my new role. Unfortunately, that affirmation didn’t come from people, as much as it came from seeing that I did well in the job and felt comfortable doing it.
Métier: Have you tried to figure out why God led you first into ministry as a pastor and then into a ministry as an accountant?
DM: I’m convinced that God had a reason for starting me in church ministry. He prepared me to do a better job in the business world by strengthening my people and relationship-building skills. My speaking ability was cultivated and I was better able to communicate my faith, learning how to do that in a non-threatening environment.
The route I took was probably not the route you would normally expect the president of a major airline to take to get that position. But God knows what kind of preparation we need to be the person he wants us to be. And he often has a unique way of preparing us for what lies ahead. I don’t think he puts us in situations we’re not prepared for. If you’re really being led into—a certain area, you’ll likely find that the things you’ve been doing were the training for what lies ahead.
Métier: What do you tell young people about God’s leading through transitions, even transitions from college to the work world?
DM: I work with Scott Young of InterVarsity’s Marketplace Ministries in the San Diego area and at various seminars.[Editors note: since this interview, Dan has also participated as a panelist at InterVarsity’s MBA conferences.] Many students, especially new Christians, are wondering if they should continue with their careers or go to Bible school. Obviously, knowing how God prepared me for a major shift in my career, I would never discourage anyone from following up a college career with Bible school. Often, we just don’t know if God is calling us into that kind of work or just preparing us for something else.
Métier: So we shouldn’t get too uptight about transitions?
DM: Regardless of the contrasts between different kinds of work, some things don’t change. People skills can be used in all different jobs. In most cases, you’re expected to work with integrity, to work hard and to try to do the job well. This reinforces the idea that jobs we leave behind prepare us for jobs we’ll take on in the future. And that’s true in many smaller transitions in business. An accountant might end up in marketing, or and ad sales rep could work in operations. In our company, school teachers came in and did a great job.
In the end, you carry the gifts God has given you and the skills you’ve learned with you through transitions. And the Lord says he will direct our paths. Often, that’s one step at a time. We simply need to exercise faith in stepping out, and some patience. God doesn’t expect us to break down doors. He’ll open them.
In The Lions Den, Marketplace Métier, Winter 1993-94, page 5
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