Read this blog post on [chrislema.com](=)â â Life is a Series of Choices The last job I had before graduating from college was at the fourth largest [YMCA](=) in the country. After I graduated, I went to work full time at [Lawrence Berkeley Lab](), a government-funded research lab. Itâs where I started working on web technologies in 1994. Not even a year into my time there, one of the other local YMCAs invited me to consider a leadership role. I was tempted. But I thought I could always circle back and do social good stuff if this internet thing didnât work out. Startups Are All Very Similar A little more than a decade later, after starting five tech startups, I was at another crossroads. While Iâd been working on those tech start-ups, Iâd been helping five church plants get started. The work was remarkably similar when it came to leadership development and risk-mitigation (but the tech work always paid more). Should I continue to focus on tech or shift my focus to ministry? Using WordPress Everywhere If youâve spent any time on this blog, you know I discovered WordPress at about that time and leaned further into technology and product leadership. But it didnât stop me from helping a ministry team create [a mobile app](=) (leveraging WordPress) for churches â more than ten years ago. And that would open the door for me helping other [churches]( and [ministries]() leverage WordPress over the last decade. The team behind Carey Nieuwhof's Site When I first started speaking on stages at WordCamps, folks would remark that it reminded them of church preaching. That didnât shock me because by that time Iâd already spent years writing sermons (long before I started writing blog posts). Two Feet in Two Worlds In other words, Iâve kept my feet planted in two worlds â world that have stayed, for better or worse, pretty far apart. I joke with my ministry friends that most of the software written for the Protestant church (I donât know enough about Catholic church software to comment) requires a lot of faith. They donât like that joke. A little over a year ago I was introduced to some folks in the faith tech space by [that founder]() who I helped more than a decade ago. Iâve gotten to know them and what theyâre up to. Itâs been interesting. And theyâre a bunch of wickedly smart folks. But it was more of the same â something I was aware of, but not the main part of my day. My day job was with [Liquid Web](), [Nexcess]( and recently, [LearnDash](). It never crossed my mind to leave Liquid Web. The leadership team is rock solid. Many of the folks I work with on a daily basis â inside Liquid Web and inside LearnDash â are some of the sharpest folks Iâve ever had the privilege to work with. Over the last five and a half years Iâve had many different leadership roles and opportunities to create new products and features, find and buy companies, and do things Iâd always hoped for. Some of the Stellar Folks from StellarWP
Impact & Influence If there was one frustration in the back of my mind, the entire time Iâve worked at Liquid Web, itâs been that not enough people have known or discovered all the things weâve created. Those of you that know me know that Iâm not playing âto win,â but rather to have impact and influence. I want lots of winners. I never minded when competitors did something awesome. It meant the entire WordPress community would benefit. And trust me, that little frustration wasnât ever big enough to even suggest that I think about moving on. Nope, that would come from a different place completely. A Random Invitation A year ago, I helped an [investment firm](=) do an evaluation of a [CMS company]() outside of the WordPress space. It was a few weekends of work and truly enjoyable to do an assessment of the space. It resulted in [a large investment](=) and my report made its way to the company itself. A few weeks ago, their CEO approached me with a serious offer on their leadership team. I talked with him and their team, and it sounded interesting. Seriously. But I had to answer one main question â when it came to my day job, was I ready to step outside of the WordPress world again. Until 2014 my day jobs had all been outside of the WordPress ecosystem. Was I ready to do that again? Wander Homes are Awesome I should mention that I was pondering this question while co-working with a few close friends in a [Wander]() home in Oregon. The Bandon Dunes Wander Home Let me tell you right now, if you want to consider career changes, nothing is better than doing it on the Oregon coast in a Wander home! We spent several evenings talking about me and a day job that wasnât focused on WordPress. Jennifer Bourn, Shawn Hesketh & I in Oregon And thatâs when my buddy [Shawn](=) asked me the new question. It wasnât â âare you ready to go back to having a non-WordPress day job?â but instead, âIs this the only and right non-WordPress day job to consider?â An Offer I Couldn't Refuse The next weekend was a blur as I sent an email to my friends in the faith tech company, wondering out loud if this was an opportunity to consider, emergency board meetings, and a written offer that was too good to ignore. The Cherith Team (cherith.io) I had to write to the other founder and let him know I was taking my hat out of the ring for that opportunity. And then let our Liquid Web leaders know I would be moving on. Sometimes youâre leaving somewhere. Other times youâre going somewhere. Itâs nuanced but so true. I wasn't really walking away from something as much as I was walking towards something new. Changing Focus After more than twenty-five years of having a tech day job, and a ministry-orientation in the evenings and weekends, Iâm shifting to a role where I bring both together in a daily way. Iâll be leading teams to build mobile and SaaS apps for ministry in the US, missionary care globally, and tackling some other interesting challenges in countries I canât write about. Mostly Iâm excited about bringing everything I've spent the last twenty years learning (my product development and product marketing frameworks) to the faith tech space and the teams Iâll be leading. No-Code is the Future This blog will continue, because itâs not like I wonât be doing things with WordPress, WooCommerce or LearnDash ever again. Those are still some of my favorite tools to make things happen. I believe the No-Code movement is the future, and I believe WordPress is one of the players in it. My [CaboPress](=) conference will continue â and you [can apply right now](. Keep Watching Iâll still recommend that you check out some of what [Nexcess](=) is doing with WooCommerce â the work weâve done with [Zeek]() and [XWP]( is awesome and not enough people know whatâs available. The LearnDash roadmap is awesome and youâll be delighted by whatâs coming next. Iâve spent the last six months talking about it with [Jack](), and trust me when I tell you that youâve never seen this much stuff packed into the near future. Every Employee Has a Last Day My buddy [Jason]( told me once, âevery employee has a last day.â It was his way of making sure people in his startup knew that no one would be there forever. I'll be stepping away from Liquid Web in early May. It's been an incredible five and a half years. It will be my last day as an employee but not as a fan. I also just read two posts by other folks making job changes â one by [Jonathan](=) and the other by [Remkus](. One of the things I liked in Jonathan's post was the Automattic Creed. I especially like the first half (emphasis my own). I will never stop learning. I wonât just work on things that are assigned to me. I know thereâs no such thing as a status quo. I will build our business sustainably through passionate and loyal customers. I will never pass up an opportunity to help out a colleague, and Iâll remember the days before I knew everything. I am more motivated by impact than money⦠The first part of the [Automattic Creed]() Making changes like this, for me, are motivated by a desire to keep learning, keep growing, and to have a greater impact and influence. I am so excited by this opportunity. But just so you know, you can't really get rid of me â as I'll be speaking at [CEX](=), [WordSesh](, [R3 Retreat](=), [CaboPress](=) and more. The post [Changing Things Up]() appeared first on [Chris Lema](. â Thanks for reading! If you loved it, tell your friends to subscribe. If you didnât enjoy the email you can [unsubscribe here](. To change your email or preferences [manage your profile](. 6611 Lussier Drive, Sugar Land, TX 77479 â[Affiliate Disclosure](â [Built with ConvertKit]()