After ten years of editing LEADERSHIP journal and CHRISTIANITY TODAY magazine, I have decided to change jobs. If I had realized that my resignation would bring so many nice comments about what a great guy I was, how effective my outstanding journalism was, and how much my sterling personality would be missed, I would have left years ago.

Fortunately, those comments have been balanced by others that have kept my feet on the ground:

One person said, "I thought you'd never leave." (I couldn't quite make out the emphasis.)

Another said, with an enigmatic smile, "We can't quite believe you're leaving."

A third simply said: "You have been here for a long time."

Others have been a bit more bald. For years I have encouraged candor from my colleagues, and I interpret the following as proof that my lessons have been learned:

"Am I going to get what you promised me last year?"

"When football coaches retire, the whole staff goes, too. Does this mean I need to look for another job?"

Far and away, however, ...