As I stood on the peak of Observation Hill, I caught my breath and shuddered at the steep drop. A friend had said, "Once you can see for 80 miles in every direction, you're never quite the same." Now seeing Mount Aurora, Mount Discovery, the Royal Society Range, the Olympus Range, and the Ross Sea together for the first time, I understood what he meant.

I took dozens of pictures trying to capture this expanse: Antarctica! After a while I turned and refocused my eyes on the towering wooden cross next to me on that summit, taking pictures of it too. Struggling to climb back down, I prayed that somehow during my time on "The Ice" I would see my calling as a pastor with fresh eyes.

My mission field for two months in 2011 was McMurdo Station in Antarctica, a world away from my pastorate at Goodwill Church in Montgomery, New York. My journey was, in part, an attempt to deal with the pain of being a broken pastor.

A Church's Crash

In 2005, Goodwill Church ...