Losing a Job, Losing a Community

This past Tuesday, Faithlife Corporation—the makers of Logos Bible Software, the publishers of Lexham Press, and my former employer—laid off about 60 employees, myself included.

I’m still trying to process it all. There was no warning. One day everything is fine. The next day I’m out of a job, with a pregnant wife, a mortgage to pay, and no savings to help us out. Don’t get me wrong—God has always provided for us, and I know he will continue to provide for us now, but it’s still weighing on me.

And it’s not just the money. I loved my job. I mean I really truly loved what I did. I loved the mission and purpose of Faithlife, I loved the direction we were heading, I loved the books we were publishing, and I loved the role I got to play in it all. I believed in their vision, and I was thrilled to be a part of it.

I was the Marketing Editor for Lexham Press. That meant I contributed to the Lexham blog and the emails we sent out, but it also meant that I got to do really cool things like helping select book titles and writing the copy that appears on the back of our books. If you look through our recent catalog, I came up with about a fifth of those titles, and I either wrote or edited the majority of the copy.

I got paid to read and write about Christian books. What could have been better?

Then there were the extra perks. Faithlife is well known for things like free espresso, unlimited vacation, and amazing employee parties. And the big one for me was employee pricing on Logos resources and base packages. You better believe I stocked up during my time there. Now I wish I’d gotten more while I had the chance.

But more than anything is the feeling of losing a community. Faithlife employees are awesome. They’re always available to help one another out. They have frequent game nights and get togethers. They even have their own internal version of Craigslist for selling and trading with each other—a huge resource that I frequently benefitted from.

And now it’s all gone in the blink of an eye. The community I called my own won’t have me any more. The company for whom I moved my family across the country and for whom I spent over two years working is now done with me.

I’m not blaming Faithlife or its management. They did what they felt they had to do to keep the company afloat. I understand that. And I’m not mad at them. I’d come back in a heartbeat if they’d take me. But it still hurts to suddenly be on the outside through no fault of my own. I’m just disappointed.

Why am I sharing all this? I guess because blogging is cathartic. Sharing my thoughts helps me process them.

To all my friends who remain at Faithlife, I wish you the best. It was an honor working with you, and I’m sorry I’ll no longer have the privilege.

To all my friends who are in the same boat as me, I’m so sorry. I know what you’re going through. We will get through this. God will provide.

And to anyone reading this who may be looking for a writer/editor/marketer/social media guy, I’m available. I’d love to chat with you!

Update: I have a job!