... well, time for a little update on my world. I've been hanging out at/with Saanichton Bible Fellowship ( aka SBF ) for 3 weeks now ... and I am enjoying it. The people, the potential, the perseverance, the peninsula ... all conspire, in a good kind of way, to make this 'gig' a unique challenge and worthwhile investment of time and energy and ???As could be expected, I am valiantly turning my workspace/office into something akin to Al Gore's creative cubicle ... sans large flat screen monitors, but close enough! Easels, whiteboards, flipcharts, piling system. You name it? Al and I have got it.
While I doubt I'd ever want to, or enjoy speaking on a weekly basis, once in a while is okay, and I enjoyed myself yesterday, following up an elder ( Sept 7 on Titus ch 1 ), and Dennis, the other interim pastor ( Sept 14 on Titus ch 2 ) with Titus chapter 3. The prep consumes too much for it to be a weekly thing for me ... time, energy, focus and the discipline of drilling down to a handful of key points and take home lessons for the people. My brain just works the other way ... up and out to macro ... makes preparing for 30 minutes of speaking/teaching/sharing really hard. Not the talking time, the goal being to have people go home with something of value, not just generalities and ideas, or worse, opinion. Anyhow, it seemed to work yesterday ...
On October 3-4 the search committee and elders team will be pre-interviewing 3 pastoral candidates. I've gone through their resumes and application packages pretty carefully, and today will be listening to a couple of sermons from each guy. Quite an interesting process. The short listing process has, I think, brought them to covering the 3-4 essentials that the leadership is looking for in a co-elder/pastor-teacher/partner in ministry. The next stage will be looking for fit, alignment, click and ... well, whatever else it is that needs to be there for the above to happen around here. SBF is ready for a permanent pastor now, and it may well be one of these three. Or not. Anyhow ... having covered the essential bases, all 3 are different, a span of more than a decade in age, a range of backgrounds, a variety of life experience(s), and a diversity in 'status" ... empty nester, kids at home, no kids. I'll be quite fascinated to see the co-chairs of the "SC" navigate and facilitate this 'winnowing' and discernment process. Of course, the references are glowing, but with one guy I know two of his references, and well, yah ... I wouldn't mind having them say those kind of things about me! Point made ... this process is loaded ... first impressions, personalities, styles ( of leadership or non-leadership ), security, self-esteem, etc.
Weird, but good. Necessary, but odd. Hopeful, but scary.
dlc
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3 comments:
How wide a field has SBF had to look? Are the candidates Islanders? Canadians? Us? Where do new Pastors come from these days?
"Weird, but good. Necessary, but odd. Hopeful, but scary."
That about sums it up Don. I find it interesting are still listening to sermons as an indicator, and I suspect alot still put it at the top of what they are looking for. Your post did bring up a memory from about 12 years ago when I chaired a SC. We had one fellow we interviewed that actually turned the tables on us, where he actually interviewed the SC, and then randomly interviewed random members of the community. Didn't tell them he was a prospect for leader, just told them he was thinking of joining the community, which led into further conversation.
I thought it sort of cool, usually it's the buyer ( the church ) does all the talking.
Anyways, I still think when were looking for Pastors we still operate of the old paradigm.
... yes Ron, the sermon is important, but I am sensing they've done a good piece of work winnowing down things to a real potential fit, and the sermon stage is a piece of the puzzle.
... feels odd to me ( personally ) as I was the last outside hire @ LPC ... now they are looking beyond the walls, but 2002-2008 was internal, all relationship, trust-based, interns being identified, developed and in 2 cases, brought on staff. very cool, and rewarding. it has been a while since I was part of a "search" ... maybe that is what I am feeling? we will see ...
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