Newsletter, Feb. 11, 2014:

Your Ministerial Search Committee presents: 

 DEEP THOUGHTS

Q. Where were you on Sunday the ninth? Nobody was minding the MSC’s table, and we couldn’t find you.

A. We had to go to a different church … to hear the first of our three Pre-candidates preach!

Q. Did you like what you heard?

A. Quick answer: Yes. Longer answer: We’ll be thinking and talking about that, incessantly… for about the next two months!

Q. Were you hiding a minister in our church over the weekend?

A. We don’t want to be coy … Yes.

Q. Oh! Well … Did the minister like what s/he saw?

A. Yes!

Q. Somebody thinks they spotted some of you at dinner on Friday with somebody else. Could that have been …?

A. My sister-in-law.

Q. What kinds of questions did you ask the minister?

A. We asked how s/he goes about developing a sermon. How does the minister choose a topic? What sources does s/he favor? How would the minister blend challenges with comfort and compassion? How would s/he integrate music into the service?

Q. Oh. All easy questions … lob-tosses.

A. Yeah, right. We also asked the minister about mistakes s/he has made, and how s/he learned from them. And we asked nuts-and-bolts questions: How to lead people, facilitate growth, and manage a church.

Q. What kinds of questions did the minister ask about us?

A. The minister wanted to know how curious we are. Who belongs to this church? Why are we here? What are our traditions? How do they help us? Are we outward as well as inward? Do we understand that growth and civic outreach might bring change?

Q. Why can’t the congregation hear each minister preach?

A. A successful new ministry requires forbearance and solidarity. You have called us to undertake a painstaking review of credentials, style, and potential; to gather data and impressions; to argue well with each other; and to find the best fit. If we do our job well, we will earn both your trust and that of the ministers we are interviewing, whose own confidentiality and growth we also need to respect.

Q. So … do we simply defer to you?

A. No. All our discernment is based on the data, priorities, and feedback we’re getting from you. And in the end, the whole process returns to your hands. The one final Candidate spends ten days with you in late April. After that, only you, the congregation, can decide whether to hire this minister.

Q. And after that?

A. We’re hoping you decide well, because afterwards, we’ll be right there in the pews with you!