When bad references happen to good Pastors

My reference meant well. Of that I am sure. I received a wonderful, helpful reference from this person under the "old" Profile system. But this reference was bad. Like, "Nobody will ever hire you after reading this reference" bad. So I deleted it. It didn't have to be this way. I probably could have prevented this person from providing me with a reference I could not use, had I prepared them for their participation in the Profile process.

Here is why I think it happened, and, more importantly, how other Pastors can learn from my experience.

The old system of Profile references required a minimum of seven written references plus three telephone references. Most Pastors used three of their written references as phone references, but it is still difficult to get seven people to write references for you on a timely basis. The old written references consisted of a checklist (those providing references had to chose twelve positive skills of the Pastor in question) and an option to write a paragraph or two about the person. In twenty years in ministry I never received a bad reference through this system, though I'm sure some of them were more useful in landing me job interviews than others.

The new Profile system provides a series of prompting questions along the lines of those utilized in periodic formal employee reviews. One of the prompts even asks the reference to provide information about aspects of the Pastor in which there is room for growth. I don't think this is a bad format, per se. I once heard a perceptive sermon about how search committees are often looking for a new Pastor who does not possess the weaknesses of the departing Pastor, but they tend to forget that the new Pastor will not be perfect and will have weaknesses themselves. This question could very well help search committees be more realistic about the fact that no matter whom they select, their new leader will be a human with flaws, vulnerabilities and areas where they are actively growing.

I also like this emphasis on growth because I think that the Christian path is one of humbling oneself, soul-searching, and seeking continually to improve, and Pastors needs to model this quite openly and consciously for the people to whom they serve as Servant Leaders.

However, because I have not received one of these forms to fill out, I do not know whether or not they make it clear how the forms are to be used--that they will not be excerpted or summarized, but will be presented as-is to search committees. If you have never served on a Pastoral search team, it can be challenging to understand how to craft a reference that paints a picture of the Pastor that is positive and realistic.

I don't know that it is possible to prevent bad references from happening to good Pastors, but in the future I plan to prepare the people who provide me with references by explaining that theirs will be one of three references presented to search committees that may be comparing me to over one hundred other applicants. I might also provide them with the examples of references from the sample Profiles on the UCC website, and furnish them with my self-appraisal, in which I am asked to answer the same questions about myself.

The New UCC Profile Process Part 6: Worksheet is a welcome new tool!

Since the roll out of the new Profile Process on January 31 I have been drafting and re-drafting my answers to the various questions in order to present a well-rounded and accurate picture of my assets as an ordained UCC Minister. In order to make my work easier, I cut and pasted one of the two sample Profiles on the UCC website and removed the information about the fictional clergy person in the sample. Now the UCC website has provided a word document (they're calling it a "worksheet") that includes all the information about the questions on the Profile. This makes it easy for folks who prefer to create initial drafts that can be cut and pasted into the online form. The link to the word document can be found on the page devoted to Profiles on the UCC website. Many thanks to the MESA staff at the national UCC office for making this worksheet available!
Note: This is the sixth installment of a multi-part series of posts about the new UCC Profile Process.
Find Part 1, which provides a review and overview of the process here, and Part 2, in which I discuss my strategy for providing web links, here.  Part 3, in which I discuss potential pitfalls in providing web links on a Profile, is here. Part 4, in which I discuss a strategy for making yourself attractive to churches, is here. Part 5, in which I talk about creating a snapshot available to conference staff that can be updated in real time, is here.

 If you like this post and want some food for thought about church ministry, check out http://creativityinchurch.blogspot.com/. If you or anyone you know is looking to hire a new Pastor, check out my professional profile blog at http://dclapsaddle.blogspot.com/.
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The New UCC Profile Process Part 5: My Snapshot's ready!

This morning I went to the UCC website and registered to receive a password to begin my new Profile. As I explained in the first part of this series, a minister with a current Profile does not need to complete an entirely new Profile until the criminal background check is about to expire, but it is to a job seeker's advantage to register with the process now and complete a "snapshot." The snapshot is a short summary of your skills and experience visible to Conference staff, and can be updated at any time.

I filled out a very simple form that sent me a confirming email. Shortly later I received an email with an initializing password. I copied the password, followed the link provided in that email to the website and pasted in the password but it didn't work. I guessed that it was because I had copied the period at the end of password. I removed the period and tried again. Success! I was in!

I had to read through and accept some terms and conditions. The terms and conditions were short and easy to understand, and I"m glad I read them carefully--otherwise I might have violated them in the process of blogging about my experience completing the Profile.

The actual snapshot took me less than an hour to complete. After I finished it I got up and had some more thoughts and revised it just a teeny bit. It was just that easy. My understanding is that Conference staff can log in and see this snapshot even as I type this.
Note: This is the fifth installment of a multi-part series of posts about the new UCC Profile Process.
Find Part 1, which provides a review and overview of the process here, and Part 2, in which I discuss my strategy for providing web links, here.  Part 3, in which I discuss potential pitfalls in providing web links on a Profile, is here. Part 4, in which I discuss a strategy for making yourself attractive to churches, is here.
 If you like this post and want some food for thought about church ministry, check out http://creativityinchurch.blogspot.com/. If you or anyone you know is looking to hire a new Pastor, check out my professional profile blog at http://dclapsaddle.blogspot.com/.
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The New UCC Profile Process Part 4: Match.com for Pastors and Churches?

I've been reading a lot of church Profiles lately. The top three things churches say they are looking for in a Pastor are:

• Preaches interesting, Biblically-based sermons that relate the gospel to their lives. (Sometimes this is worded more broadly, such as "effective preacher/worship leader."
• Helps the church grow in participation (sometimes this is more specific, such as "attract young families" or "increase youth participation.")
• Supports the work of church committees.

What they really want, of course, is to fall "in love." While I believe that Christian love is about putting Christ's love in action and not about a warm, fuzzy feeling, a Pastor and a congregation (or other setting for ministry) won't be able to form a successful collaboration without good chemistry.

Is it possible to find love online? Current statistics indicate that fully thirty percent of American marriages originate in online matches.  Because the new Profile process has similarities to online services that create romantic matches, I have decided to peruse a variety of articles that offer tips for putting together an online profile to see if I can garner any wisdom from this advice. Here is the advice that spoke to me.

Images Matter. Because you are not seeking a romantic love connection, you might suppose that photos and video images don't matter. That just isn't the case. I include an image at the top of every blog entry I write because it makes whatever I write seem more interesting. A good photo and/or video is one that enables a viewer to establish a sense of emotional connection. If your online sermon video stops on an awkward-looking shot of you, it is possible (and advisable) to change that shot. 

Don't Try To Impress. I found this tip in a Psychology Today article about online dating. It reminded me of a truism I heard long ago about search committees--that if they rank the Profiles from most impressive to least-impressive, they most often end up choosing a Pastor somewhere in the middle. As I get older I am learning to focus less on exhaustively cataloging achievements and more on getting across personal qualities (such as patience, compassion and humor.)
Avoid Lists. Tell Stories. This tip comes from Men's Fitness, and it's a good one. I was just turned down for a job because they were looking for a Pastor with a number of years of experience in overseas mission. I have this kind of experience, but they may have overlooked it because I have presented it on my Profile in the form of a list. Even on my blog I haven't done a great job of telling the story of my overseas mission experience. Lesson learned.
Don't be Negative. I find this easier to avoid in the Profile process than through the interview process, but since adding a blog to supplement my materials I've caught myself talking about what I don't like and don't want once or twice. I also talk a little about about what I don't believe in my current sermon video, and for that reason I plan to record a new one this coming Sunday.
Be Focused and Consistent. If a search committee gives a confusing reason for rejecting your candidacy, don't overreact by totally changing your online link content and/or your Profile. Churches have to say something when they reject a candidate. Don't take it too personally and don't let it throw you. Spend time with the feedback and consider whether (and how) you should incorporate the feedback into your Profile and online content. If the feedback continues not to make sense to you, as it says in Matthew 10:14, "shake the dust from your feet" and move on.
Note: This is the fourth installment of a multi-part series of posts about the new UCC Profile Process.
Find Part 1, which provides a review and overview of the process here, and Part 2, in which I discuss my strategy for providing web links, here.  Part 3, in which I discuss potential pitfalls in providing web links on a Profile, is here.
I blog, therefore I am. If you liked this post and want some food for thought about church ministry, check out http://creativityinchurch.blogspot.com/. If you or anyone you know is looking to hire a new Pastor, check out my professional profile blog at http://dclapsaddle.blogspot.com/.
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The New UCC Profile Process Part 3: Web Links

Note: This is the third installment of a multi-part series of posts about the new UCC Profile Process.
Find Part 1 here, and Part 2 here.
I've been involved in ministry through the internet a full two decades now. I actually successfully recruited students for my campus ministry programming online beginning in 1994. As the internet has evolved, I have done my best to stay current--Blogging, podcasting, YouTube videos, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest--I'm an old hand at many forms of Internet communication. In spite of all this, I have to admit--figuring out how to present myself to search committees via web links has been a struggle for me. Through trial and error I continue to change (and, I hope, improve) my web presence. I don't have all the answers and don't expect I ever will, but I can let you know about the things I have done that have worked well, and the things that basically backfired.
First I'll give you the list of things you should included, and then I'll go through the pitfalls I've encountered and offer suggestions for how to avoid them.
DO provide a link to the website of your current church if you are employed as a Pastor, or if you are an active lay person or an Intern.
DO provide a link to a sermon video and sermon podcasts (if you have any podcasts).
DO provide a link to some photos of you "in action" in your ministry.
Now for the pitfalls. Spoiler alert: There are many, and I have fallen into all of them, at one time or other.
Pitfall #1: Link is incorrect and doesn't work.
How to avoid it: Check and re-check every link to make sure it works.
Pitfall #2: Link goes to a web address that no longer exists.
How to avoid it: Again, check and check again.
Pitfall #3: Link goes to the correct website, but search committees are forced to search for the content you want them to see.
How to avoid it: Minimize the number of clicks it takes to get to the content you want search committees to see as much as you can. For example, if you maintain a Pastor's blog or "getting to know the Pastor" page on your church website and you want the search committee to see that, make sure you provide a link directly to that page, or to a page that consolidates your links. (Learn more about consolidating links in Part 2 of this series.) If you are still having trouble doing this after reading the hints I've offered, ask someone who is more web-savvy to help you with it.
Pitfall #4: Too much information.
How to avoid it: Provide them with web content about your ministry that is well-curated. Don't provide them with links to half-a-dozen sermons and hundreds of photos of your most recent mission trip. Don't send them to a website that will distract them with lots of extraneous information about you that has no relevance to your job search. This is the mistake I have made most often. Bombarding search committees with links to everywhere you have a presence on the web is distracting and counter-productive. Focus like a laser beam on providing the answer to one question: "What can this person do for our congregation (or ministry)?"
Pitfall #5: It's difficult to construct a representative online persona.
How to avoid it: This is my number one struggle with my web presence currently. I'm an exuberant, creative person with strong opinions. I'm also petite in stature, a recovering shy person and I can be quite soft-spoken and gentle in manner. My web presence tends to come on like a Mack Truck. Search committees that love this can be underwhelmed when the meet me. Search committees intimidated by this take a pass on interviewing me. I'm constantly adding, subtracting and changing my online presence based on feedback I'm getting from search committees. I think it is important not to be too reactive--some churches are just not a match, and you shouldn't try and misrepresent yourself online. That will prevent you from making a match with a church that is just right for you.  By the same token, if their impression of you does not match reality, you need to adapt the information you are putting out there. What sorts of things are "too much?" I'll try and provide a helpful example. I enjoy arranging flowers and decorating cakes in my free time, and I have photos of some of my projects posted online. Members of  search committees actually began asking me if I would have time for my job, since I have passions that I pursue in my free time. I thought I was presenting a picture of a healthy, well-rounded person who maintains my emotional well-being by engaging appropriately in recreational activities, but really I was just distracting them from focusing on what I was going to do for them as a Pastor. Lesson learned.
Note: This is the third installment of a multi-part series of posts about the new UCC Profile Process.
Find Part 1, which provides a review and overview of the process here, and Part 2, in which I discuss a strategy for providing web links, here.
I blog, therefore I am. If you liked this post and want some food for thought about church ministry, check out http://creativityinchurch.blogspot.com/. If you or anyone you know is looking to hire a new Pastor, check out my professional profile blog at http://dclapsaddle.blogspot.com/.
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The New UCC Profile Process Part 2: A Web Link Strategy

Me, according to Vizify. Vizify is an easy to use website that enables you to consolidate your web links, but it might not be your best option...

The New UCC Profile process will go live in just three short weeks, on January 31, 2014. I am blogging about my experience using the new process. (Check out my first post for an overview and review of the process.) Because I am not currently able to actually work with the online form, in the meantime I'm blogging about gathering and preparing materials for putting my profile together. I'm going to start with what is probably the most difficult step--creating web content for the weblinks section of the Profile. This section is optional, but strongly encouraged. As time goes on, I suspect that the weblinks section will become more and more important to search committees. At this time it is probably just something that will give you a little extra "edge" in the search process--if you provide your links in a well-thought-out way.

My current plan is to provide one link on my Profile that will lead to all other links. You may choose to use multiple links, but I think it is best to use as few links as absolutely necessary to provide access to all the web content that you want to provide to search committees.  There are various options for doing this. In this post I am only going to deal with options for consolidating your web links. In a future post I will provide suggestions about actual web content you might want to add (such as YouTube videos of sermons, Podcasts, etc.). I am only going to present options that I have actually tried. I have no doubt that there are many other options.

LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a popular networking website. Stylistically it is fairly similar to the new UCC profile--minus the networking aspect. I maintain an online resume and some visual portfolios at LinkedIn. It is fairly easy to put together a LinkedIn Profile. The visual profiles are easy to use, but it is so similar to the new Profile that I think most UCC Pastors will not want to add this link to theirs.

Vizify: Vizify is an easy-to-use do-it-yourself website maker. The free version allows you to create a page with an address based on your name (www.vizify.com/Jane-Pastor). You can add photos to personalize it and the way it consolidates all of your web links on a single visually-interesting page makes it a great option for Pastors who have not worked much with creating websites. If you haven't done so already I'd encourage you to check it out--it's easy to use and free. 

WordPress: WordPress is a popular tool for creating websites and blogs. It requires some specialized computer skills (or the aid of someone who has such skills), but it gives you access to an incredible array of themes for websites, many of which are free. You will need to choose (and pay for) a web host for your site, but once it is set up it is fairly easy to add and change content. 

Blogger: My current site is a blog at Blogger, which is a free, easy-to-use blog website that provides a variety of styles of templates. It is also possible to download your own background images. The style I use is called "Magazine."  Because I have a fairly uncommon last name I found it easy to secure a good name for my site, but The Reverend John Smith might have a problem, since many blog names on blogger are already taken.

Facebook:  Facebook gives you all the options you really need for a professional website to compliment your Profile. Although Facebook discourages it, many individuals maintain separate personal and professional Facebook pages. 

Regardless of whether you provide one web link or multiple links on your Profile, the really important thing is to provide relevant content through your links. In my next post I will talk about some things to consider in providing web content through your Profile.

This is part 2 of a series of posts about the new UCC Profile process. Read part 1, which provides an review and overview of the process here.
Part 3, in which I discuss pitfalls to avoid in providing links to web content, can be found here.

I blog, therefore I am. If you liked this post and want some food for thought about church ministry, check out http://creativityinchurch.blogspot.com/. If you or anyone you know is looking to hire a new Pastor, check out my professional profile blog at http://dclapsaddle.blogspot.com/.
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Behold, I am doing a new thing: The New UCC Profile Process Part 1

A few months ago Malcolm Himschoot, the Minister for Ministerial Transitions at the United Church of Christ's national office, provided a guest post to this blog about the new UCC Profile process which will debut on January 31, 2014. In December of 2013 the UCC posted some more information, including samples of completed Profiles and how-to videos. Unless I get a job through the current Profile system in the meantime, I plan to blog my entire journey of creating, activating and using the Profile. This first blog entry will involve a quick overview of the differences between this Profile and the one that has been in use for at least the last decade or so.

What remains (more or less) the same:

• Basic contact information
• Statement of Consent by the individual to circulate the Profile
• Authorizations/Approvals by local and denominational officials
• Criminal background check and disclosure about accusations of misconduct, etc.

What has changed: 
Pretty much everything else.

• The profile will be a live online document and certain parts can be changed by the Minister or Member in Discernment at any time.
• Each profile contains a "snapshot" that can only be viewed by Conference Staff. This section highlights gifts, skills and availability for ministry and can be updated in real time. 
• The Statement on Ministry has changed to a series of essay questions about the "Marks of Faithful and Effective Ministers" (a list of character traits developed as part of the recent by-law changes regarding authorized ministry in the UCC.)
• Checklists for self-evaluation and evaluation by references have been replaced by essay questions of the type that will be familiar to white-collar workers.
• Three references are required and each individual Profile user will be able to hide some references in real time when seeking particular calls at his/her own discretion.
• There is no limit on the number of positions that can be included under "Vocational Experiences." (The previous profile only allowed for four positions.) If the clergy person so chooses they can omit some positions from this part and list them only briefly in a smaller section at the end of the Vocational Experiences. This section provides room for summarizing three key accomplishments. Gone is the requirement to provide data about church size and budget for each position.
• There is room to include supplemental information and attachments, as well as a section for live links to sermon videos, websites, blogs, etc. This is not required but is strongly encouraged.
• The Profile concludes with space for "Closing Thoughts," such as a" prayer or dream for the community which you imagine serving ... a poem, a Scripture passage, or a piece of music that is meaningful to you."

My initial reaction as a job seeker is very positive. I have longed for a Profile that enabled me to tell my story in my own way, and that would make it easy for search committees to access live links to websites directly from the Profile.  I also think that reading narrative profiles (as opposed to profiles filled with checklists and numbers) is going to be much easier for search committee members. On the other hand, some Ministers used to the "old way" of doing things may have a hard time completing a new Profile that serves them as well as the old Profile did. Also, it is going to make it much harder for committees that receive a tremendous amount of Profiles. Although it is greatly discouraged, I am certain that some search committees rely on the checklist of attributes or data about the size of churches the applicant has served recently to narrow the field. Search committees who will be doing their work during the transition period (the old format will be phased out over a period of eighteen months) will deal with the further headache of receiving profiles in both formats--they will essentially be comparing apples and oranges. National and Conference Staff members are also going to have their hands full with people struggling to tell the story of their ministry in a new way.  Some clergy are not very familiar with the terminology of Marks of Faithful and Effective Ministers, even if they are shining examples of these Marks.  As a bi-vocational clergy person I am an old-hand at writing resumes and designing web content to support my job search, and I still feel I make a lot of mistakes and have a lot to learn. Those who have never done this will likely experience confusion and frustration.
My current plan is to start right now to prepare the materials that will be placed on the new Profile. I will let my references know that new and different reference requests will be coming their way very soon. I will work on the wording of my essay questions and accomplishments. I will revise my resume blog to compliment this new Profile format. Then, when the new process is activated, I will jump right in and try to get my new Profile up and running as soon as possible. I'm sure this will involve some bumps, which I plan to blog about (don't worry, National and Conference staff. I will use grace, kindness and humility when I write about the bugs that we are going to uncover together through this process.) 
This is part 1 of a series of posts about the new UCC Profile process. 
Part 2, in which I talk about developing a web link strategy, can be found here.
Part 3, in which I discuss pitfalls to avoid in providing links to web content, can be found here.

I blog, therefore I am. If you liked this post and want some food for thought about church ministry, check out http://creativityinchurch.blogspot.com/. If you or anyone you know is looking to hire a new Pastor, check out my professional profile blog at http://dclapsaddle.blogspot.com/.
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The Thing With Feathers

I just spent my morning devotional time reading every Bible verse that includes the word "hope." There are a great many of them, in both the Hebrew Scripture and the Second Testament (a.k.a. Old and New Testaments in traditional parlance.) It's a great way to start the day, when you're a clergy person searching for a new call.  I like some of the verses better than others but I love so many of them so much that I would be hard pressed to choose a favorite. I also like the Emily Dickinson poem about hope. I love that she compares it to a singing bird. I bet if a Psalmist saw her poem he or she would wish to have thought of this image first, it is so beautiful and perfect.

Hope is a the cornerstone of our faith. Where does it come from? How does one get and keep it? The Bible is actually pretty articulate on this score. In my experience, it comes from spiritual discipline, from things like prayer and Bible Study and providing direct assistance to people in need. I think it is fair to say, however, that some people are born with a gene that makes hope easier. I suspect I could be one of those people. There was a time in my life when my hope was more likely to be swamped by pessimism, but that happens less often and does not last as long now. On the other hand, I have experienced hope as a thing that I have had to work to get and keep at times, so perhaps it doesn't come naturally to me after all. Someday maybe science will have an answer for me. In the meantime, I have scripture, and I have the descriptions of churches all over the country. Some of them are struggling and in deep denial of the nature of their dysfunction, but most of them are out there making the world a better place. Just knowing these churches exist, even if none of them chooses me as their Pastor, gives me reason to feel hope.

I blog, therefore I am. If you liked this post and want some food for thought about church ministry, check out http://creativityinchurch.blogspot.com/. If you or anyone you know is looking to hire a new Pastor, check out my professional profile blog at http://dclapsaddle.blogspot.com/.
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Falling in Love Again...

Searching for a new position as a Pastor is different from other kinds of job searches. Everyone wants to fall in love with their employer and be loved by them in return, but at one time or other, we've all taken a job we knew we probably would not love just to stay afloat financially while looking for something better. That doesn't work with Pastors. Our jobs are referred to as our "calling" for a reason: if we don't truly love the folks we serve, we will not be successful (and also will not likely be employed for long.)

Finding that "just right" fit--the ministry that feels right to both Pastor and congregation--doesn't always happen, and that is a frightening fact for Pastors and churches alike. The bond between a Pastor and ministry position is more like the bond in a marriage marriage than it is like a conventional job situation. Compatibility is a key factor, and it goes beyond merely finding someone with the right skill set. The personality of the church has to mesh well with the personality of the Pastor. Another fact that isn't always acknowledged and dealt with in a healthy way is that churches and Pastors change over time. That has happened to me more than once. A position that felt "just right" for a long time started to feel less than perfect. It's difficult sometimes for a Pastor to realize this and to seek a new position in a timely fashion.  After all, we do truly love the folks. It's hard to acknowledge that just because we still have love for people that we are no longer called to serve them in the same way anymore. We don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. And because we're human, we hesitate to leave, fearing that we will regret leaving a good situation for the unknown.

The truth is, falling in love, whether in a romantic situation or metaphorically, as is the case when seeking a new Pastoral position, is scary and risky. Things don't always work out. Heartaches happen. There is no surefire road map. Back in the stone ages when I began preparing to be a Pastor, we got little education in discernment--the art of figuring out what God wants for us. Now there is more emphasis on practicing discernment as a type of spiritual discipline. St Ignatius came up with a technique for discernment that is still widely used. I have used this method and find it useful.  Others swear by engaging in regular sessions with a Spiritual Director, a trained professional that helps people stay in touch with their spiritual side. There is, however, no substitute for a daily spiritual practice to allow you to get and stay in touch with what God is calling you to do. It's easy even for Pastors to let this fall by the wayside, especially when we get busy. A time of seeking a new calling can be an especially busy time; in many cases it means holding down one full-time position while actively seeking another--which can seem like a second full-time job at times. It is, however, important to trust your heart and trust God's leading--even if at first it seems as though God expects too much of you, or that God is calling you in an unexpected direction. God is full of surprises. That's one of the best things about Ministry--a miracle is always just around the corner, and we get to witness an above-average share of them. If you are searching for a clergy position, may you find the right calling, and may it feel miraculous and amazing when it happens.
I blog, therefore I am. If you liked this post and want some food for thought about church ministry, check out http://creativityinchurch.blogspot.com/. If you or anyone you know is looking to hire a new Pastor, check out my professional profile blog at http://dclapsaddle.blogspot.com/.
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Do Pastors Need an Elevator Speech?

                       
The "Elevator Speech" has entered the common lexicon in the last few years. If you haven't heard this term, basically it is a short verbal summary about who you are and what you do that you should be able to rattle off at a moment's notice, for the purposes of career networking.  It's called an Elevator Speech because it is supposed to be short enough to get through in the length of an average elevator ride.

Do Pastors need an elevator speech? After all, most people know what Pastor's do--more or less, and how much knowledge can you impart about your work in 20 or 30 seconds?

I would argue that all Pastors, not just those looking for work, should master the following 20-30 second speeches:

What a Pastor is/does
Why I became a Pastor
Why I am a Pastor
What it means to be a Christian
What a church is/does
An invitation to your church

I realize that most of us are more comfortable talking in longer blocks--like, 20 minutes or so. But studies show that we have to grab the attention of our audience, no matter how big or small, within the first 30 seconds of talking anyway, so at minimum it makes a great exercise.

I blog, therefore I am. If you liked this post and want some food for thought about church ministry, check out http://creativityinchurch.blogspot.com/. If you or anyone you know is looking to hire a new Pastor, check out my professional profile blog at http://dclapsaddle.blogspot.com/.

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The spectacular now

When you are seeking a ministry calling it can feel like a not-so-spectacular time in your life. That is why this blog is called "The Wilderness Time."  Even if you are fully employed, you no longer feel called to remain in your current situation. That does not mean, however, that God does not have work for you to do.

A few weeks ago I preached to a congregation that is between pastoral leaders. My sermon, based on a passage in which God speaks through Jeremiah about the Babylonian exile,  was called "Bloom where you are planted." (You can check out my blog entry for that Sunday, which includes an inspirational video, here.)

God tells the Israelites to "seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile." Did you catch that? God says the Israelites have been put into exile by God. Even if you feel strongly called to change your current job situation, it is also important to remain mindful that God has important work for you to do right now--even if you are unemployed, underemployed or in a position that you feel you have outgrown.

I was reminded of this as I looked over my job references today. Many of them spoke of how they had initially come into the church where I served during a time of personal crisis and I had ministered to them and helped shepherd the through their crisis and into a better life. Yeah, it makes a Pastor feel good to read testimonials of this nature, but there is a larger message. God has work for you to do in whatever situation you find yourself. In fact, you may be having trouble moving on precisely because you have not completed the work that God has for you in your current situation. On some level you may be having trouble letting go and moving on, and as a result you may send subtle signals that sabotage your job hunting efforts. That idea may be hard to accept. It may even make you angry to hear me say that, but it happens to the best of us. It has happened to me. Asking God searching questions such as, "Why am I in this situation?" or even praying the prayer of Samuel: "Here I am, Lord. Send me," can help you gain clarity and refocus your efforts in a more productive way.

Someday you may look back on the time you are in right now and recall it with great pride and a sense of accomplishment. You may see that the seeds of your greatest achievement were planted during a time you spent that felt like the years the Israelites spent wandering in the wilderness, searching for the promised land and and begging God to tell you why everything that is happening to you is happening, and how long it will last.  Someday you will know why the time lasted as long as it lasted.

I blog, therefore I am. If you liked this post and want some food for thought about church ministry, check out http://creativityinchurch.blogspot.com/. If you or anyone you know is looking to hire a new Pastor, check out my professional profile blog at http://dclapsaddle.blogspot.com/.

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Self-Improvement

As my search for a settled position continues and rejections pile up, I'm spending some quality time on self-improvement. On the one hand, it's not an easy time to seek self-improvement, as a job search involves putting yourself out there in a way that feels personal. Self-improvement efforts tend to make just about everyone feel vulnerable, and self-improvement often involves finding, facing and seeking to shore up weaknesses. 

On the other hand, even if you are fully employed during your job search time, if your search seems to be dragging on, it is important to ask and answer the question, "Is it me?" It could just be that you need to tweak the way you present yourself a little bit, in order to make yourself seem more interesting and appealing to people who don't know you and are probably in a hurry to reject as many candidates as they can just to make their own job as members of a search committee a little bit more manageable. I know some successful pastors that experienced trouble getting their current job, and I also know pastors who got a job quickly and did not last long. 

If I had a formula for finding the right job just when you need to and keeping it forever, I'd freely share it. Part of getting into a job that is a great fit involves self-knowledge. Kate Matsudaira on the website Popforms suggests that a good way to increase useful self-knowledge involves asking others for feedback.

Send an email asking for insights into your strengths. Send it to one friend or peer this week. And try it again with someone new next week! And again!

Follow the link above for a suggested sample email format that includes questions, plus an extended explanation of why this technique is valuable.

In the meantime, I'm going to try it myself and report back....

I blog, therefore I am. If you liked this post and want some food for thought about church ministry, check out http://creativityinchurch.blogspot.com/. If you or anyone you know is looking to hire a new Pastor, check out my professional profile blog at http://dclapsaddle.blogspot.com/.

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“What God Has For You, Is For You”

(This piece is contributed by invitation. Rev. Malcolm Himschoot, MESA Minister for Ministerial Transitions, works in the United Church of Christ denominational office. He works closely with administrator Darrell Ludwig, who on a daily basis handles all Ministerial Profiles for the UCC. MESA can be found at www.ucc.org/ministers/. )

“What God Has For You, Is For You”

Malcolm Himschoot - October 8, 2013

A man walked past my office, headed for the Profiles desk. He had come from far away for a UCC meeting at the denominational offices. While here, he decided to see what had happened to his profile. In the current system, it’s like an inter-galactic black hole. You never know.

He found Darrell. Darrell found the problem. A piece wasn’t in yet. Darrell didn’t know it because the administrator only is alerted by the system when all pieces are in. The minister didn’t know it because he wasn’t alerted that a piece was missing. The profile was far from circulating, but neither one knew it. Meanwhile opportunities were passing by, and the man who was a qualified and dedicated minister waited, and waited, in search.

Of course this situation is unacceptable; the grief, understandable. MESA is tasked to finally improve the tools of the search and call system this year – to design something that resembles a modern, efficient task process, to fit together procedure and purpose, to align a functional product with the stated goals of numerous focus groups.

The denomination promises to have a better system soon. MESA can deliver on that promise with the help of professionals and suitable centralized technology. (It’s coming! See http://www.ucc.org/ministers/search-and-call/.)

Still, the UCC search and call process will always be more than a little mystifying. Far beyond the professional office, out there even beyond cyberspace, is where profiles are actually picked up and handled, touched and used.

The task before a Conference staff person is to find a batch of possible ethical leadership candidates for a church. The task before a congregation is to find a minister the church will respond to as they grow in God. There are as many ways of accomplishing this outcome, as there are people! Algorithms and heuristics, strategies and shortcuts. There are modern and ancient ways of doing this, there are European and African ways, cheaper and richer ways, speedy and slow ways, considerate and commercial ways, committee and consultant ways, happenstance and certified ways.

There is also, and despite it all, prayer.

The Holy Spirit has worked through stranger things than paperwork. The Holy Spirit has almost certainly moved in spite of paperwork! But the Holy Spirit does move, regardless.

It just so happens that a search process which makes no sense, which shows no rhyme nor reason, which takes too long or comes too sudden, may yet be a very faithful process. One in which God shows up, and has a leading role.

Which is why, for years and years, the starting instruction for the minister preparing their profile has not been, “Turn on your typewriter, computer or iPad.” And the starting instruction for the search committee engaging ministerial profiles has never been, “Locate the mimeograph, risograph, copy machine or PDF.”

The starting advice is always, “Begin with prayer.”

And so, next year when the profiles process is clean and transparent, when a strategic database exists, when authorized ministers in search know entirely what to expect, when colleagues across conferences are working together better than ever before, when each church in search is miraculously behaving as a rational engine no longer a called community of human beings, when the numbers of supply and demand equalize marvelously in the perfectly demographically-matched employment marketplace… unless that year is also the year in which Jesus comes, there will still be a moment when everything apparently breaks. Down.

Somewhere, a person of faith will be trying to discern their path while stressed out to the max, needing a secure place to be, enduring a time of flux and change, with many needs pressing upon them. Somehow this person, an authorized minister, will be doubting or at least wondering about grace and providence, vocation and justice. They’ll be praying that their spirit too may be called for a purpose, that their contribution will have a place in a heaven’s unfolding drama on earth, and that their employment needs will be met. Although anger, despair and fear will come naturally, this person must learn to rehearse, as the visitor rehearsed today in my office, “What God has for me, is for me.”

Try that line on. No matter how long or winding the journey. If it’s true, it’s true.

What God has for you, is for you.

Through such courage and conviction, a Way will be created to further Jesus’ gospel of mercy and hope, the sacrament of peace in the breaking of the daily bread. I pray such courage and conviction for each and every minister of Word and Sacrament in this time.

Amen.
(This piece is contributed by invitation. Rev. Malcolm Himschoot, MESA Minister for Ministerial Transitions, works in the United Church of Christ denominational office. He works closely with administrator Darrell Ludwig, who on a daily basis handles all Ministerial Profiles for the UCC. MESA can be found at www.ucc.org/ministers/. )

I blog, therefore I am. If you liked this post and want some food for thought about church ministry, check out http://creativityinchurch.blogspot.com/. If you or anyone you know is looking to hire a new Pastor, check out my professional profile blog at http://dclapsaddle.blogspot.com/.

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AFGO

If you've never heard this expression before, it stands for, approximately, "Another Fabulous Growth Opportunity." While I can't deny that searching for a new job is an opportunity for personal growth, sometimes the experience is less than fabulous. Rejection happens, and that can be painful. I have a number of go-to affirmations to deal with being rejected for a job that I really wanted and felt I could do well.

• "A better opportunity is coming up later."
• "This process has helped me learn what I need to know to successfully compete for a better opportunity."
• "The Lord works in mysterious ways. This job wasn't the right thing for me right now, for reasons I do not yet understand but will likely become clear in the days ahead."

You get the idea. I hope these affirmations don't seem lame to you, because there have been times in my life in which the conviction that something better is coming is the only thing that keeps despair at bay--and if I could not keep despair at bay, something better would be far less likely to come along.

There is such a thing as a downward spiral, and it takes work--spiritual work--to stay out of it.

I'm not saying that forces beyond individual control, such as an economic recession, don't play a role in job searches. I am saying that if we let the things that go wrong in life get us down, the weight can crush us. The only way to change the outcome of a job search is to learn from rejection and failure.

This is the third time in my life that I have had an extended job search. Each time I have learned and grown from the experience. It can be painful, but it  can also be joyful. It can provide the gift of re-invention.  We don't always seek this gift, and we probably need it more often than we seek it. Each time I have simplified my life and re-ordered my priorities. Here are the top tips that helped me cope:

• Keep yourself together. If you are unemployed or underemployed you may not be able to keep up a high-maintenance appearance, but when you are out and about when you might run into professional colleagues, try to look as though you have it together. You really never know when this will happen. I ran into a former Board member at a supermarket yesterday. 
• Think of finding a job as your job. A job gives a sense of purpose, so you need to believe that you have one in order to be the sort of purposeful person an employer wants to hire.
• Fit some volunteer work into your schedule. Coworkers help keep up morale in a workplace, and volunteering can help you experience the morale boost of working with like-minded others and accomplishing something of value. 
• Reach out for support. There are support groups for Pastors in many states. If you are not in one, talk to you denominational official. I have been a member of a group for years and during that time members have gone through employment searches and endured periods of unemployment. We have always been there for each other and it makes a big difference.                                                          

I blog, therefore I am. If you liked this post and want some food for thought about church ministry, check out http://creativityinchurch.blogspot.com/. If you or anyone you know is looking to hire a new Pastor, check out my professional profile blog at http://dclapsaddle.blogspot.com/.
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