By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he
was to receive as an inheritance and he set out, not knowing where he was
going...
Hebrews 11:8
Imagine starting off on an important journey without a clue of the
destination? And if Abraham had the usual assortment of male genes, he
probably didn't stop once for directions!
Most of us really do want that roadmap. We do long range planning,
consult our day planers, read our horoscopes, plan our work and work our
plan. All this to make the future predictable. Yet we know that the
unexpected, the horrific, the catastrophic can be just a phone call away.
No matter how set we are in our ways, no matter how organized our life,
aren't we all like Abraham and Sarah? Each morning we set off on a journey
not knowing where we are going.
July 1st, I begin work as your interim pastor, and I don't have a clue
where we're headed.
(If it's any comfort to you, I have served numerous interim positions and
all of them were happy occasions for all involved.) While the rest of us
are carrying out our ministry, your Pastor Nominating Committee will be
carrying out a three step process. The first stage will be analyzing what
kind of church we want to become and what kind of a pastor it will take to
get us there. That research will result in a Church Information form that
will be read by potential pastors. The second stage involves sifting
through hundreds of resumes to select a short list of candidates. The final
stage is the interview process which culminates in electing a pastor.
At some point in our time together, if I'm doing my job correctly, some
of you will ask why I can't be your next pastor. (I'd be crushed if
someone didn't ask!) There are plenty of reasons why that shouldn't happen,
but let me say for now that my job as interim is to be such a good pastor in
the short term, that the PNC can take as much time as it needs to pick the
very best person to serve with you in the years to come.
We may not know the way but we know who will accompany us. We have an
up-to-date guide book in the scriptures and at the communion table, we have
food for the journey. And we have each other. What more could we desire?
Let the jouney begin.
Paul
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