Neenah said No

Let this be a lesson in trusting your own instincts. I got a phone call from one of the committee members in Neenah, WI and we are finished. They liked my energy, but felt there was a disconnect. As I have thought about it, I was having to talk myself into it. It wasn't a match.

In the long run this is for the best. It is always a little hard to take rejection, but when I stop and really look at it, I think I knew it wasn't right.

So it is back to the proverbial drawing board and waiting to hear from Idaho.

I am looking forward to being at Cursillo this weekend. Time away to regroup and to listen.

After the Interview

I felt my interview in Neenah, WI went well. I felt like I had a good rapport with the committee and with the pastors. I had lunch with the pastors. I think the Sr. pastor is more introverted and therefore I had some problems reading him and getting a feel for whether I could work with him or not. From some of the material they gave me and the interactions I had with folks, the church seems to be content with where they are and what they do. There are some who seem to want to expand and experiment, but I don't see either pastor really taking that on.

The big surprise of the weekend was being thrown in on Sunday morning. I ended up taking over the lessons in Middle School and in Pre-K because they wanted to see how I interacted with the kids and if I understood developmental levels. That is where my teaching background comes in handy! They wanted to see if I could pick up a lesson and run with it with no prep time.

Coming away from the interview, I didn't have an overwhelming feeling that I am called to Wisconsin, but I also didn't walk away thinking, "There is no amount of money that could get me there" Part of the problem is not having another face to face visit to compare it with. Time will tell. But I did get a phone call from the Sr. pastor tonight to get my address so he could send me a couple of audio tapes of his preaching. Interesting that he called and not a secretary or a committee member. He said they were very impressed with me and I was high on their list, but they had other candidates. He also said the next step would most likely include me being asked to come back. I'll keep you posted.

Some Pictures of Neenah

After 2 hours interviewing this morning, then dinner with the pastor and associate pastor, I got a tour of the church. Some of the pictures I took on the tour. Then I went on a driving tour then walked back down to the church from the hotel and took pictures of the outside of the building.

This is downtown Neenah.








First Presbyterian Neenah from the outside.












Who knew that the "Great God Org" lived in Wisconsin. This one happens to be of the Aeolian Skinner variety. The sanctuary is big. French Neo Gothic.

Neenah, Wisconsin

I arrived in Neenah, WI and was met at the airport by Scott and Dave, members of the APNC at First Presbyterian in Neenah. I am interviewing with them for an associate pastor for Christian Education position. I had a good phone interview with them and outside of not preaching much, it looks like a good position. Neenah is one of the communities in what is knows as the Fox Cities. Combined, the Fox Cities area is about 125,000 people.

I will post more after the interview and should have some pictures. What I have seen of the area, it is gorgeous. And I am loving that it is about 50 degrees outside.

4 Truths Discovered by Building Cathedrals

This is taken from an email I got. I pulled this part of it as I feel it applies to a more general audience.
The picture is of Castle Church in Wittenburg.


Four life-changing truths, I learned in reading a book on cathedrals:
(1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
(2) These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
(3) They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
(4) The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it."
 And the workman replied, Because God sees." I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.

It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done is too small for me to notice and smile over.

A Next Step

Next weekend I am flying to Neenah, WI for a face to face interview with First Presbyterian for their associate pastor for Christian Education. They emailed me the agenda for the weekend which includes a written "teacher training plan" and then have you "train the committee" as if we were CE teachers giving a lesson. Target taking 30 mintues to "train the trainers" and assume that the committee represents ages pre-school through adult. So that is the project, getting a topic figured out and getting everything made.

I am choosing to do a unit on parables. The younger ones will only have a few parables while the adults can cover more. I am thinking of the parable of the sower from Matthew 13 as the focus for what I will "train the trainers" with. I am reworking a sermon on the same text, but I don't preach this go round.

My only concern with this position is that I would preach only 1 every 6 weeks. Otherwise, I like the information on the CIF and I think it would be a good match. I also have to consider whether for a first call it is more important for me to preach weekly or to gain experience in a larger church. Often times the shifts in position happen laterally in the church, so in that regard starting in a multi-staff church may set me up better for being the head of staff of a larger church down the road. There are oh, so many things to think about in this process.

I am tired of waiting, but this is a chance to work on my ability to wait on God. I hate waiting.

Feeling out of Rhythm

I went for a walk this evening and felt like I was just out of sync. Then it dawned on me that for the last 3 years, the Tuesday after Labor Day marked the beginning of a new school year. Before that there was the rhythm of teaching in public schools. This year, I don't have a rhythm. There isn't a normal pace to my days. There are days that I accomplish nothing, which isn't always a bad thing, but there are also days that I feel positively aimless.

The call process is partially about learning to wait on God. The next step is not on my time, but as one who likes to be in control of things, particularly my own life, this creates a feeling that life is out of sync. Oh well.

To all my friends beginning another year in their seminary career, blessings to you. To the seniors, enjoy time with your fellow seniors. To echo Tim, a realization after graduation is that the path of the pastor is a lonely one indeed. Cultivate relationships and bask in the glorious time that is graduate school. Learn all you can and live life to the fullest. Blessings!