Pastor Seach Committee

Looks like the subject matter of this blog will shift slightly and explore the other side of the coin.

I’ve posted on the intentional interim ministry for a while and have explored the life of a church during the interim time from the perspective of a pastor. Now I’ll be taking a look at interim life from the side of a church member.

This last Sunday we had our election for the Pastoral Search Committee (PSC). I was voted in as one of the nine members of the committee. Over the next few days or so I’ll be blogging about our initial discussions to give an example of what a typical search committee deals with.

I haven't spent a lot of time blogging about our home church. Mostly that's because I've been gone for ten months out of the last year. We have several challenges facing our church at Lakeview. I’ve mentioned before that the Intentional Interim process would be helpful for us, but also that it was rejected by the deacons.

As I mentioned, one thing that short circuited that attempt was an older deacon who felt a “check in his spirit” as I described the Intentional Interim process. This check led him (ultimately) to reject the process for our church. The rest of the deacons followed suit. So we have made the decision to find an interim minister who will likely just fill the pulpit on Sundays while our youth minister makes hospital visits and performs funerals.


Of course, an irony is that the guy who nominated me for membership on the PSC…was the same guy who had the check in his spirit about the Intentional Interim. I really appreciated the gesture and it helped me to overcome some of my frustration with his rejection of the process. He made his decision based on what he genuinely thought, perhaps not due to the fact that the IIM is simply new.

So I am reminded again of the problem with making hasty generalizations ("Hmmmm, he's older and I presented him with a new idea which he rejected, so he must be lacking spiritual discernment.") Fortunately, I never make hasty assumptions.


Still learning, still growing.

(Back to main Pastor Search Committee Menu)

Financial Peace University

FPU here we come.

About a year and a half ago, I asked our pastor if we could offer Financial Peace University. He said he’d think about it and never got back to me. After I finally asked him his decision, he said nope, “It’s not time.” It apparently never was time, as he left a few months later.

Our current youth/education/interim minister (and the only minister on our staff) was called to the gospel ministry out of the world of financial services and is passionate about this course. He has encouraged me to offer the class. This program was developed by Dave Ramsey (long time masochists readers of this blog remember a series about Ramsey’s financial plan from some time ago.

Financial Peace University is a 13 week study (2 hours a week) that explores the Bible’s teachings on finances by someone who has gone broke and bounced back from it. It is a great program for all of course, but we have a several single parents in our church and it should be very helpful for them as well. In addition, a local marriage counselor (who isn’t even a Christian) is going to send us several referrals for it. Kadie and I will be coordinating the class.

One bonus is its use as an outreach tool. By offering the class, our church will go up on Ramsey’s web site for those looking for a class in our area. If you are interested in a class in your area, check it out here. If you want to offer it at your church (and I highly recommend it) check out Ramsey's site and connect with their church coordinators.

So starting August 19th we will roll with it.

Unmasked

Scooter loves to read. She is a literary omnivore, devouring most genres and always on the lookout for something new. Scooter enjoys sharing the contents of what she’s reading at all times. Whenever something amuses her she shares it.

She also loves stories about animals (doesn’t every 11 year old girl?) and has recently been working her way through Chicken Soup for the Petlover’s Soul. (Though not pet lovers of chickens apparently. I’ve chosen at this time not to point out to her the irony of the book title which certainly implies boiling poultry).

At lunch yesterday, she shared with me some cheesy story from the book about a boy and a lion and God, as I listened absently. When she finished the story I chuckled amusingly condescendingly and said something like “That’s a cute story.”

Then she dropped the hammer: “You have two laughs, Daddy.”

I was immediately surprised and it caused me to laugh. “See, that’s your real laugh.” she said. What’s the difference I asked? “I dunno, but I can tell when you’re not really laughing and when you really are.”

She then asked “Why do you laugh at the story if you don’t think it’s funny?” On this rare occasion I decided be truthful. “Ummmm…honestly, I guess I laugh because you think it’s funny and I don’t want to hurt your feelings.”

She considered this for a moment and then said “I guess so, but I know what your fake laugh sounds like. So now when you fake laugh, it will hurt my feelings.”

So apparently my condescending artifice has been uncovered. I will have to be a lot more self-conscious from now on. But on the plus side, she will be able to tell when I fake laugh at other people…

Raise II

The problem comes when we are determining the percentage for merit pay. These percentages are negotiated among the department chairs. If all four departments were equal performers, it wouldn’t be an issue. But two of the departments are clearly stronger performers than the other two. In other words, our college is divided between the eagles and the cockroaches. Our department is an eagle. (I say that taking none of the credit. Everyone who is currently hired in our department was hired under the previous chair’s time in office. The Colonel did an excellent job of evaluating faculty, with the obvious exception of me.)

Because of this distribution, two of the departments argue for a higher percentage of merit going to the upper third of faculty while the other two argued for the percentage going to merit being smaller. The dean casts the deciding vote of course, and effected a compromise that resulted in the lower group getting a 4% (2.5% COLA and a 1.5% merit) raise, the middle group getting a 5% raise and the highest group getting 5.5%.

Not proportionally fair to the upper group? That was my (and one other chair’s) point to the Dean. He responded that the high performers tend to be the higher paid faculty already, and a larger percentage for them would cut down the raise of the lower producing faculty…which I saw as a positive.

But the Dean casts the deciding vote, and makes the recommendation to the Provost. Which he did.

Ultimately, only the head chef gets to adjust the recipe.

Raises

Our college is divided into four departments. By and large we maintain some degree of autonomy within our departments, but the department chairs do have to reach a consensus opinion on certain matters.

One of the matters occupying our attention this summer is the distribution of a recent raise. We were given a recent 5.0 % raise, our second raise in the last in seven years. Due to the infrequency (and minimal amounts) of these raises, the distributions are hotly contested.

Our first step is to determine the amount which should go toward cost of living and the amount which should go toward merit. We were told that half of the 5.0% had to be cost of living, so that gave us 2.5% to divide for merit.

So how do we determine merit?

Every year, each faculty member fills out a lengthy report detailing our productivity in the trinity of acadmic life: the areas of instruction, research, and service. Years back, college leadership devised a sheet with point values for various activities in these three areas. (E.g. X points for a paper at a national conference, Y points for serving on a university committee, etc.) Each person then tabulates a total for the year. Chairs and the Dean then look over the reports to make sure that there are no shenanigans. (Ironically for faculty who despise grade inflation, merit inflation is alive and well!).

Then we list the numbers and divide them into upper, middle, and lower sections. The upper third gets the highest merit raise, the middle section gets the average merit raise and the lower third gets the lowest.

Sounds good on paper, right?

Tomorrow I’ll explain the complications (hint, the explanation involve Eagles and Cockroaches…)

Summer School

Now is the time for summer school. At our institution, the more senior faculty generally don’t have much desire to teach in the summer and the junior faculty need the extra pay. I have always enjoyed teaching summer school, gladly trading summertime freedom for some cold cash. One of my colleagues is in Paris right now, another I’ve literally not seen all summer. But for those of us who stick around, the summer term can be very rewarding.

First, the quality of students tends to be higher. A lot of the bright kids who go off to the Harvards or Princetons are nerdy enough to want to knock off some college credits while they are home for the summer. So we get some really sharp minds who seem more interested in the subject than in the Fall or Spring semesters.

Second, I love the length of time. The semester is compressed (over either one or two months) and classes are lengthier (usually 2 hours instead of one). This allows conversations in classes to continue from class session to class session more easily than during regular semesters. I don’t have to spend the first 10 minutes of the class simply reminding folks where we were at the end of the last class several days before.

Lastly I enjoy the class sizes. Instead of a class of 55 for intro to philosophy, get a class of 20 or 25. It allows for the class to slow down and pursue discussions for longer periods of time.
So I can say something I never imagined saying as a 16 year old:

I love summer school.

SBC Primer

Several of the readers of this blog are lapsed former Southern Baptists. If you are curious what's been going on in your former convention over the last 18 months, check out the following article from the Texas Observer, an alternate magazine. I think it is the best journalistic piece yet I've read on the current controversies in the SBC.

(Of course, the controversies are probably among the reasons you left...)

HT: SBC Outpost

On the Way Home From School

(Digging around some old files a few days ago, I came across this from about two years ago. Scooter would've been in the fourth grade.)



Scene: In the Saturn VUE on the way home from school…

Dad: “So, Scooter, what happened at school today?”

Scooter: “I was playing Connect Four with Josh. I made my last move and Josh looked over at me and said ‘You are a pathetic fool.’ Then he put in the last checker and won the game.”

SILENCE

Dad: “And then what did you do?”

Scooter: “Sir? Oh I just cried and told the teacher.”

Dad: “I think that’s what I would’ve done too.”

SILENCE

Skeeter: “Can we get an ICEE?”

Hiatus

In agricultural contexts, you must allow the ground to lie fallow for a time to ensure an improved crop the next time. Unfortunately for the reader, there’s no guarantee that subsequent Coffeespoons will be improved, but it certainly won’t be any worse.

What’s been going on…

Home Alone Two

I was left alone again as Kadie and her sister PT Girl trekked into that state that is the center of the universe and visited their Dad and step mom up in Enid. They took the entire brood of kids. Much lest angst this time. But while she was at our home, PTGirl (who is, after all a PT) advised me to get my knee (yes, that one) looked at by an orthopedic doc. After the injury, the knee remained swollen. Although there's been no pain, it tightens up whenever I run. So I heeded her advice…

Under the Knife Needle

The ortho doc recommended draining the fluid out of the bursa sac with a large needle. Which he immediately did. (It looked EXACTLY like this). Overall it wasn’t as painful as I expected, and much less painful than my "friends" told me it would be.

Recalling Stories

The book is finally out. Now its time to start working on the next one.

Intentional Interim

As I anticipated, the deacons at Lakeview opted not to go with an intentional interim program. While disappointing, it was not surprising. I was told that we hadn’t done it in the past and there was no need to do so now. When I asked how the deacons had responded to the problems I perceived in the church, the chairman said nobody really had any responses to my concerns.

Raise

At work, we’ve had one raise in the last seven years and just received another one this summer. So the summer term has been focused on haggling over how best to apportion what would be an across the board 5% raise. While appreciated, it’s like splitting hairs.

I should get back into the blogging swing of things now. Thanks to all who've continued to read.

Words

Squealer has lately begun using words both as a cudgel and a scalpel against his sisters

An example of each:

A cudgel…

Squealer: “Daddy, is chickenhead a bad word??”

Me: “Ummm…..no, not really.”

Squealer (turning to Scooter) “You CHICKENHEAD! You’re a CHICKENHEAD, CHICKENHEAD, CHICKENHEAD, CHICKENHEAD!!!!!!!!!!!”


And as a scalpel

Squealer: “Skeeter, you’re a BUTTon-HEAD”

Me: “Squealer, you’re one syllable away from a spanking…..”


"Head" is the preferred suffix of choice, rendering most any word into an expletive.