Part of the greatest fun of the annual SBL meeting has nothing to do with friends or papers. It’s all about the books. Imagine a couple of football fields covered with religious publishing companies from all over the world and you get some idea of the SBL Book exhibit. It is a bibliophile’s dream. Frankly, when every year when I see this set-up I think to myself. “Surely I can write a book on something…” (I mean a book that people will actually read).
Because of its focus on ministry instead of on academics, I was surprised to see the Alban Institute with a booth set up. The Alban Institute has published some of the best works on the Intentional Interim Ministry. (Temporary Shepherds and Healthy Congregations: A Systems Approach are two of my favorites). While there, I spoke to their publishing director and gave him my “elevator pitch” for a book idea I’d been running though my head for awhile.
One possible thought I’ve had is in the Fall of 2008, I’ll apply for a sabbatical for the following year (2009-2010). During that year I will find a church in need of intentional interim work and move with our family to that location. I would like it to be located far away from the Bible Belt so that I will be more of an outsider going in. I’ll then lead the church through the Intentional Interim process for a year and write up the results as both an introduction to Intentional Interim work and as a case study of how it might work. Interestingly, it was the process of blogging the various narratives about Susan Song which lead to this idea.
The publishing director seemed open to the concept. (Of course, every publisher nods their heads and agrees with you at the meeting, they keep their options open that way). He did say “Well you know Taran, not every church needs the Intentional Interim process. For us to be interested in this work, you will need an unusual church situation and a clear instance where the process was definitely needed.”
Reading between the lines, I said “You mean, if my family and I endure a year of pain and misery assisting a highly dysfunctional church, then that would make a better book for you?”
“Exactly!!” was his response.
This is a difficult situation to plan out. For example, how do you tell what church will be without a pastor in fall of 2009? The director of the Center for Congregational Health has offered his assistance with placement. There are also some hurdles to overcome at my own institution where my supervisors might not consider this proposal academic enough. But the largest hurdles to jump would be family concerns as fall of 2009 would be the first year of high school for Scooter and the first year of Middle school for Skeeter. Something to think about.
Because of its focus on ministry instead of on academics, I was surprised to see the Alban Institute with a booth set up. The Alban Institute has published some of the best works on the Intentional Interim Ministry. (Temporary Shepherds and Healthy Congregations: A Systems Approach are two of my favorites). While there, I spoke to their publishing director and gave him my “elevator pitch” for a book idea I’d been running though my head for awhile.
One possible thought I’ve had is in the Fall of 2008, I’ll apply for a sabbatical for the following year (2009-2010). During that year I will find a church in need of intentional interim work and move with our family to that location. I would like it to be located far away from the Bible Belt so that I will be more of an outsider going in. I’ll then lead the church through the Intentional Interim process for a year and write up the results as both an introduction to Intentional Interim work and as a case study of how it might work. Interestingly, it was the process of blogging the various narratives about Susan Song which lead to this idea.
The publishing director seemed open to the concept. (Of course, every publisher nods their heads and agrees with you at the meeting, they keep their options open that way). He did say “Well you know Taran, not every church needs the Intentional Interim process. For us to be interested in this work, you will need an unusual church situation and a clear instance where the process was definitely needed.”
Reading between the lines, I said “You mean, if my family and I endure a year of pain and misery assisting a highly dysfunctional church, then that would make a better book for you?”
“Exactly!!” was his response.
This is a difficult situation to plan out. For example, how do you tell what church will be without a pastor in fall of 2009? The director of the Center for Congregational Health has offered his assistance with placement. There are also some hurdles to overcome at my own institution where my supervisors might not consider this proposal academic enough. But the largest hurdles to jump would be family concerns as fall of 2009 would be the first year of high school for Scooter and the first year of Middle school for Skeeter. Something to think about.
