You never know when it is coming or from where. For me it was while I was eating a bowl of cereal and watching the tube, completely out of the blue.
"Pastor Craig?"
"Yep.That's me"
"This is ------ calling from Immanuel Lutheran in Lethbridge."
"Uh huh." [translation: Oh man, NOW!, wow OK, breathe."
" I was wondering if there is any reason you would be unable to take a call."
(I should explain that in this context it is protocol to ask and the answer is meant to be based on stuff like – are you in the hospital, are your feet nailed to the floor kind of stuff)
"N-no"
"OK, well our congregation is looking at you to be our Associate Pastor and we needed to ask that question."
At this point I got sort of confused, my brain had gone into overload and I wasn't clear whether I was being called or being considered for a call so when ----- said this…
"OK, well we will be sending out the papers to you this week, you should get them shortly."
I was a little surprised.
"So I am receiving a call then…."
"Yes. Are you OK, you sound a little shocked?"
And so on. I got off the phone and thought for a minute. Candace was out, I had no one to talk to about this right away. I think that was a good thing. I went to the Lethbridge website, the church website, poked around at real estate stuff. I had to wait for the papers, they would tell me more.
To say this whole thing is very surreal is an understatement. A buddy of mine likened it to being asked to leave your wife so that you can get married again right away and the confusion feels about right for all that. It is a lot to think about, and it has been challenging for Candace and I on a number of levels. So many facets of life, each one important to consider. It's even hard writing about it because there is so much I can't say right now but I wanted to share a little bit what its like. To come back to that analogy it like having your wife wonder whether you are leaving her, and having another woman wanting to know whether you will or not. The emotions are very tough to sift through. How do you leave someone you love dearly for someone you hope you could learn to love? Try and imagine that and you can see my problem.
I got the papers a couple of days later and looked them over. I announced it on Sunday in both places, one via letter, one personally. The reaction was actually really neat. I think the best message I got from everyone is if God is speaking through this call for you to go, then go with our blessing, if not He is still speaking and this'll be a good process. I have had talks with friends at Zion, with people at Immanuel, with family and Candace and I continue to talk about it.
So that's the long and the short of it. God is doing something, but what is He doing. I had a great chat with someone this morning about God always making Himself clear when we ask Him to and be patient. So I have a few sheepskins out there, some have already been answered, one or two I am waiting on. I announce my decision on July 6th both here and Lethbridge. Pray for Zion, for Immanuel, and for Candace and I as we think about this…
4 comments:
Wow! Very cool! Jenn and I will be praying for you two ... or four. We're in the middle of a similar process, although it's not as official and we don't get to use cool sounding words like 'candidating' or 'called' until its almost all over. Anyways, all that to say I pray it will go well.
Thanks for sharing! I know the other two Lutherans in Lethbridge (even if we are the wrong kind) and they are cool guys. You check out one's blog at Kevingpowell.blogspot.com
Anyways, so you can get a letter of call without even knowing you are in the process!?!?!? That is pretty crazy. Usually we get a call from the Bishop and then the congregation can begin the process by asking for an interview, but call letter shouldn't come out of the blue for us anymore... I don't know how I would react. Although I don't know how am I going to react the first one!
Peace be with you in this time of two calls!
Hi Andrew -- it's Becky!
I'm not sure if you heard, but Arron is taking a call to Saskatchewan. The call process is a very difficult one -- both for you and your wife. On the one hand, you love the people where you are at and it is hard to leave that if you go. On the other hand, God's people everywhere need a good and faithful servant.
Arron's brother and his family are members at Lethbridge. It would be a joy (and relief) to know, if you took the call, they would be served by a good, loving, and faithful shepherd.
Please call Arron about the whole "call process". We've been through two now and we've learned a lot from both experiences. He'll give you ideas on questions you may want to consider, things to pray about, etc.
Better go -- my thoughts and prayers are with you and Candice as you consider where God will have you continue to serve Him and His people. We know EXACTLY what you are going through. Arron announced he'll be taking the call to Saskatchewan just over a week ago. Please call us and we can catch up!
B.
SO!!??!??!?!?! Anything to announce to the world!
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