The Search

Well, I know those of you who check this blog are wondering how things are going on the job search. Well, things are going slow and we are just hoping to know more about where God will be taking us. It is obvious that He will provide, but what that looks like and where it will be is still way up in the air. Well, A few blogs ago I mentioned that we were still in good standings with a church called, The River's Edge, in the thumb area of Michigan. Well, that position isn't going to happen. We found out about a week and a half ago, and it made that night a really tough one. It was a real tough one for Dawn and I because we really felt that this could be a possibility. We were actually going to visit at the end of October, but then I talked to the pastor for 10 minutes on the phone. Well, during those 10 minutes the pastor got the feeling that I did not trust him, because of I asked about salary and a youth budget. The phone call ended abruptly (as the call must have been dropped... not Cingular I guess)and then about a half hour later I got a rejection e-mail from him. As I look back, I am thankful that this happened, but not thankful for the way it all fell apart. I really think that churches need to be better about the hiring process then they are. That is another soapbox. I will someday rant about that extensively, but not today. So where are we?

What does the job search look like currently? Well, I have been filling out a billion applications and having a bunch of phone interviews. It does not look much different then it did about a month ago. Here are some of the highlights.

Saturday, September 31st I talked to the Elder in charge of the search committee at First Christian Church in Beloit, Kansas. It was a really good conversation. I was impressed with the impact that the church was having in that community, especially among the youth. This past Saturday, October 7th, I had a conversation with the church's pastor. Yesterday I received a call from the aforementioned elder and he told me that they wanted to set up a phone interview with the search committee. For those of you counting at home, that is 3 phone interviews with this church, zero visits to date.

This past Saturday I had a great conversation with a man named Lew from Skokie Valley Baptist Church, just north of Chicago. This was another great conversation. I really enjoyed talking to Lew. He was born in Jamaica and had an accent (but he never said "mon" ...go figure). He actually sounded like a Solomon, a friend from church, so it made it easy to talk to him. It sounds like a great opportunity there. This church is a multi-cultural church which is quite appealing. Another interesting this about this opportunity is that the church has a daycare, and the lady who runs it also has a puppet company. I was told they were meeting on Sunday (the 8th) and I should hear back from them soon. Our question here is if we can financially survive in that area.

Well, Saturday I also talked with a man from Heartland Community Baptist Church in Sioux City, Iowa. It was also a good conversation. He also asked me to send him a statement of faith and other things about myself. It is a good thing that I have done a million application. I was able to cut and paste some things together. Let's hope it was effective.

One funny (yet also frustrating) story is that of Silver Creek Reformed Church, in central Illinois. I originally snail mailed them an application on September 14th. This was one of the original batches of applications. A few weeks later I received a letter telling me that they would be reviewing applications and would get back to me in early October. They called on Friday (October 6th) and asked if they could set up an interview on October 19th. It is crazy how long it takes some churches to do these things. I think it is frustrating because they have to wait for the search team to be all present. Arghh! Don't get me started... don't even get me started.

Another church is Orchard Park Presbyterian Church outside of Indianapolis, Indiana. Two weeks ago I had an interview with them. It went OK I guess. Can I just say that I hate talking on the phone, and these phone interviews with the search committees are hard because you can't always hear people, and you cannot read their reactions. There are often odd pauses too because speaker phones are odd things. Well, I was told I was going to hear back from them in two weeks, and still nothing. I even sent them a reminder e-mail. I am hoping that I will hear from them soon...preferably tomorrow.

I have also has 2 great conversations with the people at YouthCompass who are looking for people to fill positions in Germany and Italy. Dawn and I feel that this could be something we do in the future, but probably not yet. One of the huge hurdles would have to raise $40,000 per year. I must say though, being back in Europe does sound nice.

Well, I have also sent out other applications to places and am waiting to hear back from them. Places like...

Maple Grove Evangelical Free Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. I sent them an application awhile ago. I am hoping to hear from them soon.

West Evalgelical Free Church, Wichita, Kansas - they even sent me a $5 Starbucks gift card. yum... But that is all I know.

Northpointe Community Church, Dewitt, Michigan. The pastor said that the elders would discuss my application ad get back to me some time this week. One interesting thing about this church is that they have a puppet on staff. Check out their site.

Impact 2818 - a camp in Indiana who is looking for a Jr. High Program Director. I e-mailed to find out the status and they told me I should hear more about this position by early next week if they want to interview me or not. Working at a camp could be quite interesting and exciting.

Roseau Evangelical Covenant Church is in Northern Minnesota (about 10 minutes from Canada, ey?). They called me a few weeks ago and told me that they were going to contact my references, then I heard no word from them. I e-mailed them last week and finally they called me today and told me that they were still waiting to hear from my references.

Another place I have been communicating with is North Friendship General Baptist Church in southern Indiana. I has an awkward interview with them. First they called late, or so I thought. Sometimes these time zones can be tricky because you don't know which zone they are in (especially in Indiana) and when they will actually be calling. Well, they called halfway through Lost, so I was a little distracted. Also the phone interview was a bit odd. They seemed disorganized. They mostly kept asking me if I had questions for them and random questions for me.

I know there are others that I have sent applications to and a ton more that I have sent my resume to. It is a crazy world this job search. Please keep us in your prayers. We are hoping that some of these leads will turn into actual visits. I am getting tired of searching for jobs and filling out applications and having phone interviews, but never going any further than that. Please leave me a comment of encouragement.