Getting the Real Story: A Guide to Candidating
Doug Scott
An interview will determine whether this is God's call only when it reveals the real story, when through it we discover the heart of the congregation's expectations and hopes.
—Doug Scott I took a deep breath to push the fatigue from my mind and body. After traveling seven hours to be there, my wife and I were now holding cups of strong coffee, surrounded by thirty people, and trying to connect names with faces. They examined us closely, some smiling, some sizing us up like wary customers looking for a used car. Four months of correspondence, telephone conversations, research, and prayer had brought us to that moment. Every facet of my life would soon be explored publicly. I knew I would need the endurance of a distance runner just to withstand this evening. I was being interviewed. The church, a major congregation in the South, was looking for a senior pastor. They had sent me a bulky package of materials—results of a congregational self-study, membership statistics, a statement of mission and purpose, and comprehensive financial reports for the previous five years. I, in turn, had provided them with my background and experience. We had planned our three-day interview trip with surgical precision—the children were with my parents in Philadelphia, the dog was housed at a kennel, the airline connections were engineered so my absence would not be missed, and other clergy were covering for me. It had been expensive and exhausting, but we were excited about the possibilities. As we moved to our chairs, front and center, I prayed for discernment, knowing our conversations the next three days might well affect the rest of our lives. The chairman stood to begin the discussion. Looking at me over the tops of his reading glasses, he said, ...
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