First Runner-Up
January 1, 1998
I was sitting in a restaurant with an old pastor friend, catching up on the news. He asked about a church that had my resume. "I made it to the final three," I said, then admitted, " … but I was passed over." I started listing every church I'd talked to in the past dozen years. "I was one of seven over there. I made the final cut to two here … But none of them worked out," I added nonchalantly, "so I think I'll stay put for a while. No big deal." He said, simply, "That must have really been painful." To my surprise, tears came to my eyes. No one, not even my wife, had sensed the effect of multiplied rejections on my ego. The first rejection
I'm in a great church, larger than most. I've served here for nearly fourteen years, and we've seen significant things happen. The night the congregation voted on me, my wife and I were waiting across town in a restaurant. We got a phone call to return, and in the time we had been gone, they had decorated the church for a wedding. We walked in, and standing at the front, smiling, was the chairman and other church leaders. Someone escorted my wife and me down the aisle. They had modified the wedding vows so they were both serious and fun. There was a reception. We were excited to get "married." That setting has always reminded me that we made promises to each other, and I'm here till God makes it clear it's time to go elsewhere. But through the years, I have occasionally felt it might be time to move and have been open to inquiries from other churches. "I won't get my hopes up," I tell my wife, but I always do. There's something about a new challenge that invigorates. But reality says all but one candidate will be rejected. My first rejection came when I was in my early thirties. I ...
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