Reverend Ref +

THE DAY AFTER

For those of you who want to know . . . The interview went relatively well. I should have expected this, but didn't -- right off the bat they asked me to offer an opening prayer. I quickly scanned my office for the nearest available BCP and then realized that I would never find one in time. So I did my best Baptist interpretation and prayed for us all. I think it worked.

Questions included: What has been your spiritual journey? Include some of your critical incidents and how have they affected your ministry? How would you inspire the building of community and what would you do to encourage newcomers to stay? What are your views and expectations of lay ministry? What are the strongest areas of your ministry and what areas need improvement?

I thought I was relaxed and that I struck a good balance between humor and seriousness.

These are both very small communities. My one big concern revolves around my family: will Mrs. Ref be able to get a job? How will The Kid cope with this move and living in a place where she will be the only person under 35 (maybe even 40)? Things to consider for sure. But of course it's all speculation now. There's no offer yet -- they still need to interview one other person and then decide whom to invite out for a face-to-face meeting and preach at their congregations on a Sunday. That first part might happen as early as next week.

In the mean time, I wait to hear from them while getting ready for my next one on the 28th.