adventures in candidating

candidating is a church word that means applying for a new pastor-job. I spent the last few months candidating- and I noticed a few things:

1. there are a lot of little churches out there. 
most churches are pretty small- like 400 people or less. and that means they don't have much to spend on employees. they require most of their employees to have multiple jobs. I was often asked, "so...do you know anything about web design?" one church wanted to hire me to be the children's pastor, the youth pastor, the missions pastor, and to fill in in other areas as needed. what?!

2. janitors are a luxury.
most churches can't afford a janitor. they lean on volunteers to clean up. and that means that a lot of churches are messy and cluttery. I found one small church that was immaculate. I don't know how they did it, but I was shocked by how clean everything looked and smelled. one church I went to had walls that were literally dirty. It took a ton of effort to not go and find a clorox wipe and clean it up. when finances are tight, there is a reluctance to throw stuff away- so they end up keeping things that are broken, work out, and out of date. 

3. theology is really important
many of the churches that I talked to were really into their specific brand of theology; or their specific denomination. they were very up front and told me that if I didn't fit their brand, that the conversation should end now. one church told me, "if you're not into john calvin the way that we are, you're not going to fit here." I met with one pastor and the very first thing he said to me in the interview was, "tell me about creation." I asked him what he meant. he said, "you know- Genesis 1-3. is the earth older than 6500 years? was the entire cosmos created in 6 literal days?" I paused. the interview didn't last long. 

4. churches move slow. 
so many of these churches make decisions by committees, and those committees can only meet when everyone is present, and can only make a decision when everyone agrees. I am still getting responses from applications that I sent in months ago. 

5. youth workers are underpaid
many of the churches that I talked to had a budget for their youth worker that was less than minimum wage; yet they required this worker to oversee multiple areas of the church and had extremely high expectations for these workers. many more expected their workers to work 70+ hours a week at half time pay. 

6. every church has a kitchen-
and without fail, it is usually bigger, nicer and cost more than the space used by students. 

7. many churches are run by volunteers with strong personalities.
I interviewed at multiple churches where I caught volunteers and church members bossing their pastor around. they intimidated them and belittled them in front of me. they often tried to intimidate me and warned me of what would happen if I changed their favorite program. 

8. I met a sad pastor...
I met with one pastor who led a small church. he used to work at a big church, but he got fired abruptly. that was almost 20 years ago; but to talk to him, the pain was still so fresh in his mind. he told me, "I don't want to be a big church. been there, done that. I don't want to be a hip church, or relevant. been there, done that. I don't want to have cool music or a cool atmosphere, been there, done that." he was content to keep on serving his small church until he retired. 


so I've been thinking, and I've come to some conclusions:

1. if you have a job- whether its a church job or not- you should be grateful for it; because being out of a job is really scary. if you do have a job, give it your very best- it is a gift from God. Be fun to work with. Be a team player and have a good attitude- it is a good thing to have a job, so enjoy it and do it well.

2. we need to always look at our environments with new eyes- what do other people see and hear when they come into our spaces? do they see clutter and dirt? have we stopped seeing it?

3. I don't ever want to be like that sad pastor. I don't want to be defined by my past. I don't ever want to stop dreaming. I don't ever want to become content. 

4. if you go to church, give to your church! help them to have the money they need to make the decisions and the hires they need to make. while you're at it, help out a little church on the corner if you can- (in ANY WAY you can) they need it!

5. listen to your encouragers
in my search, there was a consistent message given to me: 
its going to work out. 
God has a plan for you.
God loves you, and God is good. 
God has your back.
God isn't done with you. 
you need to trust.

a lot of days, those words went in one ear and out the other. I was so worried, that I was convinced that this was my problem to solve, not God's. I have met so many pastors who used to be a pastor, and now they are doing something else- and I was so worried that I would never get to serve God in church again. but then I found a job. and I was reminded that God has my back; and that I need to trust.

6. pray for your church- and for all of the churches. they don't have the resources they need. pray for your pastor- there are people in their lives that intimidate them. pray that God would provide all of the resources that your church needs to reach their city. churches depend on the generosity of their members to make it- let's all pray for the success of the churches across our land. 

7. get in the game- if you're not serving at your church already- let's get on with it! they need your help and skills. they could do so much more through you and your help! 

again- I want to thank you if you prayed for me, or encouraged me while I was searching for a new job- I can't express enough how much I appreciate that!

God is love.
rev-rob