Ted Talks for Lamb of God

This blog was created especially for the time I served as Transitional Pastor at Lamb of God Lutheran Episcopal Church www.lambofgodchurch.net.  Lamb of God is a large community with busy lives, many visitors, and seasonal members.  The blog was focused on the transition task and is a record of our progress from September 2012 to Easter 2013.  This was a great adventure for me and I learned things which are reflected on my professional website www.emcopland.com

New Life: Easter Mar 31

This will conclude these postings for Lamb of God.  This blog has a summary of the transition announcements from September 2012 to Easter 2013.  They are a record of victory.  We did it!  Lamb of God is right on schedule to interview candidates and select the next pastor for this adventure.  New life for all. 

Good advice: Mar 25

Good advice for us from Episcopal Bishop Steven Charleston, copied from his Facebook posting:  "Sometimes the best leadership I can offer is not to join in the first place. Better to be honest about availability now than to disappoint later. Some of the best choices I have made have been to get out of the way and let others do the leading. Religion is a team sport. I believe all unpaid church jobs should only last a couple of years so others can have a chance to try. And every meeting should end on time just as every service begins on time. Finally, if you are standing next to someone you don't know, you are an official greeter and a fully licensed tour guide." 

Hat's off to you: Mar 17

This was my final  announcement while wearing my "coach hat."  Holy Week is not the time for these, and after Easter, with my consulting job wrapped up, the Search Committee and Board of Trustees will continue the Transition Announcements on Sunday morning.  Meanwhile, while some think we fell behind the Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel, our Search Committee probably has more candidates to review.  They are now at the stage of sorting the list to come up with four Lutheran and four Episcopal candidates for Skype interviews.  After that they will be blind to denomination and looking at the best candidates.  While they must keep confidence on names, word is out that there are some excellent candidates.

Waiting for White Smoke: Mar 10

Our Search Committee begins Tuesday, just as the Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel.  Unfortunately we have no chimney over the conference room, but we do have the same standards of confidentiality.  At this point the committee will be reviewing many candidate profiles, and since many of them will not have told their current church that they are looking for a position, and since only one of them will be finally selected, we will honor them by keeping it all confidential.  So from this point, it's OK to tell the Search Committee of your hopes, but don't expect any news from them for a while.

Updates: Feb 24

Search Committee Chair Glenn Whitehouse spoke today and told us that there are nearly two dozen candidate names in so far, with more to come before evaluations begin with Synod and Diocese in early March.   Also, Board Member Stu Senneff spoke about our pledge campaign, reporting 70% toward goal, and urged us on, reminding us that we need to reach that fully pledged budget threshold before we can make a call to a new pastor.

Another Turning Point: Feb 17

Didn't wear my orange "coach" hat today for a transition announcement.  Instead introduced newly reelected Board of Trustees President Bill Monsees.  From this point the driving energy of the search and call process is in the capable hands of the Call Committee and Board of Trustees.  Bill spoke passionately about Lamb of God, and what it means to him to be a member.  He spoke as passionately about the importance of everyone being on board with a pledge as the Board works toward a fully funded budget to make the call possible.