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.
Standards: Feb 10
Even churches which are as open and inclusive as Lamb of God have standards. Of course there are the global ones like Jesus' teaching to love God and neighbor because on these "hang all the law and the prophets." Then there are minor standards which make us part of a local community of faith. One of these is pledging our financial commitment. As we go forward with the call to a new pastor, we are looking for 100% of households to make such a promise. The good news is that right now we are about half way there. When the call committee approaches candidates they will want to be able to say we are all the way there. Even if you have no clue what your income for the year will be, a promise to do your best will mean we are on the way to 100%.
Super Bowl Sunday: Feb 3
I put my coach hat back on today to remind everyone that we have produced our profile and now it is up to each of us to distribute it widely by mail or email. The easy way is to invite people you know to see our website and tell a Lutheran pastor or Episcopal priest about the search at Lamb of God. The search committee has formed and begins work this week!
Profile for Search Ready: Jan 27
We did it! Transition Task Force presented the completed profile at our annual meeting Jan 27. It is a wonderful summary and representation of the ideas that came from 163 survey respondents and 120 focus group participants. Thanks to Marianne and Glenn Whitehouse, Billy Gunnels, George Alexakis and Tom Small. See it here on our website http://lambofgodchurch.net/Search%20Profile.pdf. Then our job is to distribute it widely. The person God will call may not yet know that s/he is considering a new position!
A better way: Jan 23
See the page called "Clergy Work Time Commitments: A Better Way" at the top right of the blog.
God will surprise you: Jan 20
Sunday's sermon was a "state of the church" address and you can find it about 18 minutes into the January 20 video on our website at http://lambofgodchurch.net/Lamb_of_God_Videos.html It will give you a comparison to the community St. Paul wrote to in Corinth, emphasize our high value on excellent contemporary worship and high quality traditional worship, and remind you that "God will surprise you with what can be done."
Call Committee Names So Far: Jan 15
Bless these good people for accepting the responsibility of forming the Call Committee for Lamb of God. Those named so far by the Board of Trustees in accord with our by-laws are Glenn Whitehouse (chair), Jody Ladwig, Stu Senneff, Eileen Wood, Elena Wild with Judith Olson (designated alternate). With a few others, they will soon receive the final work of the Transition Task Force and move forward with the Lutheran Synod and Episcopal Diocese to list the position.
What!! There's a check list?? Jan 13
Not only is there a Transition Check List, there is an entire Lutheran cook book to guide us through. Check it out at http://www.fbsynod.com/transition-process/137-introduction-the-transitions-process The good news is that last week our Board of Trustees met with Connie Schmucker, assistant to our Synod Bishop, and we have checked off most of the list. More good news is that the Board has selected a stellar call committee and just as soon as we have confirmed all the names, you will see them here.
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