One Last Job Search (Part 1)

If you are a regular reader you may recall that in December of 2005 I was unemployed, living in Tampa and looking for a new position in student ministry.  I sent resumes all over the place, but I had a few things working against me.  First of all, I couldn't exactly count on a glowing recommendation from the Rev. Not-Appearing-in-this-Blog, since he had removed me from my previous ministry a few months earlier.  Secondly, I was 46 years old, and many churches seemed to feel I was closer to retirement than I was to another youth ministry position.  And finally, after 27 years of ministry and more than a little success, many churches just assumed they couldn't afford me.  Offers to come interview were not flying in.  The churches that did contact me were a mess.  I didn't need another situation that needed a hero.  So I waited.


Sometime in December Trinity UMC of Waycross, Georgia saw my resume online and made contact with me.  After a few e-mails and a phone conversation with their Associate Pastor, I was invited to come interview.  I have to admit I had no idea where Waycross was- I am guessing most of you don't either.  It is located about an hour northwest of Jacksonville, Florida.  If you are travelling up I-95, it's about an hour to your west.  If you are on I-75, it's about an hour to the east.  In other words, if you aren't looking for Waycross there is no real reason you should know where it is!  I was expecting a small town, but I was somewhat surprised.  Arriving from the south, it felt like I had driven 50 miles without seeing a building (not true, but it felt that way) when suddenly I arrived at the Waycross city limits.  Immediately there were restaurants, car dealerships and motels.  The church was downtown, which seemed to be an mix of very old and very new buildings.  I had lunch with Pastor Don (the senior pastor) at Wendy's, and then met with the search committee that evening.  Along the way I discovered something very interesting.   The previous youth pastor at TUMC had been Chad Deetz.  Chad had been my intern at FUMC-Kissimmee in 1999, and I had served as a reference for him when he got he job in Waycross, spending a great deal of time on the phone with someone.  It was an odd connection.  In any case, the interview went well and I returned to Tampa feeling good about my chances.  I had a couple of other interviews lined up, and it looked like God might have something in mind for me yet.  That feeling was reinforced when TUMC called me back to interview with parents and students.  That unusual story continues on Friday...


Because of Jesus,