In just a little over a month, Doug will graduate with a Masters in Divinity. Shocking I know. If you had known him, when I met him, you would never have foreseen this coming. This just goes to show that people can and do change overtime.
Not unlike any student who graduates from college there is much anticipation in the air. Along with that also comes, the anxiety of what’s next. Colleges offer job fairs where you can submit resumes, and participate in general interviews. The student then waits to hear back from the potential employer. In the meantime, it’s helpful if they look on their own as well.
Seminary is different. The seminarian cannot look on his/her own, while he/she waits. I have written in the past about how the seminarian completes paperwork, and offers preference of where they wish to be. The bishops meet; the seminarians name is pulled and is then assigned to a synod. Once the synod has been assigned, the seminarian will hear from the bishop and the process begins. Keep in mind also there could be more than one seminarian heading into the same synod.
Just as with job fairs, the seminarian waits. How long he/she waits depends on many things. Each synod has a bishop. Each bishop has their own way of doing things. Some are quick, some not so much. Here’s what the big picture kind of looks like, but based on the bishop, can vary.
Bishop calls the seminarian. The conversation is short. “Hi. welcome to X synod my name is bishop Y. I will be reaching out to you soon so we can meet and talk. I look forward to meeting you….blah blah blah.” Call ends.
Seminarian sits…….wait time depends on the bishop. Some are called just shortly thereafter the first call, others could wait longer.
The seminarian now meets the bishop either in person, on the phone or via Skype/Face time. Some may ask what the seminarian is looking for, some may not. Some may ask about what the family is looking for some may not. Some will only have 1 or 2 churches, where another will have several churches looking for a pastor. Some bishops will have several seminarians from the same school “compete” so to speak for the same church, while others may not. No it’s not really a competition, but it feels that way.
The bishop will now send the seminarians paperwork to the churches looking for a pastor, they will also send the church information to the seminarian. Now the seminarian waits for the church to review the paperwork. When they are ready, the church will now setup an interview.
Depending of course on how many they may be interviewing, there could be more than one interview for each candidate. Once the church likes the seminarian, paperwork is given to the bishop to review for compensation etc.
An Offer is made, once the offer is accepted or denied the church moves forward. If accepted it, it must go through a church vote. This maybe up to a month after the offer has been accepted. Once the vote is passed, the date is set and the rest they say is history.
This in itself is a pretty long process, and if the seminarian is a lucky one, they can begin shortly after graduation. However, it can be months after graduation as well. Now the questions of what if it’s not a good fit and all opportunities in that synod are exhausted, what’s next?
Here’s where my anxiety really kicks in. The seminarian will wait. They will wait while their paperwork is passed to other bishops, including other Synods. In some cases they may have to wait for the next draft, and this could be a year away. So now what?
Yes a contingency plan should be made for such cases. Yes, this can and does happen, I‘ve seen first-hand with seminarians before us. But let’s be realistic here. Who will hire someone, who is trying to interview at other locations and is knowingly going to leave as soon as they are voted in somewhere? Who can live on no income for a year for that matter?
We are working on our contingency plan, and I am concerned that Doug’s call will take a while to show itself. Doug and the bishops initial goal was June 1st, but we truly do not see that happening. Why? Because we still have not received any paperwork for churches. The earliest now we could hope for would be July 1st.
Now here’s the last tricky piece to my anxiety ridden life. I want to be happy for all those who are getting interviews and or offers. I’m even happy for them to know they have a place to go shortly after graduation. But I must also be honest in saying, I’m jealous too. Why don’t we even have interviews yet? Where are we going? Yes, Yes, different bishops, different ways.
We have not made any “public” announcement because we really don’t know where we are going to end up. So once again, I ask for continued prayers.
I will also try to default to one of my favorite verses: Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.