Looking for Mr. Good

I am sitting in my office enjoying my second teleconference of the day. One more teleconference before the day is done. It’s been a hectic, albeit short, week in the conference office. We are in the process of hiring a new treasurer for the conference. He seems like a really nice guy with a sterling resume and job track record. He inspires confidence in his ability to perform the tasks for which he is being called. He comes from the Great Northwest! His two daughters seem to have become enamored to the sunny and warm weather quite easily. They even told me they went swimming at their hotel. I guess you don’t swim outdoors in the winter if you live in Washington State. I was tempted to say, "Talk to me in August!"

Board meetings are getting more serious as the calendar turns toward personnel and budgeting for the coming year. The future is taking shape but it’s hard to see what shape it’s taking! By the way, the word enjoying was used somewhat sarcastically—for those who may have been left with the wrong idea of my personal tastes in job description.

Let me add that every day that goes by I am getting a closer look at the politics of church work. Not “politics” as in the dirty word we often associate with political campaigns and smear tactics used by unseemly characters in the shadows of power struggles. I mean the dynamics between people and how they deal with other people in a setting that requires serious engagement on topics that may cause divergence, while at the same time requiring interpersonal skills that may make or break any chance of a future working relationship. It is very interesting. I feel like a “fly on the wall.”

How we treat one another often makes all the difference in the world. Sadly, we often take the most expedient path to gain what we want, rather than the way that may require more work, but that will pay off in the long run— perhaps even an eternal long run....