Church Shopping--Pastor edition

When Malorie and I moved to Michigan, we started looking for churches together. Church has always been an important part of our lives, Malorie as a pastor's kid and myself with just a love for what the church meant for me growing up. We looked at churches that fit us theologically, would grow us spiritually, stretch us outside of our white, Dutch, middle-class backgrounds. For awhile we searched a lot, went to several churches more than once, but then by the grace of God we visited a church that I was being considered for their Youth Pastor position. We were both thankful that I got that job, because we really felt welcome at Third CRC in Zeeland, Michigan. It was some place that we thought we would like whether I was hired or not (that could have been awkward).

Now not to sit and say that all that time was pleasant, and it went well without any struggles. It was a struggle to go to another new church week after week. To sit there and know that we were not getting connected anywhere, was tough. How do you just pick a church when you move to a new place?

But now those same exact questions come up. In 6 months I will be graduating from Western Theological Seminary. I am a candidate in the Christian Reformed Church, and will be all but one final set of examinations to be a candidate in the Reformed Church of America come graduation. So in other words, I have options. From many churches, to the CRC and the RCA working together with church planting in many locations, to connections with other churches and classis leaders, there seems to be a grab back of avenues that are open to pursue in the future.

The same struggles of searching for a church to attend come up just the same when looking to pastor a church. We looked at churches and the programs they offered that we might want to be involved in, and now I look at churches and wonder if there are things that Malorie and I, and hopefully our future kids could get involved in. Community outreach is important to us, and we looked for that in a church. Going through church profiles, I make it a point to see their ministry involvement and try to see if they focus on who lives by them. The same questions come to mind, but the difference is between being a church parishioner and the leader.

In Seminary, we don't talk a lot about, "how to approach graduation well." I'm a planner, and like to have some general direction for the next chapter of anything, but this next chapter of life is going to be interesting. There isn't a whole lot of direction when it comes to deciding on a church. Obviously a church that is searching for a pastor will have a lot of say if they like the pastor, and think they will be a good fit, but it has to be mutual.

There is a long list of churches that are looking for pastors, but which one is right, which ones fits Malorie and I the best, and which one can I see myself at? All these questions, and more, flood my mind as I sit and wonder about the future. Malorie loves her job teaching, but she tells me I'm stupid to look at churches simply because of her. Is that true?

Being a planner, these questions aren't leaving my mind as fast as they come in. Many people have said, "God has a plan for you," or "The right place will be made known in His time." Thank you for restating the same promise God gave to Abraham, to me. Of course God has his plans, but I wouldn't be human if I still didn't have concerns over the future.