A Blog Tour

As I begin to pursue publication of my book on transition, I'm already beginning to consider how I might promote it (besides on this blog for my tens of readers).

I was recently invited to participate in a "blog tour" for Andrew Peterson's new book, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. Primarily, this consisted of reviewing the book on my Pastor's blog. I was also given an extra copy to give away to a reader.

This is a great idea, and utilizes the viral/social quality of blogs and new media well. Check out my review at my Pastor's blog-- and keep a watch over the next day or two for when I post about how to win the free copy of Andy's book.

Briefly...

Here's a good (brief) piece on choosing references... eventually I'll get back to the information packet and will offer some additional thoughts to this.

I finished ordination last month, and my ordination service was 10 days ago (2/17). It was great!

I sent out a handful of proposals for the transition book yesterday. No telling how they will respond, but I'm shooting for the big guys first: Baker Academic, Eerdmans, InterVarsity Press, Zondervan. Also on this list to hit soon: Jossey-Bass, Abingdon, Alban Institute, Christian Focus, P&R, Wipf & Stock, and The Church Growth Institute.

That's all.

Nothing to say?

I know it seems like I keep coming back here, saying I have stuff to post and then promptly abandoning this blog for a few weeks (or more!). The truth is, (I think) I have a lot to say, and I really do want to get it out there (or out here?) for you.

Of course, I can't make this blog my FIRST priority, since my family, my pastoral ministry, and my consulting work have to come before this. But I do remain committed, and if nothing else I want to re-affirm that every so often.

My friend Megan recently did a "blog roll call" asking folks to chime in and comment, letting her know who her readers are. I'll ask the same: if I have any readers (!), would you mention so in the comments? Thanks!

More on this blog, and the book

If you've read this blog for any length of time, you probably know that I started it as a repository for data, insights, and interaction with the research that I started in 2004 on pastoral placement. I initially did that research for personal reasons (e.g., I wanted to know how to place well!) but quickly became burdened for anyone who is going through a pastoral transition. As I've continued to study this subject, I'm convinced that I have developed some helpful nuts-and-bolts ideas about how to do pastoral transition well, from both the pastor's side and the church's.

At some point, I wondered if there might be a book-length project in this material, or even more than one. I first posted about this idea in July 2006-- so it is something that has been percolating for a while. Since then, I've gone through different stages of prepping for that-- including copying all of my posts into a very useful writing application (and discovering that I had more than enough material already for a book-length project-- and also realizing that about half of the book had barely been discussed); drafting a book proposal; getting great feedback from a trusted friend and fellow writer that I should divide the material into two books; writing a grant (that was rejected) for additional research for my book; actually losing the final draft of my book proposal; and putting all of it (including this blog) on indefinite hold as I transitioned into pastoral ministry.

Now, the time is right for me to pick it up again over the coming months. I think there are several reasons why the timing is good:

• For starters, I've actually done the transition now, and I'm finishing up my examinations for ordination; Lord willing, I'll be ordained by mid-March. Since I first began to discuss doing a book, this has been the biggest hang-up for those who I've interacted with, and while I still believe that the research I've done could stand on its own in this regard, the added (and possibly fundamental) credibility of having actually done it means a lot.



• Next, approaching the completion (hopefully!) of ordination means that a major item that has been on my plate is finished. I'm settling into ministry well, and the other consulting and side work I'm doing is also reaching a manageable pace. So I have the capacity, I think, to re-focus on this project. Worst case, I'll start up and then slow down again, but we'll see.



• I'm eager to publish this material-- mainly because I really want to see men (and women) helped with their transition into ministry. Like I said above, I have a burdened heart for this.



• Finally, my friend Craig is setting his sights on finishing his (latest) book up this year, too-- and I think it would be cool to go through that together. Maybe we'll covenant to pray for one another in that, or at least be good support; Craig has been a great encourager of my writing in general.

Since this blog has been a great tool for prepping the book up to now, I fully intend to continue using it that way. Watch for me to develop new ideas on different levels over the coming months.

A month in the life?

Those of you who are still bothering to watch this blog may be wondering where I am! To be sure, I haven't kept up with Placement Reflections as much as I intended to-- or as much as I would like. When time gets crunched, I think blogging takes substantially lower priorities than the other things.

Still, I haven't forgotten this blog-- nor has my interest waned in maintaining it. I'll post more about that later (maybe tomorrow? maybe next week...).

Here's a glimpse at the last month (December):

• Of course, weekly sermons continue to be a requirement. In addition, we had two special services in December (A "service of lessons and carols" for lighting our Chrismon tree, and a candlelight service on the Sunday evening before Christmas) which added two mini-sermon "homilies" to the mix. So, seven sermons in December altogether! And, of course, the holidays themselves (Christmas Eve and Day, New Year's Day) and the reduced time for preparation has made these more of a squeeze.



• I also traveled to St. Louis for a two-day workshop I led as a consultant. This is a part of my ministry, and I want the church to see my consulting and other ministry that happens "beyond the walls of our church" as a ministry of our church as well. In other words, I want them to feel some ownership in this sort of ministry. (By the way, that trip was my third out-of-town trip in as many weeks.)



• During December I had three church members in the hospital, which required additional visits and trips; I'm learning that I really like visitation ministry a lot, and feel energized by it in a way. I like how hospital visitation brings a certain sort of spiritual comfort to people who may otherwise be scared, confused, or just feeling low.



• We also had a few of folks from the church over to our house-- not as many as we would like, but probably 4 couples came for dinner or at least a visit.



• In addition, we had a number of houseguests in December! 12/1 and 12/2 saw friends from St. Louis come in, briefly-- one member of the family spent the night (Jack and Molly's best friend Georgia), while the rest joined us for worship and a meal on that Sunday. Another St. Louis friend stopped through on her way home for Christmas break, and spent the night. Then my sister, mother, step-father, and step-sister all came for a long weekend for Christmas. On the following weekend, a dear friend and former student came to see us, again for a long weekend.



• Naturally, there were several parties surrounding Christmas. A family in the church had one in their home, and we had receptions after each of our special services. There was a brief one at the kids' school, too. On January 1, we had a drop-in/open house for our church family, and enjoyed having them see our new home.



• There was also a surprise called meeting of Presbytery in mid-December, which took up most of a day.



• Speaking of Presbytery, did I mention that I've been reviewing for my final ordination exams over the past month? One more factor of priority...

Needless to say, it has been a busy month (as Decembers always are in the church). I'll be examined for ordination next week by the Credentials Committee, and in early February by the Presbytery as a whole. If all goes well next week, I'll give a bit more attention to blogging here in January. At latest, February should see a bit more frequent posting.

Internet Communities article

I've always been fascinated with technology, and over time I've developed a lot of thoughts and ideas about how faith and technology collide. A few of these thoughts made their way into an article that I recently wrote for ByFaith magazine, which ended up being called, "Looking for Love in a Few Wrong Places". That article, which focuses particularly on how technology and the Internet allow communities to be built in new ways, is now available on the ByFaith website, in case you're interested.

By the way, if you don't already subscribe to ByFaith, I would highly recommend it (and not just because I write for them)-- it is a good magazine that offers a helpful look at many diverse topics.

house-keeping

Well, I'm back from my extended hiatus from blogging here (as you may have noticed from my old post which just showed up a couple of days ago!). And once again, I'm going to try to maintain a regular posting schedule: once a week on a transition-related post, plus once a week on a "week in the life of a new pastor) post. (I'm still catching up on the latter.)

Meanwhile, you might be interested to know that my new church has a new website. On it you will find a blog from me, as well as podcasts of my sermons. As you will see, my blog there is more general stuff, mostly related to ministry and church life; I want to maintain Placement Reflections as a content-specific place for my writing on pastoral transitions.

If you're still with me, thanks for reading!

Long time, no blog...

For the two of you who still check my blog, I'm still here!

Sorry about the shortage of content-- actually, since late spring. I have a lot of blog posts in mind, and I will get them here eventually, I promise. There is a little bit going on right now: packing, studying for licensure, trying to finalize a contract on a house, and seeing everyone we want to see in St. Louis before we move is keeping us busy.

Some of you have e-mailed to ask if I would close down this blog now that I've placed. The short answer is, NO. The slightly longer answer is, my heart for seminarians and pastors in transition is still a big part of my sense of ministry and calling, and I will continue to write about my thoughts and, such as they may be, insights into the process of transition.

Over the coming weeks, I'll try to post at least once a week, starting tomorrow. Thanks for sticking with me.

On slow blogging

Any readers I still have (!) will know that my blogging pace, which was almost daily from January through mid-March, has slowed to a crawl since then. There are several reasons for this:

• To begin with, I'm working a fair amount. I've been doing some computer work as a consultant of sorts, and have also stayed very busy with family life. This change of pace has thrown my blogging patterns off a bit.
• Also, I've been working hard at candidacy. In the past several months, I've been very close (but not close enough!) to a firm pastoral call from a couple of churches, including one four-day visit to a church in North Carolina. I've also done a handful of phone interviews, and have been asked to fill out even more multi-page questionnaires. These are time-consuming and exhausting.
• I've been writing a good bit for other venues. I've written a lot for About This Particular Macintosh, an e-zine, as well as writing some for Low End Mac. I've also been doing a good bit of writing on materials for a capital campaign for my church.
• I've also been writing a lot for this blog, though you wouldn't know it. In my blog "client" (I use ecto to compose my blog posts), I have about a dozen blog posts at different stages of completion. I also have about as many ideas for posts floating around in my head (I know, not very GTD of me).
• I'm tired. We've hit the six-month mark for candidacy, and it is sapping me of my enthusiasm. I'm fighting discouragement in the candidacy process. I know from my own research that the optimal time-frame for a search process is seven to twelve months, and that seems like a real long time right now. Candidates-- I feel your pain. Readers-- I need your prayers.

I'll get some new content up very soon. I really do have some exciting things to post, simply pending my completion of the writing. Please keep reading...

Technorati Tags: Blogging, Candidacy

Another update

Here's a (very) quick update for those who remain interested:

• Grant-- The Louisville Institute did not award me a grant for my research. I'm disappointed, but have a couple of other options in mind yet. More at 11...
• Placement-- I continue to nurture leads and explore options for candidacy. The whole family recently went on an interview weekend that went well; I have another phone interview yet scheduled. Things may be getting close, but only our sovereign Lord knows for sure.

Thanks for checking in!

Technorati Tags: Candidacy, Writing

Writing updates

My grant proposal is off to Louisville, and I should hear from them by mid-April, it seems. I'm praying...

I recently mentioned how much I love my Fujitsu ScanSnap; catch my review of the ScanSnap at ATPM. You might also find interesting my articles there on using tech tools for "Getting Things Done" in a column called "Next Actions:"

Also, the article my sister and I wrote about hurting and loving those who hurt, called "Fighting Fallenness," was in the January/February issue of ByFaith magazine, but hasn't been posted on ByFaith's website.

Look for my two-part series called "A Mover's Guide" at Relevant magazine online in April. Find it in the "Career/Finance" section.

Some of what I'm doing here on the blog may be confusing or even frustrating: for example, I have two serial posts going, one on negotiating terms of call and the other on putting together an information packet. Both are taking a long time to complete, which makes the information less useful to you-- however, I am trying to do careful and solid research to present the best information about each of these topics. Thanks for your patience.

Finally, I'm still working on a book proposal for a book on transition from seminary into ministry. However, at the urging of a trusted friend, I have decided to divide that book into two: one book on seminary life and how to get the most out of seminary training, and the second on transition from seminary into ministry.

Technorati Tags: Writing

More writing updates

I mentioned recently that I was interviewed for an article on David Allen's Getting Things Done method of project and task management.  That article is finished, and it can be found at Cnn.com.  He quoted me only briefly, but it's still disproportionately large compared to the amount of credibility I have beside the other guys mentioned (including Allen himself).

The rumor is that the recent article I co-wrote with my sister, entitled "Fighting Fallenness," is out in the paper edition of ByFaith magazine.  If you receive the paper copies, perhaps you can confirm this rumor.  I'll keep you posted about when it goes up on the website.

Technorati Tags: Writing

Writing updates

Those of you who follow my writing may be interested in these few notes:

• I continue to write a (fairly) regular column for Low End Mac called "The Efficient Mac User".
• I've also begun writing a new column for the well-established e-zine About This Particular Macintosh; my column is called "Next Actions" and it deals with how to use technology tools to implement David Allen's "Getting Things Done" task and project management system.
• Getting Things Done (GTD) is a pretty esoteric subject, it's true; however, it scored me an interview with CNN.com's David Williams about using GTD in the tech world.  (I'll let you know when the article is up.)
• My sister and I recently completed an article for ByFaith called "Fighting Fallenness."  It discusses how churches can become communities of support and fellowship to hurting people.  If all goes well it should appear in the next issue.  (I'll put up a link to that as well.)
• My friend and colleague Phil Douglass has completed his book, tentatively entitled Your Church Has a Personality, about the organizational temperament of churches and ministries and how they affect communication.  This is significant to me, as I helped him with some of the editing and research.  The book will be published by P&R and they've promised to deliver it in time for the PCA's General Assembly.  We're hoping to write a book together someday soon, combining his research with mine; it would focus on how churches and search committees can do a better job at finding and evaluating candidates.

Technorati Tags: Writing

Advancing the research

Long-time readers will know that I have been researching pastoral transition for several years.  Specifically, I've been studying "effective" placement from seminary, and to that end I have already conducted an extensive survey with graduates from Covenant Seminary.

Today I spoke with the Louisville Institute, who is offering a number of small research grants funded by a much larger grant from the Lilly Endowment.  One in particular, the Pastoral Leadership Grant, is a good fit for my research, according to the Director of the Louisville Institute.

For almost two years I've wanted to expand my research to include other seminaries, but I can't afford to underwrite the costs myself.  This grant would clear the path to expanding and advancing my research significantly.

Over the next few weeks I'll be putting together a proposal, and Lord willing I'll win my first research/writing grant.

Technorati Tags: Research, Seminary, Transition, Writing

By the way...

Oh yeah-- happy New Year, everyone.  I forgot to do a New Year's post, but here are a couple of goals for the coming year:

• Find placement in pastoral ministry.
• Continue advancing my writing (last year I set out to expand into a new market; I made progress, but haven't broken into one yet.  Maybe this year...)
• Get my book on transition considered by publishers (is it reasonable to set a goal for getting a book contract for it?)
• Get healthier, including figuring out the sinus problems that have recently been diagnosed

That's it; no other major goals for the year.

Technorati Tags: Blogging, Placement, Writing

No posts this week

Im very sick this week.  Please pray.

Be back next week.

Technorati Tags: Blogging

Two years later...

A little over two years ago, I posted my first reflections on this blog.  A lot has changed since then:

• I postponed graduation (and therefore transition) for 8 months.
• I accepted a position at the school where I've taught and worked for over five years.
• I completed the first stage of my research, with 171 of 312 survey recipients responding.
• I wrote 160 posts on this blog.
• I've written over 100,000 words on pastoral transition, including reflections on my own transitions and on my research.
• Over 9,000 hits have registered at this blog, with an average of several hundred per month.
• I started an occasional podcast to complement the content on the blog.
• I've begun preparing a proposal for a book that would include most of the work on this blog, focusing on helping seminarians transition into ministry.

A lot has happened over the past two years.  Thanks for reading and sticking with me!  I look forward to continuing my conversations with you about pastoral transition.

Technorati Tags: Blogging, Writing

Books I want to read

Here are some books I've come across that I want to read:

John Cionca, Search Counsel: a Devotional Coaching Guide for Search Committees
Thomas P. Sweetser and Mary Benet McKinney, Changing Pastors: a Resource for Pastoral Transitions
Robert H. Ramey and Herb Miller, The Pastor's Start-up Manual: Starting a New Ministry
Alice Mann, Raising the Roof: the Pastoral-to-Program Size Transition
Wayne E. Oates, Grief, Transition, and Loss: a Pastor's Practical Guide
Nancy Tatom Ammerman and Carl S. Dudley, Congregations in Transition: a Guide for Analyzing, Assessing, and Adapting in Changing Communities
Jane Forsythe Fishburn, People of a Compassionate God: Creating Welcoming Congregations
Dean R. Hoge and Jacqueline E. Wenger, Pastors in Transition: Why Clergy Leave Local Church Ministry
Carolyn Weese and J. Russell Crabtree, The Elephant in the Boardroom: Speaking the Unspoken about Pastoral Transitions
Max Lucado, A Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot

Technorati Tags: Ministry, Transition, Writing

Lots of action...

...on the blog this week. That's because I'm working on an article for ByFaith magazine and my deadline is next week. Naturally, when I'm trying to write on one topic, my head floods with ideas about another-- so I've been blogging them as they come.

I have some more in the works, including the next installment of the "Negotiating Terms of Call" series. Stay tuned.

Technorati Tags: Blogging, Writing

Storm slowness

I've been longing to post over the past week+, but the St. Louis storms have claimed the Eubanks household as victims. We were without power from Wednesday evening (of last week) until Sunday evening, when SOME of our power returned; the rest (of the electricity) came back Monday afternoon. We're still without phone service though.

Thus the posting delays-- our DSL connection at home is tied to our phone service, so even though we had power restored a few days ago we still can't get online at home. (I've posted this through my work connection, which is-- ugh! -- dial-up.)

Stay tuned...

Technorati Tags: Blogging