2018-8 - What are we looking for?

To date we have now completed the Holy Cow Survey, the active listening sessions, created and distributed a profile of “us” (not a profile of what we are looking for), and invited, received and reviewed applications to be our new Bishop and held a meeting to decide who should progress onto the online Zoom interviews.

This is a reflection on the tasks of the Bishop Nominating Committee and especially how I saw the nature of God and religious beliefs in the online interviews of those called to be our new Bishop.

In preparation for these online interviews I studied what the scriptures and the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) said about Bishops. I had these definitions as I participated in the online interviews and reviewed all the recordings.

First, I found Bishops are ordained as deacons and therefore must have the qualities of both. I studied 1 Timothy 3:1-13 and Titus 1:7-9 which identified the numerous qualities and character needed of Deacons, Priests and Bishops.

The characteristics which jumped out at me were they must first of all actually desire to take on the task and also be gentle, serious, temperate, respectable, hospitable, blameless, without arrogance, patient, ethical, devout, above reproach and self-controlled.

They must be an apt teacher who is well thought of by outsiders, holds fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience, shows great boldness in the faith, have a firm grasp of the Word, be able both to preach sound doctrine, and to refute those who contradict it.

On a practical level they must not be married more than once, must not be a recent convert (at least 24 years old and have been ordained a priest for at least a year), and manage their children and their households well.

The people called to be leaders of these early churches in 1 Timothy and Titus were planting, growing, and guiding fledgling communities very different from those in our diocese today. And whilst most these character traits are still applicable today the environment, society, issues and day-to-day functions of a Bishop are very different.

I felt these descriptions in scripture told me what qualities to look for in a Bishop, but I also needed to be able to identify what tasks a Bishop should carry out before I could discern if an applicant had the experience needed to take on the role successfully.

At this point I turned to the BCP and looked at the ordination of a Bishop service which suggested a Bishop is called to be one with the apostles in proclaiming Christ’s resurrection and interpreting the Gospel, and to testify to Christ’s sovereignty. 

The work of the Bishop is identified in a description of the role of the Bishop and in the qualification questions. Some of the tasks reflect the requirements in 1 Timothy and Titus and others build or clarify them.

The BCP states the person taking on the role of Bishop would need to:

·         guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church,

·         celebrate and administer of the sacraments of the New Covenant,

·         ordain priests and deacons and to join in ordaining bishops,

·         faithfully pastor and set a wholesome example for the entire flock of Christ,

·         share in the leadership of the Church throughout the world.

Then I looked at the qualification questions which added:

·         faithful in prayer, and in the study of Holy Scripture,

·         boldly proclaim and interpret the Gospel of Christ,

·         encourage and support all baptized people in their gifts and ministries, nourish them   from the riches of God’s grace, and pray for them without ceasing,

·         sustain your fellow presbyters and take counsel with them,

·         be merciful and show compassion to all.

After reviewing the Timothy, Titus and the BCP I felt a little overwhelmed as all of these are a very tall order for anyone to meet all the time!

I felt anyone called to the Episcopate must really be “called” and would not be able to see this as a job or a career move.

I could see the relationship between the scripture character definitions and the questions in the BCP but found it difficult to keep all these things in my mind as I entered the interview process. I needed to see each applicant as a human being, driven and guided by God to aspire to all the qualities and characteristics above but also recognizing not all candidates will demonstrate all of them.

I needed to be aware of the danger of the interview process becoming reduced to a search for what will meet my tastes, my needs, my wants rather than what the church needs in scripture and prayers.

Although there are many “musts” there are also some “must not’s”. I felt the “must not’s” would be identified through detailed background and reference checks, but as the “musts” point to character they can only be identified through face to face meetings or interviews.

As we went into the Zoom interviews we had carefully constructed questions to draw out the characteristics which could not be identified during paper and reference checks.

I noticed all the interviews started off tentatively as the candidates were provided with introductions and then an explanation of logistics.

This anxiousness dropped away in most as they were presented with standard questions about; the Holy Spirit at work within their ministry, working in multi-cultural settings, current issues and public voice, leadership style and decision making, and pastoring others.

Then there was a last question for each applicant specifically designed to draw out information on something they had included in their essays or something the Nominating Committee were concerned about, such as:

·         imagining serving as bishop,

·         being humbled and learning from the situation,

·         factors leading to discernment,

·         transitioning into church ministry and/or The Episcopal Church,

·         challenges in transitioning to the Episcopate.

These questions were all conversation openers which allowed the applicants to describe how they demonstrated the qualities and characteristics needed to be a Bishop.

In the review of the interview recordings I tried to look behind what was said and how it related to the scriptural and BCP characteristics as well as the requirements in the Diocese profile.

In reviewing these interviews, I was conscious each application was opening up and sharing intimate details with us.

I was drawn to Matthew 7:1-3, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you” and I recognized all these applicants had achieved great things in their ministries.

God was reminding me I was there to identify the required character traits (or not) in each applicant and not to judge or assess the depth or application of each personal and spiritual quality.

Some applicants seemed to treat the interviews as a job application and answered in a factual way, whilst others treated the interview as an extension of their calling. The latter exhibited a lot more joy for their current ministry and a passion to be our next Bishop.

It seemed the ones with more passion did not see this as a career step and often were reluctant to apply when called.

To the extent possible in remote interviews I felt I was able to see the nature of God and religious beliefs in those called to be our new Bishop.

This was a formative task for me personally and resulted in me examining my own qualities and character traits against the requirements in 1 Timothy, Titus and the BCP.

I would encourage all readers to review themselves against these requirements on a regular basis.