Rejection

Isaiah 53:3 - He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; He was despised, and we didn't value Him.

The prophet was speaking about the messiah, the one who was coming to redeem mankind unto the Father. The Word of God made manifest in human flesh, Jesus Christ would come to give his life a ransom for all. But when he came to earth, he did not do what they expected him to do, so they killed him. The rejected the very essence of Yahweh.

If lent is a time to draw nearing in our likeness of Christ, today I got the pleasure if learning a lesson. I have been waiting to hear if I am going to be the Full Time Pastor at our church after our current pastor retires in June. Another position came through my email that I was intrigued by, so I decided to submit my application. (Emily said, "Why not, if for no other reason that it will be good practice." Boy was she right, way right.)

I emailed the pastor my resume and cover letter. I have to say, I believed myself to be overqualified for this position (full time associate pastor of music at a medium sized [600 members] church), having 2 masters degrees and a bachelor of music in singing. They responded saying they were interested and asked me to fill out a 15 question survey in order to "get to know me better." I think I did a good job answering. I shared about my different experiences and how I don't believe getting rid of all traditional church music is a healthy thing. I shared about my experiences in everything from Pentecostal contemporary worship to more main line protestant, to more liturgical like Anglican and Episcopalian and Lutheran, to Roman Catholic and Greek/Russian Orthodox music. I thought being a person with many different experiences and worship resources would make me a strong candidate for the position. I guess I was wrong.

Not more than 12 hours after submitting the questionnaire, I get a response that said, "Thanks for your reply. Perusing your experience and eclectic nature we feel you would not fit well here. Thank you and may God direct your steps." What? My eclectic nature? What does that mean?

I asked myself, maybe they already found a candidate and just blew me off. That would be fine. Maybe that think I am not "contemporary worship" enough, which I assure you, I have plenty of experience doing, BUT THEY DIDN'T EVEN GIVE ME A CHANCE!! Not even a phone interview, only a "We feel you wouldn't fit in here." How would they know if they don't even bring me up to Port Orchard for a meet and greet/ audition? I have always been successful in every job I have held. I know I would have been great for that job, but they dismissed me, rejected me, like some despised suffering servant.

As I attempt to dray near to God this lent, I am thankful for this opportunity to experience the rejection, because it makes me that much more like Christ. It still hurts, but growing pains are a real thing.