"What Makes You Laugh?"

I had a phone interview with a church search committee about two weeks ago....

It's wonderfully liberating to be able to write that on my blog. Usually, a pastor's search for a new church (at least in my denomination, the Christian Church-Disciples of Christ) is done confidentially, since he/she has not yet let his/her congregation know that a move is coming. Since I have already made my intentions known, I am free to talk about it.

The position is by no means mine. (Not yet, anyway.) I was told that I was one of four candidates. Incredibly, I already know most of the committee members. I don't know if that will work to my advantage or disadvantage. Hopefully, it will work to my advantage, since I really believe that this is the perfect place for me. However, I was both nervous and excited during the interview, and don't really know that I presented myself as well as I could have.

One of the questions I was asked was, "What makes you laugh?" What a great question! And, the more I think about it, what an important question for ministry. One of the reasons I know it is time for me to leave my current ministry position is that laughter has become increasingly elusive here.

I did have a good laugh over the weekend, though. My youngest sister kept talking about how she wanted to find -- and pet -- a cow during her visit. She doesn't get out to the country much, and for some reason, petting a cow was high on her weekend to-do list. She saw the cows that some of my neighbors have, and wanted to go out and meet them, but that didn't happen.

Then we went to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm in nearby Wheatland. At the petting zoo they have there, they have -- you guessed it -- a cow. My sister was so excited, and insisted that I take a picture of her petting the cow. So I got out my camera, held it up, and counted to three; but just when I said "three" and pressed the button to take the picture, the cow stuck out its tongue.