What to do, what to do?

I have got the letter written for Council. It is much gentler than I would describe things to others. But it may still not be received well.

This is the problem. Do I just give a terse, "see ya' around" or what I have written which spotlights my version of truth with a hint to what happened? Council has handled my time at the church badly. They won't give a reference for another church. They had nothing nice to say about my application for ministry - only negative. They did not meet with me to ask questions before they made their decision. And worse of all they have never met with me to discuss my call.

How can you make a major life altering decision for someone without at least talking to them?

And here is the problem. This is a result of group think. There are council members who would ask these questions and have met with me and have been supportive. The problem is that the end result forwarded by two representatives does not provide those nuances. And for those who tend to remain quiet and resigned to the way things unfold they do not voice their opinion as loudly as others. The fact that Council did not reach concensus yet rendered a decision is disturbing. IMHO -those that allow others to speak on their behalf should be aware of the costs of doing this.

This isn't a conversation about the colour of the carpets (for once!) but my calling, my career and my character. To label me as having un Christ-like behaviour is not very helpful. First of all, I admit that I exhibit un Christ like behaviour every day. Its funny how my normal (that is non-Christian friends) automatically exclaim - "but I thought that was the point - no one's perfect"

No, more concerning is how this sounds to others. What exactly is the nature of the behaviour - do I slam doors in people's faces either figuratively or literally? or perhaps I have a knack for finding missing money! There is a great show Father Ted - loved that show even before I became Christian. Father Ted is always alluding to some scandal by exclaiming "The money was only resting in my account!".

Another running gag is that he is always calling other Fathers on their cell phones at the most inopportune times. You'll see a phone ringing while one is skiing, or driving on a particularly dangerous road as Ted calls. Ted is always blissfully unaware that in attempting to answer his call he has killed off or injured another Father. I have a friend who has reverted to a cell phone in lieu of a home phone. I hate calling because I always imagine some tricky situation where a phone call is just too distracting!

I digress......