Lisa sighed in frustration. “Why did Joe have to leave? He was a great pastor—he was why I came to this church and stayed here. And now we have to look for someone new. I’ll do it. I’ll be a part of this search committee. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.” “Well, you could always turn to that old saying of God opening a window when he closes a door,” countered Jason. “I’m not happy that Joe left either, but it was a great opportunity for him—we can’t begrudge him wanting new challenges. And maybe this provides new opportunities for our congregation— perhaps we’ve become a bit complacent with Joe’s ministry and this is just what we need to think about where we want to go and what we want to do.” Many at the table nodded in agreement. Seven were gathered around the table, all members of a midsized congregation of a Protestant church. Their longtime pastor had recently accepted a calling to a new church, and these seven had been selected as the search committee for the new pastor. They had a lot of work ahead of them and chose Nancy to head the committee. She got straight to the point. “Okay,” said Nancy. “Let’s get to work. We need to start by developing a profile of our church and congregation. Who we are, what we do, and where we think we’re going. And then we need to think carefully about what kind of pastor we want for our future. What are the critical characteristics for our new minister? Is preaching the most important? Evangelism? Spiritual development? Community service and social justice? And then we need to think about the questions we’ll ask when we get to the interview process. Who will be involved? What kinds of activities should we include? And then we need to think about how we’ll welcome the new pastor once we make a decision about who it will be. And then …” Everyone at the table began to laugh as Nancy’s list of “and thens” grew longer and longer. “Uh, Nance,” interrupted Rick, “we only scheduled a two-hour meeting. Sounds like you’d like to have us here through the night.” 

CASE ANALYSIS QUESTIONS

1. How have Marsha’s experiences so far represented aspects of the anticipatory socialization process? Is it also possible to consider anticipatory socialization from the point of view of the church searching for a new pastor? What does anticipatory socialization look like from the organization’s point of view? 

2. During the weekend ahead, what questions should Marsha anticipate during the interview process? What questions should she ask? What are the various functions that the interview will serve for both Marsha and the congregation? 

3. Assuming that Marsha eventually takes on the role of pastor with this church, what should she anticipate during her first few months in her new role? Are there steps that she can take before and after moving to Michigan to ease her transition? Are there steps the congregation can take to help her “make sense” of life in the new church? 

4. A pastor’s role is one in which the “supervisor” could be seen as the congregation. How could the leader-member exchange model be adapted to account for these kinds of organizational positions?