Randy Wray’s Blog

Isn’t it interesting how many similar experiences there are of walking into the "wrong" church?  And isn’t it silly how we were trained to recognize the "wrong" church on something so external?  The difficulty I have with this is the assumption (which is incorrect) that you know the "right" church simply because of the absence of musical instruments. 

My senior year at ACU was coming to a close and I had a decision to make.  Dr. Churchill knew of a church in Sanderson, Texas that was looking for a preacher.  Sanderson is about 5 hours from Abilene so I drove out there one weekend to preach for them and check out the opportunity.  I remember being with them for several weekends, culminating with our outreach team leading a weekend youth event in Sanderson.  There was a wonderful family there that I stayed with each time and they fed me and took care of me on my trips to Sanderson.  He was a leading figure in the church and the town’s bank president.  She was a nurturing, motherly figure.  I came to appreciate them quickly for their generosity and hospitality.  They were very gracious and supportive. 

I don’t remember exactly how many weekends I had been with them prior to the arrival of our outreach team.  I knew I had been there long enough to feel at home in the church, and knew were my room was in the house of my Sanderson family.  I do remember, with great detail, the moment that Sunday afternoon when he called me into his study and offered me the job to be the minister of the church.  I was offered a salary of $22,500.00 per year plus housing in the church parsonage.  Way back in 1987, when gas was still under $1 a gallon, it was a generous offer - even for a soon to be college graduate.

I was excited to receive my very first job offer and still wonder why I didn’t accept the job right on the spot.  I probably would have had he not told me to take a couple of weeks and pray about it.  He probably knew the swirl of emotions surrounding my upcoming graduation and wanted me to make an informed choice.  Graduation was not far away and I agreed to take some time and prayerfully consider the offer.

Up to this point I had not fully decided if I would begin preaching ministry or youth ministry.  After graduation (and parting from the girl I thought I wanted to marry) I went with my parents to their home in Gresham, Oregon for Christmas.  It was here that I learned that the church in Vancouver, Washington was looking for a Youth Minister.  I had interned one summer with the Metro Church in Gresham and the thought of working in the area, and so close to my parents, at the time was an attractive offer.  I remember having an interview weekend with the teens, parents and church family.  I remember going to a meeting of the elders on a Wednesday night that lasted well past midnight.  I remember being offered the job for $24,000.00 a year with no other benefits or bonuses.  And I remember accepting the job on the spot.

I remember making the call to the church in Sanderson and how hard it was to make that call.  They were very understanding and very disappointed.  They even offered to raise my salary if that would make a difference.  It truly wasn’t about the salary.  It had some to do with initially choosing youth ministry over preaching ministry even though I knew that eventually I would migrate to preaching ministry.  It had some to do with not wanting the responsibility of leading a church at such a young age.  It had more to do with not wanting to grow up yet.

My time in Vancouver was short and quite painful.  It wasn’t long into my time there (the first month) that I knew for certain that I had made the wrong decision.  I had indeed chosen poorly.  I was not prepared for the challenges and responsibility of full-time youth ministry and made my share of mistakes along the way.  I was also unfairly treated for a whole host of reasons of which I will not detail.  My splash into the pool of full-time ministry was a flop.  Even though my life had seemed to move me in the direction of ministry, even though my experience, my gifts and my education was geared towards ministry I had not been in full-time ministry two years and was already looking to get out. 

In the fall of 1989 I attended the youth minister’s seminar in Lubbock, Texas to teach a class and look for a new job.  I had interviewed with an insurance company prior to making the trip and they encouraged me to travel to Lubbock so I could meet with one of their representatives who had graduated from ACU and had started with their company about the same time I had started in ministry.  So with that I got on a plane and was resolved to make a better decision this time.

I’ve sometimes wondered "what if."  What would have happened had I taken the blue pill?  And, what would have happened had I accepted the job in Sanderson? With a greater but certainly not complete (not even close) understanding of God’s work in my life I see that God was placing the Sanderson opportunity in front of me.  I don’t believe that God was punishing me for choosing Vancouver.  Better than that, God redeemed my poor choice (and my poor choices) and began a work in my life (that is not yet completed) to make me suitable for his service.

I would have had struggles and would have made poor choices in Sanderson as well.  I guess the difference is I would have had a horse.