Bob Neslund asked almost two weeks ago about the previous questions on the walk abouts. He asked this, “How can we possibly know what questions have been asked in previous walkabout sessions? I think it would be helpful if you were to address this issue on this site so that all who want to submit questions will receive the same specific information.”
All of the walkabouts will either be webcast or pod cast as we go along and it will be linked to this blog. I got to thinking that we should also post the questions that we asked as our process went along. Perhaps these questions could spark questions for all the candidates.
So here they are:
(written questions)
1. Discernment and call to be a bishop, including special gifts and “why Minnesota”.
2. Experience with the diaconate.
3. Experience/ideas surrounding total ministry.
4. Experience working with varied ethnic/cultural groups and vision to strengthen and support.
5. Description of personal involvement in conflict resolution between several parties.
6. Definition and leadership response to realities facing the Episcopal Church.
All Interview Questions
Phone
1. Tell us about a time when you were able to inspire a community to rise above its circumstances and look at the challenges ahead in a new way.
a. Tell us more about the difficulties that provided the background for your action.
b. Tell us more about the ways you got the message of hope across.
c. Tell us more about the ways they started looking outside the box.
d. What happened? How did things change?
2. What is the most progressive new program/approach you have introduced to your parish or diocese?
a. What program/approach was it replacing?
b. How did you get started on it?
c. What was the biggest barrier you had to overcome to win acceptance for the program or approach?
d. How did you overcome that barrier?
e. What outcome did it have for the parish/diocese? For you?
3. Describe a recent situation in which you were leading an organization through significant change.
a. How did you know it was time for the change?
b. How did you convince people that change was necessary?
c. How did you adjust the financial picture to adapt to the change?
d. How did you respond to the resistance to change?
e. How did you ensure that the change “stuck”?
4. What is the biggest/most difficult financial decision you’ve made in your parish or diocese?
a. How did the need for the decision arise?
b. Talk about the process you went through to make the decision.
c. What did you decide?
d. How did that work out?
e. What did you learn?
5. Talk about a time you have been really stressed in your role as a priest.
a. What was it about this particularly situation that made it stressful?
b. How did your stress show up to those around you?
c. What did you do to relieve the stress?
d. How did this situation work out?
e. What would you do differently next time? What did you learn?
6. Describe a time you took a strong leadership stance to ensure that resources, infrastructure, etc., were aligned with a goal or vision.
a. Who were you trying to lead?
b. How did you approach this challenge?
c. How did you gain support for your stance?
d. How did it work out?
e. What did you learn?
f. What would you do differently next time you find yourself in this situation?
7. Tell me about a priest you have mentored or counseled who was particularly challenging
a. Who was the person? (e.g., not a name, but his/her role, what was his/her position with respect to your own, etc.)
b. Why were you the person who needed to mentor or counsel him/her?
c. How did you approach the task?
d. What did you do to make sure he/she was learning?
e. What feedback did you give him/her about how he/she was doing?
f. What response did you get?
g. How did the person do once you ended the mentoring?
8. Describe a time you feel you have done the best job of nurturing a faith community to overcome a problem.
a. Describe the faith community.
b. What was the problem?
c. What makes this experience stand out as the “best”?
d. What did you do?
e. What response did you get?
9. Tell me about the most difficult decision you have made about the use of resources for a project in church (both fiscal and with people).
a. What made this situation more difficult than usual?
b. How did you decide which people you needed?
c. What other resources did you find you needed?
d. How did you make the final decision about funding and people to involve?
e. What happened as a result of your decision?
10. Minnesota is a large geographical area – 10th largest state. Our new bishop will be challenged with how to reach out to the entire diocese. Please tell us about the most difficult experience you have had in which you needed to connect with/pastor to/build relationships with a large, diverse body of people.
a. Why the need to pastor, connect, or build relationships?
b. How did you determine where to start?
c. What steps did you take to ensure you weren’t leaving anyone out?
d. How did it work out?
e. What did you learn that you might apply as bishop of the Diocese of MN?
Field Visit
11. What do you believe that the world is aching for?
12. Who is Christ to you?
a. What spiritual practices really feed your relationship with Christ?
b. How does that strengthen you for ministry?
13. Confirmation: What is your understanding of Baptismal ministry and why is confirmation meaningful to baptismal ministry?
14. Episcopate: For the last several years, our diocese has been using various processes to identify ways in which we can more effectively do the work of God in Minnesota. We are in a transformation that we hope will lead us to renewal of our mission and ministry. How do you see the role of Bishop in a time of transformation?
How would you lead:
a. so that every congregation could connect or re-connect to ministry in their own cultural context.
b. to move our churches and our ministries out of our silos and connect with one another to do the work that is before us?
c. so that generous and good stewards in a changing world are nurtured in a culture that tells us we live in scarcity rather than abundance.
15. The Church: If indeed, as Phyllis Tickle asserts in her book the Great Emergence, that the church has a rummage sale every 500 years,
a. what do we need to sell?
b. And what do we need to retain?
16. If you were to re-envision leadership within The Episcopal Church, what would it look like?
17. Tell us about a priest you have mentored or counseled who was particularly
challenging.
a. Without naming the person, what was his/her position with respect to your own?
b. Why were you the person who needed to mentor or counsel him/her?
c. How did you approach the task?
d. What did you do to make sure he/she was learning?
e. What feedback did you give him/her about how he/she was doing?
f. What response did you get?
g. How did the person do once you ended the mentoring?
18. Tell me about a time when you had a staff member not meeting their goals.
a. How did you deal with this?
b. What was the outcome?
19. Personal Time/Activities: If you could spend more time one activity outside of the church, what would it be? Why?
OR What activities outside of the church give you the most personal satisfaction?
a. What activities take the most of you or are the most draining overall?
b. Why is that?
20. Standing Committee: The Constitution of the Episcopal Church proscribes a Standing Committee in every diocese to, among other things, act as the Bishop’s Council of Advice. In the same way that different priests use their vestries in different ways, different Bishops utilize the “advice” of the Standing Committee in different ways. How do you envision utilizing the Standing Committee?
21. Technology: What value do you place on technology for your ministry?
a. How is it expressed in your current ministry?
b. How might it be used in your future ministry?
c. How does this affect your notion of incarnation ministry?
22. Gospel Based Discipleship: Are you familiar with Gospel Based Discipleship?
a. How have you used it in the past?
b. What value might it have in your episcopate?
23. (in a more casual dinner setting the committee was asked to talk with the Spouses/Partners of the candidates): Questions to spouses/partners should reflect our concern and respect for their lives and careers. Family issue questions at this point would revolve around what they think the most difficult adjustment for everyone would be should _____________be elected Bishop of Minnesota.
Full committee Minnesota interviews
24. Discuss a time when you needed to create a team to achieve something together.
a. How did you get people involved/inspired?
b. How did you deal with conflicting styles/personalities
c. How did you encourage individuals to take leadership responsibilities?
d. How did you ensure the maximum amount of group owner ship?
e. What would others say about that process?
f. How did you know when you reached consensus
e. What responsibilities did you let go of in the process?
25. How do you view our relationship with the worldwide church/ Anglican Communion?
a. How would you nurture a relationship with the other countries?
b. How would you move us closer in relationship?
c. How do you envision us moving toward God together?
d. Is there a time in which we are done with the communion?
e. If so, what would that look like for you as a leader of the church?
26. As a developed western culture we have become “creatures of comfort.” Yet spiritual transformation comes out of our personal “wilderness/desert experiences”. How can the Episcopal Church be a catalyst in furthering our transformation in a culture that has this duality?
a. How does the structure of the Episcopal Church aid or detract from this transformation?
b. As a leader in the church, how do you see your work within the institution?
c. How do you see your work with people who are “un-hinged”, unchurched” or searching for a connection to something more in their life.
d. How do you see working with people who have been hurt by the church?
27. Talk about issues on which you take a more directive leadership role vs a more collaborative one.
a. How do you make these decisions?
b. What reactions have you received from others about taking one approach or the other?
c. Talk about a time when your decided-upon approach did not work well.
d. What did you do to adjust?
e.What was the outcome?
28. With your many pastoral and liturgical responsibilities, how do you ensure the “business” of the church is taken care of?
a. Which matters are you personally involved in?
b. Which matters do you routinely delegate to others?
c. What is your system to ensure that financials and other details are attended to?
Additional questions asked of some of our candidates
Talk about a time where, in hind-sight, you were too blunt or direct when addressing an issue?
a. How do you know you were being overly direct or blunt?
b. What reactions did you get?
c. How did you respond to that?
d. What happened as a result?
Talk about a time you have found yourself too far out in front of others on a change.
a. What was the change?
b. How did you know others were not of the same mind as you?
c. What steps did you take?
d. What feedback/reactions did you get from others?
e. What happened?
