It is altogether remarkable that priests and pastors can become so inarticulate on the subject of the heart of their vocation: its relation to the spiritual life. I recall a woman who was the chairperson of a parish search committee telling me that her bishop suggested one question to ask prospective pastors: “Do you believe in God?” She was amazed at the advice, but followed it. I asked her what she found out and her reply was that, while all candidates said they did, she concluded that some in fact did not believe in God.
A nonnegotiable assumption in my judgment is not only that the ordained person believes in God, but that he or she seeks a relationship with God. Any other idea renders the notion of vocation absurd. The conversation begins with what it means to be on that quest. The pivotal point of this study's definition of spirituality is the broadened or heightened consciousness of the gift of our relationship with God. In one sense this is what is meant by knowing God: sharing his vision for creation. There is no methodology for guaranteeing that such a new consciousness will be forthcoming, but there are two thousand years of Christian teaching on how to become vulnerable to the possibility of such knowledge. - Urban T. Holmes, Spirituality for Ministry p.188, emphasis in the original
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This just occurred to me: maybe we should reverse it and ask pastoral search committees, "Do you believe in God?" I've read a few Church Information Forms that left me with the impression that if the Holy Spirit were taken away, the church would just keep going, as nothing they did really required the Spirit's presence.
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