white smoke in Tennessee

Well, at long last we have finally managed to elect a bishop. I suppose I should be cheering, but I'm not happy with the choice. Of our three candidates he was my least favorite. The detracting points are that I find him to be boring to read, and boring to listen to. We need someone who can inspire and excite us with his vision. He used a lot of jargon in his speech, which says to me that he lacks original thought. He jokingly said he doesn't know the bible well, and by that he meant that his memorization of verses to quote is lacking (I can relate, I have the same problem), but in one who is the leader of a diocese, this is troubling to me. He doesn't have tons of experience, and by the stories he relates I fear that some of his successes have been more the result of luck than ability. He hasn't been tested by the kind of fires into which he will walk when he dons the mitre here. That worries me, I fear he will be overwhelmed. He is young, with the potential of being our bishop for the next 24 years. That's a long episcopate in a time of tumult and uncertainty in an institution's life. I have committed myself to working with him and with my colleagues and other leaders to restore this diocese to some modicum of health, and to help us achieve good, even great, things in the years to come. But I am not excited. I pray that the grace of divine surprise will transcend my disappointment and deliver hope to me and to others who share my disappointment. At least there is movement forward now, and I guess for that I can be grateful.