No Second Guesses
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- By: Jon Turk
- In: Friday Blog
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This past week has been an interesting and thought provoking week for me. Last Friday I received a phone call from Stephanie Sheehan, Dean of the School of Business at Southern Adventist University, continuing a conversation that began about three months ago. We had been dialoging about an open faculty position in the School of Business at Southern that had taken several intriguing twists and turns over the course of the months long conversation. The simple summary of the phone call on Friday was "with everything that has transpired, are you still interested in teaching at Southern." On Wednesday of this week I received an official invitation from the Academic VP's office to join the School of Business faculty. Throughout the past three months both Lisa and I have felt like every time the door seems to be closing on this opportunity God has pushed the door open again (the post from March 13 is a response to incidents that happened as part of the ongoing dialogue!) Due to the vast array of evidence that seems to point to God's direction in this matter on Wednesday evening I accepted the position.
Optimal or Satisficing
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- By: Jon Turk
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At the beginning of the current school year one of the professors in the Business division at Southwestern Adventist University announced they would be retiring at the end of the school year. Our search process began by identifying what our "ideal" candidate will look like - the degree(s) they have completed, the skills they posses, the experience they have gained, their relationship to the Adventist church, and the classes they are capable of teaching. Over the past several months we have received many applications for the position but none of them have met our ideal qualifications. I have learned over my 12 years teaching in higher education that this phenomenon is not uncommon - most job posting for professor positions have an "ideal" candidate description and a "will consider" candidate description. The ideal is what your "perfect" candidate will look like and the "will consider" is what you will settle for.
I've Got Your Back
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- By: Jon Turk
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A number of years ago while I was working at Home Depot I was being trained to manage outside deliveries. Each day we would check the order log to see what deliveries were scheduled for the next day, pull all the product, and organize it so when the delivery driver showed up the next day it could be loaded on the truck. One of the most demanding responsibilities was operating the forklift to load the trucks. Since most orders were small and the delivery drivers would make several stops on each run we would have to load the orders in a way that would align them with the delivery schedule ensuring that drivers had access to the correct products at each delivery stop. Sometimes we had to place pallets touching each other end-to-end in order for it all to fit on the length of the truck, and we ALWAYS had to fit them precisely side-to-side so the pallets wouldn't hang over the side of the truck. Jeff worked with me for several weeks teaching me how to load precisely and operate the forklift safely. Many mornings he would stand beside the truck observing my efforts and giving me pointers on how to load more efficiently. I remember well the morning I came into work and Jeff informed me that I was on my own that day. I was a little nervous but Jeff made a statement that really struck home - "I've got your back!" He said it mater-of-factly - "I've got you covered, you can do this, but I'm right around the corner if you need my help." He was sure I could handle it but just wanted me to know that if I got into a bind he was there to bail me out. Later, when I was training other members of the outside delivery team I would use those same words. "I've got your back!" as I encouraged them as they learned.
They're Not Your Ducks
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- By: Jon Turk
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This week has been a wild and crazy week with lots of twists and turns leading to some thought provoking moments. At one point while talking with a friend about how both Lisa and I were feeling God's leading regarding certain aspects of our lives they asked a very direct and probing question, "If things don't work out with the plan you are currently pursuing are you going to continue down this path anyway?" My answer was rather sobering - "I'm not sure I have that much faith!" That answer prompted some serious contemplation over the next 24 hours. Thinking of the father whose son was possessed by a demon and the disciples could not cast it out. When the father asked Jesus to cast it out Jesus' response was "If you believe, all things are possible." The fathers response was mine that day, "I believe, help my unbelief." (See Matthew 9:14-25 for the story.) My problem is I want to have all my ducks in a row. I don't just want them in a row, I want to know where they are going and how they are going to get there! That is not faith, that is certainty and I struggle balancing faith with certainty.
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