The Interview

Monday, November 28, 2022, I interviewed for a dream job in Sullivan County, Tennessee. I’ve dedicated my adult life to public education, always with the goal of impacting lives in a positive manner as my primary driving force. When I began this journey back in 1986, I had no idea that one day I would be a candidate for a Director of Schools position. Yet, throughout my journey I have unintentionally been building a resume, a resume stemmed in humbling opportunities and servant leadership. So, there I was sitting in the hot seat fielding a wide array of questions about who I am, what I believe in, and how I would lead through myriad situations and settings. How someone answers questions during an interview most certainly can change the trajectory of a life, or more aptly, the lives of countless others through indirect and or direct contact with that person. For me, this interview has the potential of impacting the lives of students for years to come and in essence the community where they will live and work. So, how important is the interview process? Critically important.

What exactly is the goal of an interview? That question has several tentacles and weighs heavily on the role of the person involved in the interview process. For the Interviewer, the interview serves as an introduction and a chance to get better acquainted with the interviewee. In many cases, an interview may be the first in person encounter with the potential candidate for employment so the person or committee conducting the interview is trying to put a resume, with a face, with some semblance of just who this person is they are interviewing.

For the interviewee, interviews serve as that first impression which you hope endures to the point of being able to present yourself in a more conversational setting. In this interview, I had approximately two hours to introduce myself to the school board committee, attempt to transparently present who I am as a person, and then make a convincingly strong case as to why this school board and the broader community should consider partnering with me as the person to lead their school system. No problem, right? We shall see.

Most individuals who happen upon this week’s Flat Tire Ministries blog will have been thru a number of interviews themselves. If you’ve ever had a job, I’m going to guess that you had to go through some type of interview before being hired. I am even more convinced that we will all go through one last interview when we stand before the judgement throne of our Lord and Savior. The Book of Life will be turned to the page that contains our life’s story and we will be asked what we did on this earth that would predicate our being welcomed into the Kingdom of God to live eternally with those who have gone on before us. How will you answer? What evidence will you cite from your life’s interview? “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?^" And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" Matthew 7:21-23. The question here is how will your interview go? Will this be an introduction, or will it be a review of your service and sacrifice to the God who created you and offers each of us life eternal in Heaven?

Paul tells us that we will be known by our faith and the way that we display that faith is through our works (James 2:18-19). Are you building up your resume? Will the work you accomplish here on this earth be worthy of adding to your life’s resume? If not, it isn’t too late to start building that resume and preparing for the interview of your life. Fill your days, filling the lives of others with hope and love of God.

Coach Carter

 

What about that job interview you completed last week you may be asking? Short answer, to be continued. I’ll conclude this week’s post with a scripture from my Tuesday, November 29, 2022 devotion. “A man's heart devises his way: but the LORD directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 My prayer is that I follow God’s path and not my own. If I do that then my resume and ultimate interview will be guided by a theme that was set more than 2,000 years ago, “... nevertheless not My will, but Thine be done.” Luke 22:42.