This past week I went to a local pastor’s luncheon. It’s made up of some wonderful people, but I was reminded again of how alien I am to the world in which my local peers function. Sometimes I find it depressing.

What reminded me of my outsider status this past week was the reports in a project that is underway by the clergy. Folks are trying to compile of sources for assistance when confronted by issues to big to handle with our own merger resources. It’s a good idea, and is coming together nicely, but it’s also been going on for months. Last week I saw why.

When the progress report came out, there were some holes in the list because people hadn’t followed through on looking up the information and getting it to the list compiler. Then someone brought up an agency not yet on the list and the compiler asked, “Would someone volunteer to get their information and bring it to the next meeting?” At this point I knew I was out of place. Looking around the table I knew there were at least four smartphones present at the meeting, yet we were still working on the assumption that the accumulation of data was significant work that needed a month to complete. Frustrated, I pulled my phone out of my pocket – which brought a comment from the list compiler, “Oh you’re volunteering to do it Wes?” I replied, “No, I’m bringing up their contact information and you put it in right now.”. We got the information, and it’s now in the list.

So, once again I am reminded that I am simply wired different than most of the clergy I work with. I perceive problems differently, I arrive at different solutions, and I’m used to working in an environment where the accumulation of data takes seconds or minutes, rather than days and months. I live in a different world, which is not all better or all worse then the world many of my peers work in – but it is radically different. My peers don’t quite understand this, hence my feelings of isolation when trying to be part of the group.