Another Apparent "Gotcha!"

Another colleague has been bitten. I have a good deal of respect for him, and identify with him to a fair degree due to our similarity of family circumstance. So I sympathize with him over his latest blog post.
Seems he has become the object of rumor as pertains to appointments.
This is THE primary sport of preachers, at least in my conference in my denomination. I don't know about anyone or anything beyond that, and don't really care to. I feel sometimes that we are so limited in our interests as a group that we just don't know enough about anything else to talk about. So we play with people's lives and work.
It's not entertaining to me.
I had the great privilege to spend seven years in a previous appointment serving one of our conference's agencies. I was out of the loop for seven years. By the time I came out of that work (totally against my will), I didn't even know where everyone was serving, much less where they might be going next. And didn't care.
I have done everything I can to maintain that stance as I have served three appointments since coming back to regular work. I'm not proud of this particular one, but when an issue arose about my uncle's work, I had to ask what appointment it was that he was serving.
I don't like to hang out with preachers.
Yes, I typically exempt my family from that position. After all, I have a father, two uncles and two cousins of one degree of closeness or another who are all clergy in this conference. And one of the friends that I mentioned a few posts ago is a pastor in the conference, and my wife and I are absolutely much happier when he and his wife are appointed in closer proximity to where we are. But that's about it.
My world is a little bit bigger than who's making what salary and panting after what church. I just don't really care.
I'd much rather study up on the Red Sox' OPS, ERA and runs per game than the Memphis Conference Salary Sheet. I'd much rather inquire about where Preston Shannon or Eric Hughes will be playing the blues next week than where Pastor X, Y or Z will be preaching next year.
It isn't fun to me to speculate on people's lives in that way. I've been there. I know what it feels like to be the topic of such attention. I prefer to be left alone, so I don't play the game with others' lives.
Boys and girls, the world is a big, beautiful, exciting place! Every once in a while, think about something else, go somewhere else, learn about something you don't know. And shut the hell up when it comes to your colleagues' careers. It's just so small and petty and stupid when you consider what you could be spending your down time doing or thinking about.
My colleague said in his post that if he can find out where the crap about him started, he will bring proceedings against that source. Go get 'em, pal! That's the only way that garbage will ever be stopped.