John,

I completely agree that unsavory experiences (be it with church leadership or otherwise) can definitely be a great opportunity for growth and perhaps a little education at the School of Hard Knocks. And it doesn't matter if it was out of God's will, in His will, bad timing, poor listening, immaturity, or other people, because ALL things work to the good of those who love Christ. I certainly learned a lot.... one important thing being to glean the good from the bad and not dump the whole lot from a bad experience. It was pretty tempting at first to call the whole 7 years a wash!

I also agree that we need to continually be "redefining" God--- or coming to a better knowledge of Him, as we work through how we imagine Him to be. Hopefully we come a little closer everyday. Thank you so much for your honesty and candor!