After 6 decades of ministry, I consider myself a veteran of pastor search committees. In many cases, while I did not relocate to their church, I would have loved to have those committee members in my present church. At in other cases, I’m glad the Lord did not choose to unite me with those folks and I have prayed for whoever did become their minister.
My friend Josh, who grew up in my last pastorate, is presently a medical student, following in his father’s footsteps. Josh is also a veteran of several game shows and quiz programs. At the age of 11, he was a contestant on Jeopardy. Later, as a student at the University of Southern California, he hosted his own quiz program on the campus station. He has been a contestant on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? as well as the Wheel and a number of other shows.
Josh and I were discussing the question that tripped him up on Millionaire. It went something like this: “At 7’7″, So-and-so is the tallest player in the NBA. But he is slightly shorter than what portion of the Statue of Liberty?” The choices were her right arm, her eye, the tablet she is holding, and her finger. Using his final lifeline, Josh asked a buddy to help him, and they missed it.
Josh said veteran contestants (like himself) have a name for that kind of question, but perhaps he shouldn’t tell his pastor. I said, “Come on. Give.”
“We call that a go to hell question.”
“A go to hell question,” he explained, “relies on such fine detail that no reasonable person should be expected to know it.”
The idea, it seems, is to get those contestants out of the game.