Does the Strength of a Church's Call Make a Difference?

When I was always looking for a call anything over 50% would have looked good. :tonofbricks:

I required a 90% approval. Nothing much Biblical about it, just a personal view. I'd hate to go into a church with a large minority who didn't believe I was God's man for the church.

 

Of my peers I've talked with about this we all seem to agree that 75% is the minimum. If more than 25% of the church don't want you there or don't believe you are the strongest candidate than it is our pastoral obligation to withdraw one's name.

I have a couple of friends who require 95% and one or two that require 100%.

 

I have used an 85% approval as a standard - not sure why, just works for me. I have only received 85% once, the other moves were on a much higher vote.

I have known pastors who would go with a simple majority, but most church I know of have a minimum % that the church has to vote to extend a call in the first place.

The churches that trouble me are those that will take a 60% or 70% vote, then everyone votes 100% to support the new pastor. Instead of saying it was a 60% vote, they say it was 100%. That's a recipe for disaster.

 

The right man that God has called may not be the strongest candidate. In fact God has a history of using someone who is not the strongest candidate. If the call is extended and I am convinced that God has called me there I am not interested in the vote count. God can work all those other issues out as He sees fit. I will just go and be obedient.

 

A heavily divided vote - yes. But where there's a very small percentage against, there might be many reasons why. Some folks always vote "against." Some churches experience power struggles, so one "side" will never agree with the other on anything.

 

When I first began in the ministry I heard a lot of pastors talk about only accepting a church if the vote was 100% in favor of calling the pastor. As I have grown in the ministry I've come to think that this may not be a solid factor in accepting a church. It seems to me you're making the assumption that the people voting have devoted themselves to prayerfully seeking the will of God concerning their vote. Many I believe just vote out of personal preference rather than seeking God's will for the church (same reason I am against surveys being given to the church to determine the qualities to look for in a pastor). That said, all three of the churches I have pastored called me with a 100% vote which did give me a degree of comfort in accepting the call. I probably would have accepted with a lesser percentage though because I was very confident of the call of God to serve in these churches.

 

I certainly think a lot higher than 50% is wise, though I might stop short of unanimous. If you require 100% you could have a troublemaker that just wants to cause problems.