Pastoral Search Questions

Paul33, thanks for the suggestion. You said:

A couple of follow-up questions, please. If you're one of those prospective pastors, and I tell you that we're dealing with someone else right now, that would be okay with you? Does it send a message, such as "you're not our first choice", and how would you react to that?

I'm looking for a way to be delicate in the process, I guess, and yet not run anybody off until it's time to do so. But I certainly don't want to leave them hanging. Is straight-out being up front the best policy and not worry about how it's received?

BTW, In our last situation, those phone conversations I mentioned in my post helped eliminate all of the candidates. Some took themselves out, some we couldn't afford, etc. We were back at square one, when a resume arrived. There were no others to come. He is our pastor today, and was truly God's man for our congregation. We love him dearly.

Tom B.

 

I would rather err on the side of keeping them informed. It shows more class. The church should outdo the world in that area...

 

I would say be up front. If the man is looking at another Church, it might be that he is also waiting to see what is going to happen at your Church as well. I just think it is good to be upfront and let the man know exactly where he stands so he can make other plans if necessary.

Joseph Botwinick

 

I would settle for an email to let me know that I am or am not in continued consideration. I have also seen where a church brings in 4 men to preach and then votes on them after all have spoken and then still not communicated with the men in question. I personally believe that when you have a popularity contest the work of God suffers greatly. The process should be one man and one vote, not 5 guys then one vote. I have submitted questions to the churches in the past at their invitation and still been completely ignored.

 

I had been self employed for several years before pastoring and frankly was not too happy with many churches in their lack of professionalism in dealing with me. So often they didn't have a clue how to describe themselves and what they needed in a pastor. There were times they would not even tell me. They did not know their strengths and weaknesses. There is too much of a cat and mouse game. Too often there is not enough directness discussing the real issues.

Before the person sends a resume he should be able to see a church profile. Why bother answering all their questions and sending a resume if you know the church is not for you. Taking the time to answer all their questions and sending a resume takes a fair amount of time which would be wasted if the person knew immediately that the church was not for him.

 

Before going to seminary I managed a business which had many many more more employees than the size of my first church. That little church knew where they wanted to go and what they needed. They grew and it was a great pleasure for me and my family. They had the help of the pastor and staff of a much larger church. I initially met with that pastor and a staff member. We could talk frankly about who I was, what my strengths and weakneses were, and what the church needed. It left no surprises and many blessings. We worked together very well.

 

This is something important to keep in mind. Actually, I might restate it to say there is no single way to do it.

Sometimes, a preacher or pastor might be perfect for one church and simply wrong for another. Also, some temporary "assignments" are not necessarily failures; you may be "just right" for a period of time. Be prepared to move on, either because of imperfections in men or because of God's plan. Either one is a possibility.

But, keeping candidates informed (especially if they are not being considered) would be both courteous and professional.

I am certain that God is finished with me where I am now. I am equally certain that this is where I am supposed to be right now. (The circumstances would amazingly "coincidental" otherwise.) I don't know the time frame that he has in mind for my leaving.

One church contacted me and wanted me to pastor there. I did not feel called to go there, although that church is very sound.

If God wants me somewhere, then things will happen. But, they will happen according to his time schedule, and I must have patience.

Just like Tom said that they consider one person at a time, I also am considering only one church at a time. I have turned it over to God. When "things happen", I will know. And, I will inform the other churches that have contacted me.

 

A couple of follow-up questions, please. If you're one of those prospective pastors, and I tell you that we're dealing with someone else right now, that would be okay with you? Does it send a message, such as "you're not our first choice", and how would you react to that?

I'm looking for a way to be delicate in the process, I guess, and yet not run anybody off until it's time to do so. But I certainly don't want to leave them hanging. Is straight-out being up front the best policy and not worry about how it's received?

BTW, In our last situation, those phone conversations I mentioned in my post helped eliminate all of the candidates. Some took themselves out, some we couldn't afford, etc. We were back at square one, when a resume arrived. There were no others to come. He is our pastor today, and was truly God's man for our congregation. We love him dearly.

Tom B. </font>[/QUOTE]Yes, Tom. I would rather the church be straight up with me and let me know that they have focused on a candidate with the understanding that if he isn't called I may be contacted in the future.

 

Thanks, everybody, the advice to be up front is sound, and the obvious answer.

Permit me a digression. My church is 115 years old and has business meeting minutes all the way back to 1903. They are a gold mine. In the first half of the 20th century, whenever a pastor vacancy occurred the church called a business meeting and received nominations for pastor from the floor. Then they'd vote. Whoever won got a visit from a committee appointed to notify the fellow that he'd been elected, and get an answer from him. Most of the time he'd say yes, but sometimes no, and back to another business meeting to repeat the process. It seems that most of the time the guy who got elected pastor didn't even know about it until the committee came.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Tom B.

 

BTW, with email, all of this is much easier and less costly!

Tom, Your church can elect me anytime it wants and then notify me. What a blessing that would be!

 

The scenario described in the OP sounds much like the way many Bible churches do it. They call it "candidating" and they'll have the top two to five people come in to preach trial sermons, meet leaders, etc.

 

I have been in the process of sending resumes out for the past couple of months. I receive word from probably 75% saying they have received my resume. A few respond saying, "We're moving in a different direction."

I sent one resume and received a response in about 16 hours that said, "After prayerful consideration, we have decided to move in a different direction." How much prayer can happen in 16 hours? From the committees I have dealt with, most cannot even get the people together for a meeting except a couple of times a month. I concluded that the point of contact eliminated me based on my resume. Not a huge deal, I thought is was funny that they had prayerfully considered my qualifications and were led in another way. I think a lot of committees don't look at a resume until their regularly scheduled meeting.

My recent experience has been that many churches move very slowly. One church told me the man they wanted had accepted another position because they were so slow. Another church I called to follow up with told me, "I have been directed to tell candidates to not call here, if the committee is interested, they will contact you."

Maybe the best way to get a position is to look for one while you're still employed.

I know the best chance I have of securing a position in the ministry is to be personally recommended by someone in the church that knows me well. The bottom line is if the Lord has called me to full time service, He'll provide the opportunity for me. I still need to pursue all avenues, but I must trust that He will complete what He started.

 

While home on my last furlough I was tasked with the responsibility of being interim pastor to help my home church find a new pastor. Never, ever, do that guys! It was one of the most difficult times of my life.

The first thing we did to find a pastor was reduce the search comitee from 7 to 4 men. We immediately agreed that any single person could have a veto. That really ut the pressure on each man to be Spirit led in every decision. Then we agreed that we would deal with only one candidate at a time. We would pray and seek a name that we all agreed with. He would come, resent himself, be interviewed, preach, etc. Then we would vote yea or nay on him. If he was called great, if not, the process would start all over.

We called the first man we all agreed to and he has been a great blessing to the church ever since.

 

Mike, your experience helps confirm that the procedure at my church is basically a good one (found in an earlier post on page 2).

A couple of questions. Do you care to expand on your first paragraph, referring to a difficult time in your life. It just aroused my curiousity.

Second, why did you reduce the search committee to four?

Third, what is your view of women's serving on a search committee? I can see some logistical problems (travel, for one).

Our committee was all men, but not because of an anti-female bias. They just didn't get enough votes from the congregation. Once, when the committee met with a prospective pastor and his wife over lunch, committee wives were also asked to attend. Anything wrong with this?

Tom B.

 

This typo was sort of funny...

That being said, I have had two churches contact me, and I had the courtesy to respond to them personally. I think that's simple courtesy.

That being said, why cannot a group of people at least take the time to respond to those who send resumes? If nothing else, a form letter stating that their information has been received, and if they have anything further, they will be in touch. Follow that up with: "We have been led..." or something appropriate.

 

A couple of questions. Do you care to expand on your first paragraph, referring to a difficult time in your life. It just aroused my curiousity.

As a furloughing missionary, I was hoping to enjoy a little bit of rest. I had almost none. I was not able to get to many of my supporting churches. I lost support over this whole ordeal. I am not whining, just stating facts. I did what the Lord led me to do. It was also difficult because the church had sufered tremendously before we got home. We arrived on Tuesday night. At 8 AM I was in the home of the head deacon, the head of the pulpit committee, and he handed me a resignation letter. He quit the church! Welcome home buddy.

Second, why did you reduce the search committee to four?

We reduced the committee to four in order to insure that we would all be there for every meeting. It was a lot easier to et four schedules aligned than seven. Also I wanted only serioius spiritually minded men to work with.

Third, what is your view of women's serving on a search committee? I can see some logistical problems (travel, for one).

I love women. My wife is one! Seriously, our church has always been a church that used men for these things. As an interim pastor, I did not feel it would have been wise to try and change that. You should have seen the eyebrows raised the first time I caled on a lady to pray in service. Wow. I thought they would vote me out that night! Kind of wish they did! No, I do not have a problem with women serving in these capcities. In fact, if you think about a congregational form of government it only makes sense to have that perspective involved.

Another reason is that I did not think it was wise for some men to be in the church building, sometimes late at night, with women. We had some pretty late nights in prayer and meditation.

Our committee was all men, but not because of an anti-female bias. They just didn't get enough votes from the congregation. Once, when the committee met with a prospective pastor and his wife over lunch, committee wives were also asked to attend. Anything wrong with this?

I think the more dialogue you have with a cross section of the congregation the better. Women can be as godly and spirit filled as men, so why not let their opinions be voiced. Oftentimes, women have an innate intuition about the character of a person that men just do not seem to have. This of course should never supercede the leadership of the Hly Spirit.

Tom B. [/QB][/QUOTE]

In a nutshell God brought the right man to us and the church has recovered from its duldrums. Where it once looked as though its light would be extinguished our church has turned things around, gotten into a new building, increased its faith promise, added new families, and have enjoyed a renewed spirit in services.

It is really a joy to write a "sucess story" instead of filling the pages with bad news.

 

Mike, thanks for the response. God surely had the right man there in the interim when He put you there.

 

I'm a soon-to-be candidate, currently working on my licensing, ordination & Bible degree, but having grown up in a Preacher's home and going through this process as a family. I can tell you that good communication is just that good communication. I think that both sides need to put themselves in each others shoes...what a responsibility for a Pulpit Committee to replace a Pastor but what an awesome weight on a man (with or without a family) to make the right choice to pick up his family and move. Yes, I know God is in charge but when you are dealing with humans with doubts, fears, and worries poor communication gives the devil opportunity to step in and cause even more doubts or worries. If we can't communication in a simple "keep-in-touch" kind of way what does that say for your long term communication? If a church and perspective Pastor can't communication properly before he is hired how much harm has been done??

Tom B. - I'm not sure I understand the need to go to the perspective pastors church to see him preach? Why would you do this? Why not just have him preach at your church (which you said you did) but why his old church? Why let the realtionships with the other church get in the way? What if his people don't know if he is candidating or thinking of leaving yet? This seems odd and awkward so I'm curious of your thinking on this area.

 

I have been in contact with one church since late October. We are now going on six months! I've been informed that I'm one of the final group of four to six that they are looking at!

The process has taken so long that I'm not sure how interested I remain. I interviewed on February 1 and today is March 14.

Of course, I'm the one that has to initiate contact and push them along.

I've decided not to do that again. If they call, they call, but it has engendered negative thoughts and feelings.