I wish someone had told me .........

Ha,Doc thats good thanks.

 

1. Be ready to move from an area or a region. If you get fired or forced to resign from a church which has influential community leaders in it, you won't get a pulpit in that area or region ever again.

2. Have a second profession: teacher certification, plumber's license, electrician's, carpenter's or millwright's union card, RN,...you get the picture, so that you can support your family in case something happens. One sight of a black-listed preacher selling his library and working two minimum wage jobs and his wife working the night shift mopping hospital floors will explain this one.

3. If all men speak well of you, that is NOT a good thing (Luke 6:26).

4. Be prepared to be the topic of false reports.

5. Know when it is time to leave gracefully; don't hold on until the bitter end.

6. The pulpit committee has not been appointed which will not at least mislead a candidate, if not outright lie to them about the church.

7. If one of your church leaders likes "having the former pastor for lunch" (as the main course), then you can count on being on the menu yourself at some later date.

8. If you go to a church and hear lots of negative comments about the former pastor, don't throw your packing boxes away.

9. Before accepting a call to a church, have a personal, face-to-face meeting with the most recent pastor, and talk to the man before him on the phone, if not in person.

10. Protect your wife. If you are assertive (and large), people will pick on her to get to you.

11. Read "The Wounded Minister," and "Seven Churches NOT In the Book of Revelation."

12. If there are large extended families in the church, they will usually either be for you or against you AS A FAMILY.

 

Plant your own church.
A "pulpit committie" is something your members co-workers and neighbors have. God hired you only God can fire you.

 

Even if one plants his own church it won't be long and problems will come in. Paul did that and had problems.

 

My friend is incorrect here. Only way this is true is if the pastor resigned because of gross immorality, and that still doesn't stop some churches from calling them anyway. Most churches that fire a pastor have fired one before, and they have a reputation as a preacher-eater. But MajorB is right: prepare to be mobile.

Amen. That's the MajorB I know

All true.

I disagree. Do it with the last FIVE pastors. Contact the D.O.M. (if you can). Beware: not all D.O.M.s are honest.

I disagree. They do this even if the pastor is a runt

Very true.

Can I add one to my list: Don't expect your wife to be a "pastor's wife." Expect her to be YOUR wife. Don't let the church fashion her into preconceived molds of expectations and positions that the pastor's wife is "supposed" to have.

 

LEARN TO PRAY/NOT HOW TO PRAY

I THES 5:17