A significant part of my work involves working with search committees as they search for a new pastor. This can be a very exciting time as well as a frustrating time in the life of a church. It is not uncommon for a search in our region to take 18 months or more. Some churches do not want to hear that. They can't stand to be without a pastor and will try to rush the process. The churches that do that often regret it later when they find they now have a pastor who is not what they needed. When that happens it often does not end well for the church or the minister.
Two things often happen when churches get in a hurry. The most common one is they call someone without spending time thinking about what they really need in a pastor. One of the things I urge these search committees and churches to do is to spend some time discerning where God is leading their church. It's called visioning. It takes time and is often messy, so many churches don't want to do it. But, as I explain to these churches, if you don't know where God is leading your church to be in the next five years how do you know what gifts and skills your next pastor needs to have that will help lead you there? They seem to hear that, but too often it doesn't slow them down.
This is very unfair to the prospective pastors this church may call. I've seen the following scenario played out too many times. The church is not unified around a God-given vision. They call a pastor because they liked his or her trial sermon and seemed quite personable. The individual accepts the call, spends a few months getting to know the people and the church, and suddenly the church decides it wants to move in a direction that is totally outside the pastor's gift mix. I resigned my church after serving there for twenty years because I realized it needed a pastor with different gifts than I had. I had taken that church as far as I could, and for it to go to another level of ministry it needed someone with gifts God had not given me. It's one thing to realize that after twenty years in a church; it's something else entirely to recognize this a year after going to a church. Suddenly, a good church and a good pastor finds they are not a good match for one another and difficult times are ahead for both.
A second thing that causes churches to get in a hurry is finances. I will spend time working with a search committee to help them begin the process when I get a call from the chairperson wanting to know my thoughts on the church calling someone local who has contacted them about the position. Perhaps they've invited this person in to fill the pulpit one Sunday and everyone enjoys the message. People start asking why can't they just call this person and move on.
I get these types of calls too often. My first question to the caller is usually what do you know about this person? What is his or her background and denomination? What are the theological beliefs of this individual? Not once has any caller been able to answer those questions. What they do know is the person is local and the church can probably save some money by calling him or her to the position.
Talk about a recipe for disaster! Maybe the person is the right person for the position, but why not let the search process determine that? I get very nervous when people come out of the woodwork wanting to pastor a church. Sometimes it works well, but it can also create major problems in the church that can take years to resolve. Calling someone to pastor a church should require more than some folks liking one or two sermons the person has preached.
Calling a pastor will impact a church for years, and even decades. It is not something that a church should do without much discernment and prayer. A church should definitely not settle for someone just because they are available or willing to work cheap. You're not hiring someone to paint a room in your house; you are looking for a spiritual leader for your church. Take the time to do some vision discernment and then begin looking for an individual who can help lead in the fulfillment of that vision. Find out as much about your candidates as you can. Check references. Ask questions. Keep praying. This all takes time, but it is time well spent.
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