For the past few years we have seen smaller churches struggle to find pastoral leadership. I've written about the problem several times in this blog and in some of my books. One of my responsibilities as a judicatory minister was to help churches find pastors. This became an increasingly difficult task as time went by. In talking to people doing the job I used to do I'm hearing it's even worse now.
In our area a majority of our smaller churches were served by students at a nearby seminary. Several years ago that seminary became non-supportive of our churches and many of their students would not consider serving in our churches. When that source dried up our smaller churches found it difficult to find pastors. Studies regularly find that many seminary graduates are not willing to serve in smaller churches. Bivocational pastors are often the best hope for these churches, but there are problems finding these pastors as well.
Bivocational pastors are going to come from the local area. Few people are going to move into rural Indiana from New Jersey to pastor a church of 40 people. An hour's drive is about the maximum distance that is feasible for a bivocational pastor. Many bivocational pastors lack a seminary degree, and some churches still insist on a seminary-trained pastor. The vast majority of bivocational pastors I've known have been dedicated servants of God and to the ministry He has given them. A handful I've known have been train wrecks looking for a set of tracks. Just because someone comes down the road with a cross around his neck calling himself Reverend doesn't mean you want him or her as your pastor. Calling any pastor without taking the time to check references can lead to real problems for a church.
Since it's getting more and more difficult to find good pastoral leadership for smaller churches, what's the solution? The solution is that churches are going to have to think differently about their pastors in the future. Let me talk straight about this. I don't want to make anyone angry, but it's time for some straight talk. If your small church wants pastoral leadership in the future you are going to have to be willing to be flexible. This isn't 1950 when you could expect 20-30 candidates all wanting to be your next pastor. You may be fortunate for find 2 or 3, and that could take a year or two. We are in a much different time,and finding pastors for smaller churches is only going to get more difficult in the future.
Before I retired I found that many smaller churches do not want a bivocational pastor. They still believe they can have a full-time seminary-trained pastor, pay that person $25,000 a year and believe that individual will be there forever. It's not going to happen. If you argue they shouldn't be in the ministry for the money, I would ask you when was the last time you turned down a pay raise in your chosen field? Few people go into the ministry for the money, but pastors, like everyone else, have a responsibility to provide for their families. That includes a home, safe vehicles to drive, medical care, food, education for their children and savings for retirement.
I cannot tell you how many times a pastor search committee explained to me that if the pastor grew the church they would be glad to increase his or her salary. I finally started telling those committees that it sounded like they weren't looking for a pastor, they wanted to hire a commissioned sales person. The more sales that were made (increased attendance) the more they could earn. That is not an acceptable way to look for a pastor.
Numerous studies have found that smaller churches do not suffer by having a bivocational pastor. In fact, as I pointed out in my book The Bivocational Pastor: Two Jobs, One Ministry there are numerous advantages for a church that calls a bivocational pastor. These individuals may or may not have a seminary education. While one might be preferable, such an education is not a necessity if the pastor is solid in his or her theology, is able to present good messages and is gifted in pastoral skills. Chances are good that if your church have an average attendance of 100 or so it will be led by a bivocational pastor in the near future. If your church is under 60 it's almost a given.
Tomorrow we will look at some more realities in calling a pastor for the smaller church.
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