The Way It Should Be

“That is the way it should be,” said a pastor friend. Others sitting around the table nodded in agreement. They were responding to a description of a pastor search committee that made the visit to the prospective pastor’s church the last thing in the process rather than the first.

“Pulpit committees can create trouble without meaning to,” the pastor continued. “They ought not visit a church until they are pretty sure about the man they are going to hear.”

Creating trouble is never the intention of a responsible pastor search committee. Members are just trying to discover the will of God as they seek out a person to lead their pastorless church. And, because preaching is central to the worship and ministry of Baptists, many committees feel the first thing to be done is listen to a person preach.

Some places even call their pastor search committees “pulpit committees” as if preaching from the pulpit is the only thing the pastor does.

This emphasis has resulted in countless committees showing up in churches to listen to someone preach before the committee ever talked with the individual, got to know him and his family, learned ministry emphases or did background checks. Pastor search committees have spent weeks, even months, crisscrossing the state, sometimes the nation, in search of a “preacher.”

At last pastor search committees are learning such scenarios waste their time and energy as well as disrupt the ministry of the individuals they hear.  Going to hear different preachers results in a lot of travel and expense, a lot of time and, usually, a lot of division among committee members. Inevitably, someone’s style or sermon will connect with one member of the committee more than with others. At the same time, style, sermon topic, grammar, slang phrases or any number of other things may evoke a negative reaction from a committee member and not from others.

As “pulpit committees” become “pastor search committees” the importance of other pastoral responsibilities grows. Pastoral care, administration, visitation, evangelism, counseling, staff relations — these and more are being considered in the selection of a pastor. These are gifts not always demonstrated in a single sermon.

Pastors are usually complimented by another church’s interest. The interest affirms the work they are doing and their personhood. But increasingly pastors are balancing initial contacts from another church with the welfare and ministry in their present location.

Pastor search committee visits are disruptive in most churches. Seldom can visiting committees hide. That means the buzz in the church fellowship is about the visiting committee. The visit calls into question the future ministry of the pastor in his present church. Sometimes church members conclude the pastor is trying to leave. Disappointment, confusion, even anger can result. His ongoing ministry can be undermined to the point that the pastor may have to leave regardless of his intentions.

It is unfair for a pastor search committee to unloose such emotions in a church just because someone heard the pastor was a good preacher.

Increasingly, pastor search committees are doing a better job preparing to do their task. They analyze their church, its needs, its strengths, its potentials. That provides an overview of the ministry gifts a new pastor will need to work effectively in the church. Recommendations are evaluated in terms of matching ministry gifts with opportunities.

Potential pastors who rise to the top in this prayer-driven process are contacted for additional information, perhaps a tape of a sermon or more information about specific concerns of the committee. References are sought for those who appear to be the best matches.

Armed with a great deal of information about their church and about potential pastors, interviews are held. Some churches interview only one candidate. Others interview two, three or four before deciding to proceed with a single person. The interviews are usually held in the community of the seeking church. That way potential pastors can examine the church and its surroundings. After all, both the church and the potential pastors have decisions to make. Both need to be thoroughly informed about the other.

Only after all other work has been done, does a pastor search committee visit the pastor in his home setting. The committee knows the candidate well by this time and the candidate knows the church. A decision about ability to function in the new setting has already been made by both parties.

Pastoral ethics teach that a potential pastor should never agree to be presented to a church unless he has the intention of accepting the call. Of course, something unexpected or providential can stop the process. The same kind of commitment should be expected from members of the pastor search committee before they go to hear a pastor in the present ministry setting. Unless providentially hindered or unless something unexpected surfaces in the visit, an invitation will be issued.

This emerging process shows respect for the pastor’s present ministry as well as concern about his future ministry. It provides a more complete experience with the candidates than deciding to continue or not on the basis of a single sermon. It is no wonder that pastors describe the process as “the way it should be.”