JEB on what a prospective pastor might want to ask about your church
I did manage to accidentally retire a pastor before his time recently – but only in print. Graham Heaps doesn’t step back at Dewsbury until next Christmas.
However, an older guard of faithful pastors are coming to the end of their ministries. Not only so, but many new churches are being planted and other churches which have been in the doldrums for years have begun to stir. All this means that churches all over the country are looking for pastors.
Your church might be one of them. Such churches have a list of things they are looking for in the new man – some scriptural (1 Timothy 3.1-7; Titus 1.5-9) and others not. But have you ever put yourself in the shoes of a young man looking to become a pastor? You might be part of the ‘search team’ or interviewing committee. There are things you want to check out about him. But what might he want to know about you and your church?
No questions?
First, I think I need to say, ‘Be careful of a man who does not ask many questions’. It might just be a sign that he is the type who is too keen to simply get into the pulpit and so, he thinks, into the limelight. Sadly there are some men who are more about using a church as a vehicle for their own ego than about being a servant of God’s people. Lack of questions could indicate that he thinks his gifts would be a match for any and every situation rather than having a sober and humble assessment of himself (Romans 12.3).
How long?
‘How long have you been looking for a pastor?’ The candidate might want to ask that question. If it has been a long time, he may want to ask ‘Why?’. The answer might furnish him with some clues to the kind of church you are. Is it because you have looked at a number of prospective pastors but have not been able to agree with each other? Is it because you have not been able (or willing?) to offer a living wage for a young man with a family? Is it because you were so wounded by the ministry and behaviour of a previous pastor that you just needed time to recover and rethink as a congregation? There may be a temptation to cover up the truth here, but dishonesty is never a good policy in the long run, and shows lack of trust in God.
Change?
There is a whole raft of questions around the issue of change. Of course, we must never change the gospel. If we do, we are under a curse (Galatians 1.8-9). But as society around us – our mission field – changes, then a local church – God’s vehicle for mission – will need to adapt in various ways, just as much as any missionary entering a foreign culture to reach out for Christ.
Which version of the Bible do you use? Why that one? What is the church’s attitude to music? When was the last time you changed the way something is done in the church? Does the church see that change can be necessary in order to remain faithful to God, or is there a culture of resistance to change?
The story of God’s people in Scripture is that of a pilgrim people staying faithful to God’s truth but moving on with the Lord.
If there is a spirit of resistance to change, what are the roots of it? Does it come from an arrogant attitude? Does it arise from fear? Or is it that the people are so discouraged that they think there is no point trying anything new? A prospective pastor would be interested to know.
How many?
‘How many people come to the prayer meeting?’ Perhaps that question isn’t quite right. Let me re-phrase it. ‘What percentage of Sunday attenders make it regularly to the prayer meeting?’ A church can be small, but if 90% of the members come out to pray it indicates a far greater spiritual health and appetite in the church than that of a large church where the prayer meeting has greater numbers but represents a far smaller percentage of the church. Sunday attendance – especially Sunday mornings – can simply be a measure of how many passengers the church carries.
But there are quite a few other ‘How many?’ questions which can be worthwhile too. How many come to worship not just on Sunday morning, but on Sunday evening? How many outsiders come to evangelistic events? And understanding the mix of a congregation by way of age, ethnicity, gender and wealth can be helpful. Also, how many live within walking distance or a five-minute drive from the meeting place? Is the congregation excessively scattered geographically?
A prospective pastor might ask, ‘How many kids come to the children’s activities? He might ask that simply to find out if the church leaders know the answer. ‘Are these people in touch with the church they are meant to be leading?’ he is thinking.
What vision?
That brings us to think about the qualities of the existing leadership. ‘What kind of leadership team will I be joining?’ Hopefully there will be a team. The one-man ministry is not something you will find in the New Testament. A man taken on to lead alone may be expected to do everything and therefore is set up to be blamed for anything that goes wrong. It is not a helpful scenario.
‘Do the existing leaders have a vision for the church’s future?’ This is very important for a prospective pastor. If there is no vision or plan it might speak of a leadership team that has done very little thinking or praying. If there is a vision it might help him to know about it so that he can see whether or not his gifts make a good fit or not. But, on the other hand, there must be a sense that future plans are not set in stone, that there is flexibility and openness to the Lord’s leading.
‘Are the other people on the leadership team committed to the church?’ Or are they actually looking for someone to bring in so they can leave him holding the baby as they walk away? Hopefully the prospective pastor will be joining a team who would give anything for the good of the church and are committed to it for the foreseeable future at least. If the leaders are not committed how can anyone expect that others will be?
‘Are the leaders friends? Are they a good team?’ Or is it a fractious, contentious group. There is no end of good that a unified and spiritual set of leaders can do. But where there is in-fighting among the leaders the church is usually more or less a dead duck.
‘How do the leaders get on with other churches in the town?’ Any candidate worth his salt will want to steer clear of other churches of the liberal and ecumenical sort, but will want to be on good terms with other churches in the area that preach the gospel.
Rising to the challenge
These are just a few of the areas which a prospective pastor might want to probe. A good candidate will not necessarily be put off if the answers to his questions are less than favourable. He will rise to a challenge. There are too many young men who simply want to slip into a comfortable pastoral situation. A good man will be ready to roll up his sleeves and help get a church back on track. But he will be wise enough to want to know the size of the job which, under God, he will be taking on.
