Today as I put the wagon back together I found one of the bolt heads had some paint on it. This bolt is essential in order for the wagon to move forward and be effective. I had two choices. I could get a new bolt. I thought about that but the trouble of driving the fifteen minutes each way to the hardware store was too much for me today. The other choice was to take a piece of sandpaper and try to get rid of the paint. I found that this worked very well and soon all of the bolts looked sparkling new and the wagon is ready for many trips with the grandchildren.
Sometimes our search for a pastor brings the same types of issues. We find someone who is qualified, willing and ready to go. But when questioned and analyzed there is just something that isn't right. In my case I always want someone who is bald. Other people want certain schools, specific track records, etc.
So the question is "What do we do with those candidates who are not completely perfect for the position"? We have two choices. We can move on to someone else and try to find just the right person. Or we can realize that we will never find the perfect match and look for areas of compromise. There are some things that should never be compromised. Maybe another blog post will be a venue to discuss those. You all know the important ones. Whether a person has a full head of hair or went to a certain school should never stand in the way of calling a pastor.
At http://www.ministrytogether.com we use a 54 point matching system to match churches with pastors. Even though we ask some very in-depth questions we realize that very few times there will be a 100% match. We have categorized the matches into three groups: 85% or better matches are excellent matches. They may be bald but otherwise meet all the matching criteria. 50% to 84% matches have some good matching points but may need some sandpaper in certain areas (compromise). Below 50% match indicates you should look at someone else.
There were a few times in my ministry of 45 years where I needed a little sandpaper. I am so thankful that those churches took a chance on me. We had wonderful ministries, people came to know the Lord better, I grew as a pastor and the Kingdom received glory from it. So, if you are looking for a pastor don't be afraid to do a little sanding. You just might find a great pastor....Later...........Preacherman
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Pastor Search # 7
Getting Rid Of The Rust
I am in the middle of a very interesting project for Christmas. We bought a thirty year old Radio Flyer wagon for my grandson and I have been restoring it for one of his Christmas presents. I have found out some very interesting things about the restoration process. First, you have to get rid of all the rust before you can make it look good. That takes some hard decisions. I had to have the entire wagon sandblasted in order to get all of the old gone before I could start on the new. The second thing I had to do was put a good primer on before I could paint. Without the primer the final product would not have looked as good. Thirdly, I found that there are some things from the past that I could not keep. I was unable to get the exact Radio Flyer decals and some of the bolts are slightly different. So, although the wagon will look new and will have the foundation of the past it will be somewhat different from what it originally was.
Search committees need to realize that some churches are like the wagon. The foundation is extremely solid but some of the surface needs to be repaired. This may mean taking more time than most members want in order for the sandblasting to take place. Sometimes people need to leave in order for the church to be able to go forward. Some churches try to hold on to the past so much that they fail to see the wonderful finished product they could be. Those churches usually are not completely up front with their prospects. They will say things like, “Everything is great in our church family”. “We don’t have any problems”. That is true if they want to stay the same as they were. Where this becomes a problem is when the new pastor comes onboard and wants to follow God into the future and all the rust from the past begins to show up. They resist anything that will make them look different from what they have always been. That is tragic because the new pastor must either try to scale off a little of the rust at a time and pay the price or he gives up entirely and either leaves or settles for less than what God would have him be. It is possible for a church to hold on to some great foundations and still change for the future. I have never been in favor of what I call “Throwing out the baby with the bath water”. There are some things from the past that are great and we need to hold on to them. What is not good is when we stand in the way of doing different things because we have never done them before.
The greatest thing for search committees is to just be honest. Discuss the rust. Consider the fix even when it requires a lot of effort and time. The look on my grandson’s face Christmas morning will make all the time and work worthwhile. The end results of an honest approach to calling your next pastor will be as rewarding and worthwhile to your committee and your church. At http://www.ministrytogether.com we use a matching matrix to bring churches and prospects together that are suited for each other. When they each fill out the questionnaire they will deal with some of the rust we have been talking about……….I can’t wait til Christmas morning…I plan to take pictures…….Preacherman
I am in the middle of a very interesting project for Christmas. We bought a thirty year old Radio Flyer wagon for my grandson and I have been restoring it for one of his Christmas presents. I have found out some very interesting things about the restoration process. First, you have to get rid of all the rust before you can make it look good. That takes some hard decisions. I had to have the entire wagon sandblasted in order to get all of the old gone before I could start on the new. The second thing I had to do was put a good primer on before I could paint. Without the primer the final product would not have looked as good. Thirdly, I found that there are some things from the past that I could not keep. I was unable to get the exact Radio Flyer decals and some of the bolts are slightly different. So, although the wagon will look new and will have the foundation of the past it will be somewhat different from what it originally was.
Search committees need to realize that some churches are like the wagon. The foundation is extremely solid but some of the surface needs to be repaired. This may mean taking more time than most members want in order for the sandblasting to take place. Sometimes people need to leave in order for the church to be able to go forward. Some churches try to hold on to the past so much that they fail to see the wonderful finished product they could be. Those churches usually are not completely up front with their prospects. They will say things like, “Everything is great in our church family”. “We don’t have any problems”. That is true if they want to stay the same as they were. Where this becomes a problem is when the new pastor comes onboard and wants to follow God into the future and all the rust from the past begins to show up. They resist anything that will make them look different from what they have always been. That is tragic because the new pastor must either try to scale off a little of the rust at a time and pay the price or he gives up entirely and either leaves or settles for less than what God would have him be. It is possible for a church to hold on to some great foundations and still change for the future. I have never been in favor of what I call “Throwing out the baby with the bath water”. There are some things from the past that are great and we need to hold on to them. What is not good is when we stand in the way of doing different things because we have never done them before.
The greatest thing for search committees is to just be honest. Discuss the rust. Consider the fix even when it requires a lot of effort and time. The look on my grandson’s face Christmas morning will make all the time and work worthwhile. The end results of an honest approach to calling your next pastor will be as rewarding and worthwhile to your committee and your church. At http://www.ministrytogether.com we use a matching matrix to bring churches and prospects together that are suited for each other. When they each fill out the questionnaire they will deal with some of the rust we have been talking about……….I can’t wait til Christmas morning…I plan to take pictures…….Preacherman
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Pastor Search #6
Finding The Perfect Match
I watched a beautiful sunset yesterday from our front porch. The bright rays reflecting over the lake began to fade behind the North Carolina hills surrounding our home. The fall colors are gorgeous. This reminded me again how wonderful our retirement has turned out. There were unanswered questions about our future. There are always the financial issues. Will there be enough money? There was the social issue. Will we get good neighbors? And there were the personal issues. Will we be happy? I can answer all of these questions with a resounding yes!! These are the types of questions a search committee must deal with. When the decision is made and everyone is satisfied that this is the right person then you wait for the outcome. Will everyone be satisfied? Will the pastor be happy in his new surroundings? Have we missed anything? The goal of the search committee is to do their homework well enough so that there is a perfect fit. There have been times when the new pastor and church fit like a glove and a hand. To often there have been situations when both parties knew right away that it was a mistake. That is tragic. Both the church and the pastor suffer. The job of the search committee is to spend the time in prayer and with leg work in order to prevent this. I speak from experience of being in that situation several years ago. I knew right away that it was not God who sent me but it was a selfish desire on my part. That church suffered and my family and I suffered as well. So, how can this be avoided? First, the search committee must use every tool possible in order to get the right person. It is not unusual for a church to get four or five hundred resumes. How can the committee find the jewel in that pile? There are services available to provide background checks and personality profiles. I talked with one committee who told me one of their candidates attached the “Myers-Briggs Indicator Certification” with his cover letter. The committee said he went to the top of their list. There are other tools available as well. We developed the http://www.ministrytogether.com/ website in order to address some of these issues. We knew there was a great need for a sifting process so that certain candidates can rise to the top rather than be hidden in the stack. We developed a 54 point matching system so the pastor and church can be matched together. We ask theological, psychological, and practical questions. The matches are listed with the percentage of match in order for the committee and the candidate to find each other. Once they have determined their matches they can communicate with each other and continue the process. Our site has become the sifter to sift out those candidates who are not a match for the particular church. The goal is for the search committee to find candidates whom they can seriously pursue rather than spending their time going through the four or five hundred resumes to hopefully find a fit. When it is all over they will see the beautiful sunsets and will be able to say, “The decision was the right one”. That is what we say every day when we look out our front window and see the beautiful view………..Preacherman
I watched a beautiful sunset yesterday from our front porch. The bright rays reflecting over the lake began to fade behind the North Carolina hills surrounding our home. The fall colors are gorgeous. This reminded me again how wonderful our retirement has turned out. There were unanswered questions about our future. There are always the financial issues. Will there be enough money? There was the social issue. Will we get good neighbors? And there were the personal issues. Will we be happy? I can answer all of these questions with a resounding yes!! These are the types of questions a search committee must deal with. When the decision is made and everyone is satisfied that this is the right person then you wait for the outcome. Will everyone be satisfied? Will the pastor be happy in his new surroundings? Have we missed anything? The goal of the search committee is to do their homework well enough so that there is a perfect fit. There have been times when the new pastor and church fit like a glove and a hand. To often there have been situations when both parties knew right away that it was a mistake. That is tragic. Both the church and the pastor suffer. The job of the search committee is to spend the time in prayer and with leg work in order to prevent this. I speak from experience of being in that situation several years ago. I knew right away that it was not God who sent me but it was a selfish desire on my part. That church suffered and my family and I suffered as well. So, how can this be avoided? First, the search committee must use every tool possible in order to get the right person. It is not unusual for a church to get four or five hundred resumes. How can the committee find the jewel in that pile? There are services available to provide background checks and personality profiles. I talked with one committee who told me one of their candidates attached the “Myers-Briggs Indicator Certification” with his cover letter. The committee said he went to the top of their list. There are other tools available as well. We developed the http://www.ministrytogether.com/ website in order to address some of these issues. We knew there was a great need for a sifting process so that certain candidates can rise to the top rather than be hidden in the stack. We developed a 54 point matching system so the pastor and church can be matched together. We ask theological, psychological, and practical questions. The matches are listed with the percentage of match in order for the committee and the candidate to find each other. Once they have determined their matches they can communicate with each other and continue the process. Our site has become the sifter to sift out those candidates who are not a match for the particular church. The goal is for the search committee to find candidates whom they can seriously pursue rather than spending their time going through the four or five hundred resumes to hopefully find a fit. When it is all over they will see the beautiful sunsets and will be able to say, “The decision was the right one”. That is what we say every day when we look out our front window and see the beautiful view………..Preacherman
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Pastor Search # 5
"Choosing a candidate that the church wants rather than the candidate the church needs….."
What does a church want in a pastor? Many churches will create a questionnaire asking for each member to state what they want in their next pastor. Then they compile the list and the majority wins. Wow, that certainly opens the door for lots of issues down the road. Most often the final model for the new pastor will be; twenty-five years old with forty years experience, married with two perfect children, willing to spend ninety hours per week on the church field, great administrator but willing to let the church body make all the decisions, a strong leader but more apt to follow the majority,,,,,,well, you get the idea. When we poll the audience, we will come up with a wish list rather than a true picture of what the church needs. Often, the church needs a strong leader who will cast a vision and move people in that direction. I was speaking to a group of pastors last year about leadership and I pointed out that a shepherd never asks his sheep where they want to graze today. He never sends out a survey to determine what the majority wants. The shepherd knows what is best for his sheep. He knows where the dangerous cliffs are so he keeps them away from those areas. He knows where the predators lurk so he will be on guard if his flock is in the area of danger. In other words, the shepherd will lead his flock. So, the church needs a leader. If the church determines that they have called the person God has chosen to pastor them they should be willing to follow. So, what the church needs is a person who does not necessarily fulfill their wish list but one who has the ability to move them forward. I had a sign in my office before I retired that said, “Spiritual Leadership Is Moving People Toward God’s Agenda”. Most often the church will be willing to follow if they are convinced the pastor knows where they are going.
So, how do you get a pastor that the church needs rather than one they want? At http://www.ministrytogether.com we have designed a matching system based on the characteristics of the church and the pastor. We determine how the church deals with conflict, what they believe, and many other issues and we match them with a pastor who has the same qualities. A pastor who polls the congregation to determine how to deal with conflict will not survive in a church that chooses to deal with it head on. Our database gives a church the top matches as prospective candidates. These top matches are best suited to their characteristics and will have a much better survival rate.
There have been times in my life that I wanted something so badly that I did everything I could to get it. I have to confess that I did that with one of the churches I pastored. I wanted it so badly that I spoke with the right people and made it very clear that I was sure this was for me. Well, I got it and within a very few months I knew that it was not what I needed and I was not what the church needed. It did not last long. I did not want to leave after six months so I toughed it out…It was hard. But, it was just what I wanted. I am sure the church must have felt the same way. So, we must do whatever we can to determine needs rather than wants when calling a senior pastor or any staff member….I know I learned my lesson the hard way….Preacherman.
What does a church want in a pastor? Many churches will create a questionnaire asking for each member to state what they want in their next pastor. Then they compile the list and the majority wins. Wow, that certainly opens the door for lots of issues down the road. Most often the final model for the new pastor will be; twenty-five years old with forty years experience, married with two perfect children, willing to spend ninety hours per week on the church field, great administrator but willing to let the church body make all the decisions, a strong leader but more apt to follow the majority,,,,,,well, you get the idea. When we poll the audience, we will come up with a wish list rather than a true picture of what the church needs. Often, the church needs a strong leader who will cast a vision and move people in that direction. I was speaking to a group of pastors last year about leadership and I pointed out that a shepherd never asks his sheep where they want to graze today. He never sends out a survey to determine what the majority wants. The shepherd knows what is best for his sheep. He knows where the dangerous cliffs are so he keeps them away from those areas. He knows where the predators lurk so he will be on guard if his flock is in the area of danger. In other words, the shepherd will lead his flock. So, the church needs a leader. If the church determines that they have called the person God has chosen to pastor them they should be willing to follow. So, what the church needs is a person who does not necessarily fulfill their wish list but one who has the ability to move them forward. I had a sign in my office before I retired that said, “Spiritual Leadership Is Moving People Toward God’s Agenda”. Most often the church will be willing to follow if they are convinced the pastor knows where they are going.
So, how do you get a pastor that the church needs rather than one they want? At http://www.ministrytogether.com we have designed a matching system based on the characteristics of the church and the pastor. We determine how the church deals with conflict, what they believe, and many other issues and we match them with a pastor who has the same qualities. A pastor who polls the congregation to determine how to deal with conflict will not survive in a church that chooses to deal with it head on. Our database gives a church the top matches as prospective candidates. These top matches are best suited to their characteristics and will have a much better survival rate.
There have been times in my life that I wanted something so badly that I did everything I could to get it. I have to confess that I did that with one of the churches I pastored. I wanted it so badly that I spoke with the right people and made it very clear that I was sure this was for me. Well, I got it and within a very few months I knew that it was not what I needed and I was not what the church needed. It did not last long. I did not want to leave after six months so I toughed it out…It was hard. But, it was just what I wanted. I am sure the church must have felt the same way. So, we must do whatever we can to determine needs rather than wants when calling a senior pastor or any staff member….I know I learned my lesson the hard way….Preacherman.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Pastor Search # 4
Failing to evaluate the church's true condition
Just what is the true condition of your church? Too often churches will tell prospective pastors that they want to grow. They will say things like; “We want to grow”, or “We want to reach new people”, or “We need to get new people into our church”. Each of these is an admirable goal for any church. The problem is that many churches really do not know what it takes to reach their community. Often churches are stuck in the past or just do not know how to reach out to new people. In his book “Comeback Churches, Ed Stetzer stated that each of the comeback churches surveyed got a new pastor. Either they had a pastor that could not move the church to comeback and that pastor left or the current pastor changed his thinking. That is great if the pastor is able to lead the church in the direction of growth. What we are talking about today is the church whose pastor has left and they are looking for the new one who will lead them to the promised land of growth. The church must look inwardly and make an honest assessment of its true condition. It just may be that unless changes are made the church cannot reach new people. James Emery White wrote a wonderful book titled “Rethinking The Church”. James White commissioned a survey of unchurched people who live the in Northeast area of Charlotte, NC. The survey sought to answer one single question; “Why don’t you attend church?”. The results were, 1) There is no value in attending 74%, 2) Churches have too many problems 61%, 3) I do not have time 48%, 4) I am simply not interested 42%. 5) Churches ask for money too frequently 40%, 6) Church services are usually boring 36%, 7) Christian churches hold no relevance for the way I live 34%, 8) I do not believe in God, or I am unsure that God exists 12%. It would be a great idea for any church to look at what they do and see if they are doing anything to help people like those surveyed find a reason to attend. When interviewing a pastor it is good to be honest and say that our church is currently maintaining. That is a healthy statement. It is not necessarily a healthy state for the church to be in but it certainly gives a prospective pastor a better understanding of what he will be up against rather than if the church states that everything is fine and going well. People who answered the question in the survey will probably not attend a church that is maintaining. They are looking for something that is relevant to them. What if you found 100 single parent mothers in your neighborhood who are trying to shuffle childcare, work and social life? Would your church do anything different than they are doing now? What if you found twenty same sex couples living in your neighborhood? Would your church do anything different than they are doing now? You see, when our church is honest with its condition, many times we will have to say, “We are doing a poor job of reaching out to the community”. Any new pastor needs to know that upfront, in order to best determine his future there. It is not a bad thing to be in a condition of not reaching new people. It is a bad thing to ignore it… At our http://www.ministrytogether.com website we use a 54 point matching system to match churches with prospective pastors. When the questions are answered correctly by the church listing a position the database will find and list every prospect by percentage of match. This makes it easy to get prospects that have the same style of ministry. When we find the right match the Kingdom grows. It is very important not to ignore issues such as the condition of the church when dealing with prospects.…….Preacherman
Just what is the true condition of your church? Too often churches will tell prospective pastors that they want to grow. They will say things like; “We want to grow”, or “We want to reach new people”, or “We need to get new people into our church”. Each of these is an admirable goal for any church. The problem is that many churches really do not know what it takes to reach their community. Often churches are stuck in the past or just do not know how to reach out to new people. In his book “Comeback Churches, Ed Stetzer stated that each of the comeback churches surveyed got a new pastor. Either they had a pastor that could not move the church to comeback and that pastor left or the current pastor changed his thinking. That is great if the pastor is able to lead the church in the direction of growth. What we are talking about today is the church whose pastor has left and they are looking for the new one who will lead them to the promised land of growth. The church must look inwardly and make an honest assessment of its true condition. It just may be that unless changes are made the church cannot reach new people. James Emery White wrote a wonderful book titled “Rethinking The Church”. James White commissioned a survey of unchurched people who live the in Northeast area of Charlotte, NC. The survey sought to answer one single question; “Why don’t you attend church?”. The results were, 1) There is no value in attending 74%, 2) Churches have too many problems 61%, 3) I do not have time 48%, 4) I am simply not interested 42%. 5) Churches ask for money too frequently 40%, 6) Church services are usually boring 36%, 7) Christian churches hold no relevance for the way I live 34%, 8) I do not believe in God, or I am unsure that God exists 12%. It would be a great idea for any church to look at what they do and see if they are doing anything to help people like those surveyed find a reason to attend. When interviewing a pastor it is good to be honest and say that our church is currently maintaining. That is a healthy statement. It is not necessarily a healthy state for the church to be in but it certainly gives a prospective pastor a better understanding of what he will be up against rather than if the church states that everything is fine and going well. People who answered the question in the survey will probably not attend a church that is maintaining. They are looking for something that is relevant to them. What if you found 100 single parent mothers in your neighborhood who are trying to shuffle childcare, work and social life? Would your church do anything different than they are doing now? What if you found twenty same sex couples living in your neighborhood? Would your church do anything different than they are doing now? You see, when our church is honest with its condition, many times we will have to say, “We are doing a poor job of reaching out to the community”. Any new pastor needs to know that upfront, in order to best determine his future there. It is not a bad thing to be in a condition of not reaching new people. It is a bad thing to ignore it… At our http://www.ministrytogether.com website we use a 54 point matching system to match churches with prospective pastors. When the questions are answered correctly by the church listing a position the database will find and list every prospect by percentage of match. This makes it easy to get prospects that have the same style of ministry. When we find the right match the Kingdom grows. It is very important not to ignore issues such as the condition of the church when dealing with prospects.…….Preacherman
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Pastor Search # 3
"Leaving"
This has been a month of lasts….I had my last deacon’s meeting at my current church…..I had my last Baptist Life Communities board meeting…..I had my last book study with my friends…..I am preparing my last sermon for New Banklick Baptist Church.
Joy and I have announced our retirement and will be moving in July to our new home in Hickory, NC where we will enjoy spoiling our grandchildren. Pastoring in areas that are far from family is one of the most difficult things to do. We have missed a lot of firsts with our grandchildren. We were not there when they lost their first tooth or came home with the first A on the report card or any number of other very important things. So God is giving us some time to make up for all of those things we have missed.
What I need some of you to help me with is how to deal properly with the lasts. I have to confess that the lasts have been much more difficult for me than the firsts. I was not nervous at all nor did I dread my first sermon at this wonderful church. I did not have any bad feelings about the first deacon’s meeting, first business meeting or anything at all surrounding our first few months here. I certainly did not dread any of the wonderful meals we were fed. But the lasts have been a different story. My heart breaks every time someone hugs me and weeps or just says “I’ll miss you”. I could become a blubbering idiot if I let myself.
This blog is about going to a new church but sometimes we just need some feedback on how to leave a good church. This is something that we have not addressed on our website http://www.ministrytogether.com. Perhaps we should………Well, during the two and a half weeks that we have left I am sure there will be many lasts…I just hope I can make it….Please share your experiences and thoughts…..Preacherman
This has been a month of lasts….I had my last deacon’s meeting at my current church…..I had my last Baptist Life Communities board meeting…..I had my last book study with my friends…..I am preparing my last sermon for New Banklick Baptist Church.
Joy and I have announced our retirement and will be moving in July to our new home in Hickory, NC where we will enjoy spoiling our grandchildren. Pastoring in areas that are far from family is one of the most difficult things to do. We have missed a lot of firsts with our grandchildren. We were not there when they lost their first tooth or came home with the first A on the report card or any number of other very important things. So God is giving us some time to make up for all of those things we have missed.
What I need some of you to help me with is how to deal properly with the lasts. I have to confess that the lasts have been much more difficult for me than the firsts. I was not nervous at all nor did I dread my first sermon at this wonderful church. I did not have any bad feelings about the first deacon’s meeting, first business meeting or anything at all surrounding our first few months here. I certainly did not dread any of the wonderful meals we were fed. But the lasts have been a different story. My heart breaks every time someone hugs me and weeps or just says “I’ll miss you”. I could become a blubbering idiot if I let myself.
This blog is about going to a new church but sometimes we just need some feedback on how to leave a good church. This is something that we have not addressed on our website http://www.ministrytogether.com. Perhaps we should………Well, during the two and a half weeks that we have left I am sure there will be many lasts…I just hope I can make it….Please share your experiences and thoughts…..Preacherman
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Pastor Search #2
As we continue the discussion of the search process we must discuss the issue of a unanimous decision. I know everyone wants everyone to be happy. If there is one dissenting vote that means one person is not happy. Let’s be honest, just because there is not a unanimous vote does not necessarily mean that the person is wrong for the church. I have seen cases where the dissenting voter later will come on board with the new pastor and be a great asset for him. So, the question is “how low do we go”. What is the magic number for an acceptable recommendation? I believe this is a two fold question. The answer will be different for the search committee than for the church vote. I believe the committee needs to be unanimous in their decision to recommend the candidate to the church. If there are members of the committee who are not in favor then every effort should be made to answer any questions they might have. This can be done with conference calls to the candidate or another visit. The entire process must be bathed in prayer. When the committee has a legitimate hesitation the entire committee must take note of this and address it. That is the reason we have more than one person on the search committee. We all see things differently. Perhaps the reason for the hesitation is nothing more than a personality issue. Let’s face it there are some folks who like us better than others. I personally do not have any hair on top of my head. For some of you, that means I am bald. For others I am just folically challenged. There might be a person on the committee who just does not want to look at a bald preacher every week. That is a personality issue. We may also have a person who has a keen gift of discernment and just is not comfortable with the candidate. When either of these issues are addressed and they remain, it is my recommendation that the committee move on. If that person is the right candidate his name will come back up later and can be looked at another time.
In terms of the church vote I believe it is next to impossible today to get a unanimous vote. It happens some but there are more times than not that it is not unanimous. Some churches have guidelines in their bylaws for this. If it is not covered in the constitution and bylaws then I believe there should be at least an 85% vote. Even with 85% that means you have 15% whom you will have to win over. This just makes the first few years a little more difficult. I believe the outcome of the vote will be dependent to a large degree in the presentation by the committee. If the committee does a great job the vote will be better. This should be a great time of celebration and the committee gives the church ample opportunity to get acquainted with the candidate. Just bringing a person in to preach and meet with the candidate and then having a vote is a disaster waiting to happen. If the committee is serious about the candidate then they should show that seriousness to the church family. There should be receptions and meals. There should be meetings with each of the people groups within the church. The prospective pastor should have a time with the students in the church. He should be able to meet with the senior adults and the median adults and all the staff and anyone who has anything to do with the everyday workings of the church. When all that is done everyone will have an opportunity to know him before they cast their vote. I believe this will eliminate some of the dissension. 100% would be great but the odds are that isn’t going to always happen. What the church must work toward is to get as high a percentage as possible.
One of the things we address at www.ministrytogether.com is the compatibility issue between the candidate and the church. Our 54 point matching system will filter out those candidates that will not be suited to the church. When the church receives a candidate from www.ministrytogether.com they can be assured that these issues have been addressed……Preacherman
In terms of the church vote I believe it is next to impossible today to get a unanimous vote. It happens some but there are more times than not that it is not unanimous. Some churches have guidelines in their bylaws for this. If it is not covered in the constitution and bylaws then I believe there should be at least an 85% vote. Even with 85% that means you have 15% whom you will have to win over. This just makes the first few years a little more difficult. I believe the outcome of the vote will be dependent to a large degree in the presentation by the committee. If the committee does a great job the vote will be better. This should be a great time of celebration and the committee gives the church ample opportunity to get acquainted with the candidate. Just bringing a person in to preach and meet with the candidate and then having a vote is a disaster waiting to happen. If the committee is serious about the candidate then they should show that seriousness to the church family. There should be receptions and meals. There should be meetings with each of the people groups within the church. The prospective pastor should have a time with the students in the church. He should be able to meet with the senior adults and the median adults and all the staff and anyone who has anything to do with the everyday workings of the church. When all that is done everyone will have an opportunity to know him before they cast their vote. I believe this will eliminate some of the dissension. 100% would be great but the odds are that isn’t going to always happen. What the church must work toward is to get as high a percentage as possible.
One of the things we address at www.ministrytogether.com is the compatibility issue between the candidate and the church. Our 54 point matching system will filter out those candidates that will not be suited to the church. When the church receives a candidate from www.ministrytogether.com they can be assured that these issues have been addressed……Preacherman
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