Ten Commandments for Pastoral Searches
In a recent newsletter, I reflected upon Search, a fascinating and disturbing novel about a progressive, California congregation’s search for a new pastor. While the church couldn’t be more different culturally and theologically from my own church tradition, I found that its struggles to locate and call a new pastor seemed all too familiar.
There seem to be some basic “thou shalts” and “thou shalt nots” that should probably characterize the efforts of churches to identify, interview, and call their next pastor. I’ve come up with ten. The first three commandments are for the congregation, and the final seven are for the search committee.
1. Thou shalt have biblically based guidelines for who can serve on the search committee, and clear guidelines for what they have been delegated to do and not do.
2. Thou shalt commit to pray daily for the committee, prospective candidates, and the congregation throughout the duration of the search.
3. Thou shalt refuse to rush the committee to present a candidate simply to calm people’s anxieties.
4. Thou shalt commit to the necessary confidentiality in internal discussions, interviews with prospective candidates, and in the final stages of the process.
5. Thou shalt consult experienced third parties, ideally within the denomination, to provide counsel and encouragement in thy search.
6. Thou shalt refuse to cater to a specific group’s preferences, while ignoring the larger congregation.
7. Thou shalt focus on the biblical requirements and expectations for pastors.
8. Thou shalt keep the past, present, and future in mind when considering the strengths, weaknesses, problems, and opportunities of the congregation, and be forthcoming about these with candidates.
9. Thou shalt regularly report thy progress to the congregation, keeping them aware of notable developments that they can pray about.
10. Thou shalt communicate in a timely manner with all applicants and candidates, present one candidate to the congregation as thy consensus choice, and commit to support a new pastor and congregation through the transitional period.