Thom Rainer of Lifeway posted about the Seven New Trends in the Pastor Search Process. They are kind of interesting, lots of looking at blogs and twitter to see how a potential employee interacts with others, questions about "emotional intelligence", credit and criminal checks, etc. What was missing was any hint of calling men from within the body, men called as pastors because you know what kind of man they are rather than men you call from somewhere else based on their resume, sermons and an interview hoping they are the kind of man you should follow.
People you gather with weekly for a long time are known to you. I don't need to check out what they say on Facebook because I actually know them, I know what kind of person they are and based on that whether they are someone who should be recognized as an elder. I don't care how many blog posts you read or how many sermons you listen to, a man you have barely met is a stranger until they have been in place for a while and by then it is too late. Little wonder that we have such a revolving door among professional clergy and so many bad matches with pastors and churches. We pick pastors like they are mail order brides and then act all bewildered when the inevitable divorce happens.
3 comments:
Arthur,
More and more I'm coming to the realization that two very different things exist that many think of as the same thing. The two are the church and the institution. The institution is a house of cards that relies on several "pillars" that are not allowed to be challenged (scripted ceremonies, temple-like buildings, paid clergy experts). These things must all continue for the institution to perpetuate itself.
The church and the institution are like water and oil: they do not and cannot mix. Let's hope that more of our brothers and sisters in Christ begin to realize that the church is largely in bondage to the institution and needs to reject it.
I had attended a church after my last pastorate where, after several months of attendance, most people knew that I had been a pastor for many years. The senior pastor of this church told me one day that they only hired from within, meaning they only put on staff those who were raised up in this church, or those who had been here a minimum of a year, so they could have chance to get to know someone and see their leadership, etc. I agreed that this was a better way than the usual method. Then he stunned me, because in the next breath he asked me if I would be interested in a pastorate four hours north of our location which would pay a salary and offer a house, etc. Go figure!
Craig, that makes perfect sense!
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