Note: I first wrote this parable to help pastor search committees to move in the direction of realistic expectations for pastors. Even if your church is not searching for a new pastor, this little story may help you to understand and bear with the pastor you already have. The senior pastor search committee of First […]
“Enjoying The Ride”
(Or, “How you can survive the pastoral transition at your church”) Psychologists today tell us that stress is an inside job, more of a function of the individual human personality than an inevitable reaction to circumstances. You could almost say that we make our own stress. Two people are strapped into the same roller coaster. […]
Three Challenges To The Traditional Search Committee
Congregational churches have traditionally replaced their pastors with the help of “search” or “pulpit” committees, made up of a combination of board members and non-board representatives of the congregation. The non-board members of the group are, in some churches, chosen by the church’s leaders, but are more typically elected by the congregation. In the worst […]
Experiencing God’s Leadership
“In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers…While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’” From Acts 13:1-2 After many years of believing that church leaders were pretty much “on their own” with […]
QUICK GUIDE – Succession Planning For Pastors
Condensed from “Succession Planning”, NL Moore & Associates Planned or unplanned, every church will go through a pastoral succession. In the next 10 years, more than half of all churches in America will go through a pastoral succession. There are not enough students in seminaries today to fill the empty pulpits that already exist […]
Four Perils Of The Internal Candidate
The senior pastor has just resigned. Before anyone can say “search committee,” the board chairman lets it be known that his nephew, a missionary in Botswana, would make a great candidate. The missionary is a favorite son candidate and there are dangers involved in how he is handled. Much more dangerous, however, is the situation […]
More Perils of the Internal Candidate
In a previous post, Four perils of the internal candidate, I wrote about the difficulties which accompany the church staff member making himself a candidate for the position opened up by the departure of the senior pastor. In too many cases, good churches stumble into these situations without any knowledge of the perils. Here are […]
Working Yourself Out Of A Job
(How interim pastors can help their church’s pastoral search committees) Of the many projects I’ve undertaken as an interim pastor in several churches, helping these church’s long-term pastor search committees has been among the most satisfying. The help I have given has been greatly appreciated, the task of leading these groups has been comparatively […]
To Get The Best Pastor Possible
Looking for a new solo or senior pastor for your church can be a stressful, fearful, experience. We know that we should just “trust God” of course, but we also know, all-too-well, how important this process can be. The right pastor can greatly bless your church. The wrong pastor can all but destroy your church. […]
To Get The Best Pastor Possible, Part Two
Periods of transition between senior or solo pastors are crucial for churches. This seems to be the case in all sizes of churches and in almost all denominational “tribes.” We wish it wasn’t so, but most of us know that the calling/accepting of a new pastor can make or break a congregation. This being the […]
The Myth Of The Young Pastor
I’m not picking on young pastors. Not by any means. Young pastors (and their families) are wonderful. Nor am I picking on churches which like young pastors. Good for them. In fact, I want to commend every church on the planet which is aging but interested in younger pastors because they’re concerned about reaching the […]
The Menu From The Pastor Café
Note: A number of years ago I wrote the Parable of the Headhunter (republished on this blog on November 29, 2023) to help congregational pastor search committees to have realistic expectations as they look for their next solo or senior pastor. The response to the “…Headhunter” was good, but I found that many church members […]
The Menu From The Pastor Café, Part Two
“You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometime, you’ll find, you get what you need.” The Rolling Stones Last week I began describing a tool that I developed a number of years ago to help pastoral search committees come to grips with what I term, “pastoral humanity,” or “pastoral limitations.” No […]
