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 case, it’s important to follow a good, well thought-through process. Though these processes vary from denomination to denomination, almost every group has figured out how pastors should be sought out and acquired in their particular context.  By all means, pay close heed to whatever handbook you have; this is no time to reinvent the wheel.

But with or without a good handbook, there are spiritual aspects to this process that are profoundly important and transcend all denominational lines.

Last week I shared the following three suggestions for those who are looking for the best pastors they can find for their churches:

1. Pray like crazy.  Key statement from last week:

 “When the search committee gets together, prayer is not the preliminary to the main business of the evening; prayer IS the main business of the evening.” Paraphrase from Dr. Ken Moberg’s, Help! We Just Lost Our Pastor.

2. Accept God’s ownership of and purpose for your church. Key statement from last week:

If you want God to give you the best pastor possible, put your church back on the altar where it belongs.  Accept God’s ownership of and purpose for your church.

3. Be willing to be surprised by God. Key statement from last week:

I love the way God surprises me personally and I also love the way He surprises churches.  His surprises are far better than our plans and expectations (Ephesians 3:20,21). If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans, or show Him your pastor profile.

Here are three more suggestions:

4. Be willing to let go of the past.

Life has no reverse gear.  Confucius reportedly said that “You can’t step into the same river twice.” Church consultant Gary MacIntosh said that in pondering our congregation’s history it’s good to “look back” and then “leap forward.”

It’s great to want your church to return to the passion that it had at its founding.  It’s also good to re-visit the values your congregation had at its inception and to return to those values.

But it doesn’t usually work to try to return to the practices of the past and it’s grossly unfair to expect a pastor (new or old) to take a church back to the methods of the past and magically produce the kind of results that those methods produced in the past.

Our missionaries must adapt themselves radically as they cross geographical and cultural borders to make disciples.  While most of us aren’t moving geographically in order to make disciples, we are all moving through time, whether we like it or not.

If you want God to give your church a leader you must understand that good leaders lead forward (like Moses) not backward (like his brother Aaron, the golden calf guy).

5. Be willing to give up a passionless existence.

What is the greatest sin of the Church in America today?

I personally don’t think that it’s something gross or scandalous; I think it’s as common and acceptable as lukewarmness, or maybe even coldness, a passionless existence.  Consider the following:

“Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.”  Matthew 24:12

“So because you are lukewarm – neither cold nor hot – I am about to spew you out of my mouth.”                                                                                                   Revelation 3:16

“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Romans 12:11

Let’s put it like this: Wouldn’t you like God to give you a passionate, “on fire” pastor? To which church is God likely to give a passionate, “on fire” pastor?  A cold church, a lukewarm church or an “on fire” church?

6. Pray for an equipper, not a care-giver. Those congregational surveys that I wrote about last week reveal that most church members want their pastor to be dedicated to caring for them. They want a care-giver.

People do need “shepherds” and that’s why God assigned a group known as elders to make sure that this important work does get done (Acts 20:28; I Peter 5:1- 4).

But if the New Testament points to any one task that the full-time elder (also known as a pastor) should focus on, it would be that of equipping (training) all the believers in the flock, through the Word of God, so they can each fulfill their God-given assignments both inside and outside the congregation (Acts 6:2; Ephesians 4:11-12; I Timothy 5:17).  Churches that pray for equippers are asking God to give them the kind of leader which He longs to give them.

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The essence of what I’m saying is captured by this great old observation: “God gives His best to those who leave the choice to Him.” Amen.