{"id":666,"date":"2009-02-03T03:01:25","date_gmt":"2009-02-03T03:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2009\/02\/advice-for-pastor-search-committees-an-introduction.html"},"modified":"2009-02-03T03:01:25","modified_gmt":"2009-02-03T03:01:25","slug":"advice-for-pastor-search-committees-an-introduction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/02\/advice-for-pastor-search-committees-an-introduction.html","title":{"rendered":"Advice for Pastor Search Committees: An Introduction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 1 of series: Advice for Pastor Search Committees
\n<\/em>Permalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a>
\nFor some odd reason, these days I seem to have several friends who are serving on church committees charged with seeking a new pastor. They have asked me, not only for suggestions of potential pastoral candidates, but also for any advice I might have for them and their committees. In this blog series I want to collect and share a few of my thoughts about pastor search committees and what might make them successful. I realize that this series won\u2019t be directly relevant to many of my readers. But you may know people who are in the midst of a pastor search. Or you might want to read this series out of curiosity, or to prepare for your own future service on a committee.
\nIn my denomination, the Presbyterian Church (USA), we call such committees \u201cPastor Nominating Committees\u201d because their goal is to nominate a candidate for a pastoral position. Only congregations in the PC(USA) have the authority to call a new pastor (with concurrence of their presbytery, the local governing body). But I\u2019m calling this series \u201cAdvice for Pastor Search<\/em> Committees\u201d because it will be more easily understood by Christians from various denominations and independent churches. For the most part, what I want to share is not relevant only to Presbyterians. (Obviously, if you\u2019re in a church where pastors are assigned by bishops with no input from congregations, or where pastors pick their own replacements, this series won\u2019t be especially relevant to you. But even bishop-led denominations often rely on pastor search committees to assist in the calling of pastors.)
\nI mentioned that I have several friends on pastor search committees. One obvious reason for this is that my former church now has such a committee in place in order to find my successor. It\u2019s no surprise that several of my friends are on this committee. But I also have a number of friends and acquaintances from other churches who are on pastor search committees. Some of these have asked for my counsel about their process as a committee. (Photo: The First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, where I grew up and where I served on staff for seven years, is looking for a new senior pastor.)
\nWhat I offer in this series is not meant to be some sort of definitive guide for a search committee. Rather, I want to share some random ideas in the hope that these may be helpful to my friends, and perhaps also to others who are in the pastor seeking process.
\nMy advice here is based on a number of things. First, I\u2019m reflecting on my own experience serving as a member of a pastor search committee. Four times while I was senior pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church is was a member of such a committee as we were looking for associate pastors. (Different presbyteries have different expectations for pastors. Los Ranchos Presbytery required me to serve on the associate pastor search committees.) I have more limited experience as the person being sought by a committee. Only twice have I had more than an initial phone call with a pastor search committee (once with Irvine and one other time). But I have spent lots and lots of time throughout my life listening to pastors and members of search committees. I have watched search processes that have been successful. And I\u2019ve watched those that have failed. (A successful search, in my opinion, produces a pastor who serves fruitfully in a church for at least five years.) So, what you\u2019ll get in this series is the compilation of my experience and that of many others.
\nA Word for Individual Committee Members<\/strong>
\nBefore I get to my first bit of advice for committees as a whole, I want to say a word for individual committee members. Most folks join pastor search committees because they care deeply about their church and its future, and they want to help their church to have a good pastor. They see the committee process, therefore, primarily as a task that will lead to a positive result for the church.
\nThis perspective is fine, and substantially true. But I want to suggest another dimension of serving on a pastor search committee. It has to do with the individual member\u2019s spiritual growth. Over the years I have heard from many people that serving on a pastor search committee helped them to grow significantly in their faith. Such growth is a result, in part, of members gathering on a regular basis to talk about the kingdom of God and its implications for their lives. Also, growth comes because committee members tend to spend much more time in prayer during a search process as they pray with the group and on their own. Then there\u2019s the whole matter of trusting God. Given how much rides on the decision of a pastor search committee, members often feel overwhelmed. They find that they have to trust God more than ever, and such reliance on the Lord is essential to spiritual growth.
\nNow I\u2019m certainly not suggesting that somebody should volunteer to serve on a pastor search committee primarily as a means to grow in Christ. The first motivation should find the right pastor for their church. But, if you\u2019re ever on a search committee, I\u2019d encourage you attend to what God is doing in your life through the process. How are you being challenged? Encouraged? Stretched? Reassured? How might you be different at the end of the process, by God\u2019s grace?
\nIn my next post I\u2019ll offer up my first piece of advice for committees. Stay tuned . . . .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 1 of series: Advice for Pastor Search Committees Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series For some odd reason, these days I seem to have several friends who are serving on church committees charged with seeking a new pastor. They have asked me, not only for suggestions of potential pastoral candidates, but…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pastor-search-committees"],"yoast_head":"\nAdvice for Pastor Search Committees: An Introduction - Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}