The handoff from one pastor to the next is always tricky. For everyone. I’m basically at the start of my career. Now we pastor-types don’t like to use such crass professional terminology, preferring to say “calling” or “vocation” or “ministry”…
It’s time to change the way pastors get paid
The budget passes, with a reluctant majority. The pastor sweats as the whispers continue. No one knows how they’re going to keep their pastor. The pastor becomes very anxious, but doesn’t know how to respond, because the minister has not…
Calling a woman as pastor
From time to time, I receive a call from a member of a pastor search committee that is considering a woman as their senior pastor (which is a term that I don’t find anywhere in scripture, but I understand the…
Lord, give us a bishop
Looking over the landscape of Baptist churches, there are days when we might rightly cry out, “Lord, give us a bishop!” Too often, churches use their full autonomous rights to make awful hiring decisions. Not all the time, but not…
How to welcome a new pastor to your church
When Beth McConnell was being introduced to our congregation as our new pastor, someone asked her what we could do to make her transition easier. Beth is too humble to give you this list. Over the decades, I have given…
A “buyer’s market” for pastor search committees
The 21st century is proving to be a buyer’s market for many churches that are looking for a pastor. Even a tiny, troubled Baptist church can get 100 resumes from men and women looking for a church to pastor. A…
Buyer’s remorse for pastor search committees
Members of pastor search committees often experience buyer’s remorse. Buyer’s remorse is when a person or a family has made a large purchase, a house or a car, for example, and then they begin to second-guess their decision. Regret sets…
Does your pastor need a doctorate?
I just heard a story about another medium-sized church in a small town where a personnel committee desired above all that their next pastor have the title “Dr.” in front of his name. And I found myself thinking, “How uneducated.”…