Pastoral Transition and Placement Reflections

On aging and succession planning in ministry

2011-08-17T09:06:00.000-05:00

I pointed out Collin Hansen's great article on the Gospel Coalition website about succession planning last month. Hansen has posted on the topic again, this time with a video of three significant men in evangelical ministry today -- Tim Keller, Don Carson, and John Piper -- discussing aging and how is has impacted their own thoughts about succession planning.

Congregations: do you have an aging pastor? Has your leadership had frank discussions with him about how he (and they) are planning together for how this will inevitably take place?

I would strongly urge pastors (especially aging pastors) to watch this video together with their leadership as a discussion-starter for this needed conversation.

Piper Talks with Carson, Keller About Succession Plans at Bethlehem from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo.

HT to Collin Hansen; read his observations about the video here.

Moving far from home, part 3

2011-08-09T14:35:00.000-05:00

I've been doing a short series on the difficulties of moving far from "home" and family, and how some have dealt with it. (Read part one and part two.)

Back to my friend "Brian" who lives in Colorado, and his family is in South Carolina. Here's another observation Brian had, this time about his children's relationship with their grandparents.

Brian has several children, so naturally his parents (and his wife's parents) try to come visit as often as they can. Brian's wife has a sister who still lives in their hometown, so there's an interesting contrast between how Brian's mother-in-law and father-in-law relate to his children in comparison to his nieces and nephews.

Here's what Brian has noticed: his in-laws are a part of the "regular life" of his nieces and nephews. Because they live in the same town, the in-laws can attend school functions, recitals, etc., and see the kids on a regular basis. At the same time, the nature of "regular life" is such that they rarely get extended, uninterrupted time with their grandchildren.

On the other hand, when the in-laws come out Brian's way, they have regularly kept the kids home from school, and Brian has taken a few vacation days. Brian's family gives their undivided attention to his in-laws, as much as possible.

The contrast is significant. In a recent conversation with his mother-in-law, Brian and his wife learned that they (his in-laws) feel like they know Brian's children better, and that the children know them better, than their other grandchildren-- because Brian and his family live far away.

Obviously this would not be the case if Brian's in-laws were unable (because of schedule, money, health, etc.) to travel the great distance to see Brian's family. But since they are, in their case at least this is a surprising answer to what is surely a great concern for many.

For All the Saints endorsement/review

2011-08-06T17:00:00.000-05:00

My fellow PCA pastor Ron Steel was kind enough to send me this warm review/endorsement for my little book, For All the Saints: praying for the church.

Ed Eubanks is wise to tremble, as he says, at the prospect of writing a book on prayer, but I am glad that the women’s prayer ministry at his church in western Tennessee prevailed upon him to set aside his understandable timidity and write this practical little treatise on praying for the church. The topics covered in the space of just 88 pages range widely over a number of arenas needing focused intercession from “all the saints”. Prayer in behalf of Christ’s church is both our great privilege and the source of spiritual power in being and doing all that our Sovereign Lord has designed and destined the church to be and do. Some of these areas of focus in prayer include unity, the ministry of Word and Sacrament, church discipline and restoration, fellowship and growth, the lost, renewal and revival, suffering, church leadership and the return of Christ. The section at the end of each chapter called “prayer summary” is worth the price of the book. Together these sections compose an impressive prayer list for those committed to upholding their church in prayer. Few have been able to compose something on prayer that is sensitive to the theology of prayer while being intensely practical in providing specific guidance in what to pray. Many will find, as I have, this little book to be large in usefulness."
Ronald Steel
recently Senior Pastor of Twin Oaks Presbyterian Church, Ballwin, Missouri.

Thanks Ron!

Challenging the conventional wisdom on Ministerial Calls

2011-08-02T17:38:00.000-05:00

Carl Trueman posted a couple of shorter pieces on the Reformation 21 blog back in June (Some Questions and Thoughts on Ministerial Calls part one and part two), in which he challenged our usual approach and practice to identifying a "pastoral call" in candidates and churches.

Trueman observes that the practice often is in conflict with similar practices in other parts of our congregational life:

I have often wondered why it is in Presbyterian circles (and probably other churches too) that we routinely call men in their twenties, straight from seminary, to be ministers when we would never dream of calling someone of such an age to be a ruling elder. It seems odd to apply the biblical norms only to the latter.

I think he is more right than wrong here. I know at Covenant Seminary, where I studied, there is a requirement that a man must have at least three years of pastoral ministry behind him before beginning a Doctor of Ministry program; I have wondered why a similar requirement is not made for those who would enter the ministry. Why not at least one or the other of the following: either several years of work experience in secular employment, or several years of ministry experience as an intern, pastoral assistant, or non-ordained ministry position?

Trueman goes on to point out that, too often, churches and presbyteries simply rely on seminaries to do their jobs for them, with regard to determining whether a man is fit for ministry. If they have completed seminary, the conventional wisdom goes, they must have some "chops" that make them suitable as a pastor. He makes the following point about that:

What is needed is a clear understanding that seminaries are not presbyteries: they do not make any judgment on suitability for ministry; they simply teach the necessary technical theological skills at the appropriate level.

He concludes with a poignant reminder about achievement and potential vs. fitness and qualification for ministry:

An MDiv degree, a congregational vote, an `internal call' and an act of presbytery do not mean that a man is really called by God to be a minister.

This is much-needed re-thinking. I know that our presbytery has ordained men on these bases, when in fact several of us have had serious questions about whether they were truly ready to serve the church as pastors-- or whether we were setting them up (and their congregations as well) for potential devastation.

Read all of the posts here:
Some Questions and Thoughts on Ministerial Calls I
Some Questions and Thoughts on Ministerial Calls II

Moving far from home, part 2

2011-07-20T10:46:00.000-05:00

At our recent General Assembly I spoke with several friends who had moved a long way from "home" and family, and gleaned some interesting comments and reflections on their experiences. (Read part one here.)

Now let's consider a comment from "John" whose family is from Alabama, and who is now a pastor in California. Here's what John said:

"The best advice I received was from [a seminary professor] who said, 'you just need to negotiate into your terms of call that they will fly your whole family home once a year.' So we did-- and now there's a line-item in the church budget for $2,500 of airfare for my whole family to fly back!"

This is a great idea. Airfare is expensive enough for one or two, but John and his wife have several children. For most pastors, the cost would simply be prohibitive to think of paying for that every year, or even every other year. Or at very least, it might keep them from being able to afford other vacation time, as a couple or as a family.

With John's arrangement, however, they are free to simply not worry about the biggest part of the costs of visiting family. The first year they were there, John and his family flew back to Alabama around Christmas-- about six months after they had moved. Surely this was a great comfort, both to John's family and to their extended families.

The upside of this, among other things, is that the burden of traveling expenses is carried by neither John's family nor their parents or siblings. It's easy to think that extended family might simply travel out to see them in California, but that can get costly too (even if it is only one set of parents, with airfare for only two instead of five or six). This solution tempers that problem, at least a bit.

The downside, obviously, is that this represents a substantial financial commitment for the congregation. Some congregations may not be able to afford it. Others, while sympathetic, may not be willing to make such a large investment. (I would counter the latter, however, by pointing back to Brian's comment about how hard the decision can be to move so far from family, and suggesting that an unwilling approach in the short term may have unfavorable consequences in the longer term.)

On effective succession planning in pastoral ministry

2011-07-07T10:23:00.000-05:00

The question of effective succession planning in the church is a vital one, and yet it is usually one of the topics that a congregation-- even the leadership-- most often neglects and ignores.

Churches seem to settle quickly into the assumption that, now that they have a pastor, he's there for good! And some great churches have seen devastating results as a consequence of that neglect. On the other hand, the exceptions prove the rule here; think about the congregations (or even large ministries) that you know of that have had a strong, capable leader follow another, and go on to advance the existing ministry even further than their predecessor did. I can count on one hand those that come to my mind.

That's one reason why this Gospel Coalition article from Collin Hansen, "Gospel Integrity and Pastoral Succession," is so valuable.

Hansen holds out Tim Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan as a current example of effective succession planning. Few churches in our day have ministries as strong and with as great an impact as Redeemer, and few pastors are as recognizable as Keller. Yet Keller and the leadership of Redeemer have put in place a succession plan that spans the next 10 years, and surely lays a foundation for the future leaders to build upon. Hansen comments:

The succession plan corresponds with a larger ministry reorientation for Redeemer. For about 20 years, Redeemer grew as members invited their friends to hear the exceptional music and Keller’s compelling sermons. Without Keller as a draw, however, the church’s strategy will need to change. Church leaders and members will need to become more missional.

Hansen goes on to consider several other prominent examples, all learning from the foibles of others in church history who, great though the leaders were, failed to adequately consider the need for a strong succession plan.

Hansen concludes:

Succession isn’t simple. It isn’t smooth. It’s not often successful. Yet it’s a matter of gospel integrity. God doesn’t promise our churches will evermore yield wide influence through a preacher’s exceptional leadership. Surely, however, we can testify to his steadfast love by making more of Jesus Christ than ourselves. And that means planning ahead for generations who will never hear the great preacher’s voice.

Read the whole article here.

At long last

2011-07-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

Both of my long-time readers will know that, for quite some time, I've been working on a book that summarizes my research, my personal experiences, and other information about pastoral transition, particularly on the niche subject of transitioning from seminary into pastoral ministry.

That book, now seven years in the making, is finally out! From M.Div. to Rev.: making an effective transition from seminary into pastoral ministry, is finally available. It can be had in print and digital editions.

Because the book is published by Doulos Resources, naturally I would prefer that you buy it directly through the Doulos Resources eStore.

However, it is also available through the Covenant Seminary Bookstore, as well as through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble (if not immediately, then soon). Hopefully, more resellers (especially seminary bookstores) will be carrying it soon, as well.

Thanks to those of you who have supported the concept of this book. The wait is over! (Of course, now most of you are well-placed in ministry and your interest is merely theoretical...)

Trevin Wax on "11 Questions Every Pastor Should Ask"

2011-06-26T08:15:00.000-05:00

Author and LifeWay Christian Books editor Trevin Wax has an excellent post on his blog entitled, "11 Questions Every Pastor Should Ask."

His questions fall out into two general categories: About Preaching and About the Mission of the Church. In the first category, he touches on:

Whether my sermons pointing to the "big-picture" message of Scripture
Whether my message is distinctively a Christian/Gospel message
How I am applying God's Word for His people

In the second set of questions, he asks questions about:

The impact of my congregation in its context and community
Evangelism and reaching the lost with the Gospel
Making the best use of time and other resources

I think these are valuable questions that, as he put it, every pastor should ask-- but I would especially urge new pastors and recent seminary graduates to keep these questions frequently in mind, particularly during the first, formative years of pastoral ministry.

Read the whole post here.

Moving far from home, part 1

2011-06-17T19:21:00.000-05:00

At our denomination's General Assembly last week, I had the chance to speak with a few friends who have accepted pastoral calls a long way from "home." Over a few posts, I'll share some of their wisdom.

First let me say this: I define "a long way from home" as meaning either simply too far to drive, or far enough that it requires several days (3 whole days or more) of driving to get from where you live to where your extended family generally lives.

Also, a quick disclaimer: I realize that the question of "home" is relative for some, and it certainly is loaded with implications, spiritual and otherwise. Here I'm using it simply to mean where the larger part of your family is, whatever place (or places) that may be.

So, first up is "Brian" who grew up in South Carolina. Several years ago, Brian accepted a call to be a pastor in Colorado; when they do the drive, it takes his family 3-4 days of solid travel to get back "home."

Brian commented that the most difficult part has been this:

"When we first accepted the call, we made the decision to 'put hand to plow' and not look back. Our mistake was in thinking that was a one-time decision."

This is a powerful reflection. Brian elaborated, stating that the decision was one they kept making on a monthly, weekly, and even daily basis. That being the case, it is easy to see how that would represent a regular struggle, individually and as a family.

Does that mean that a pastor cannot effectively minister in those circumstances? Not at all; in his years of ministry, Brian has been quite effective and a great asset to his congregation. But the struggle is there nevertheless.

How have they dealt with it? In Brian's case, they have driven back most years; by scheduling a week or more of family vacation after our denominational General Assembly, Brian's church is happy to cover most or all of the gas costs as an expense related to his involvement in the assembly, and yet he and his family also get to spend an extended period with their families. Often, his wife and children will spend the week of the assembly there, as well-- amounting to even more time with their relatives.

This arrangement is a great solution. Of course, it is contingent on the congregation being strongly committed to Brian's attendance at the General Assembly all or most years, which may not be a commitment that every congregation is able or willing to make.

General Assembly seminar

2011-06-07T14:07:00.000-05:00

If you're at the PCA's General Assembly this week, I'd like to invite you to consider attending my seminar tomorrow (Wednesday) morning on "What Is Biblical Church Membership?"

The seminar will be loosely based on the topic of my booklet, Grafted Into The Vine: rethinking biblical church membership-- though the content will be quite different (and different from last year's seminar as well).

The seminar is at 8am, and is tentatively scheduled for Meeting Room(s) 4A&B. I hope to see you there!

(PS: many of the Doulos Resources titles will also be available through the PCA CE&P Bookstore, including Grafted Into The Vine.)

Eugene Peterson on being a pastor

2011-06-02T13:39:00.000-05:00

Here's a video of a recent interview with Eugene Peterson, commenting on what it means to be a pastor:

Watch the full episode. See more Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.

The dirty secret of churches wearing out pastors

2011-05-19T11:12:00.000-05:00

My son Jack goes through socks at a preternatural rate. One reason why is because he wears them, without shoes, all over the place-- in the yard, down the street, in the car. The other day I explained to him how sand and dirt working into the fibers of his socks aggressively advances the early demise of his socks, hoping this would stem the tide of our rising sock budget line.

I thought of that this morning as I read this piece from pastor and blogger David Foster (HT: Mark). Pastor Foster does a great job of exposing what he calls the "dirtiest little secret" of the American church:

"that we regularly, relentlessly, and without mercy beat-up, chew-up and spit-out our leaders."

Rev. Foster correctly diagnoses (and describes, more than I've reproduced here) five ways that many churches abuse their pastors:

We starve them.
We have outrageously unreasonable expectations of our leaders.
We strip them of power.
We let pretend leaders bully them.
We leave them in financial peril.

While there are plenty of exceptions to Rev. Foster's list above (my congregation, for one, has largely avoided all of them-- of which I am quite grateful!), I know too many friends and (sometimes former) colleagues who have been burned by congregations in exactly these ways, some of whom have left the ministry as a result-- prematurely, in my estimation.

Quite pastorally, Pastor Foster also offers five well-articulated antidotes to his diagnosis in the same post:

Let's pay them a livable wage.
Encourage them.
Give them time off for vacation, for training, for restoration.
Stop the complaints you hear about them at their source.
Give them a safety net.

(Again, he elaborates on these much more than I have represented here.)

Even those congregations that don't regularly fall into the traps of the first five would do well to regularly re-evaluate their diligent attention to these five solutions. And congregations that are in transition would do very well to take a hard look at both lists; what an opportunity, in this season of change that is already upon you, to make healthy changes for the better!

I would encourage every church member, and especially every church leader, to read David Foster's blog post.

eBooks survey

2011-04-16T14:25:00.000-05:00

Grafted Into The Vine

2011-04-07T11:41:00.000-05:00

I recently had another book (or booklet, actually) come out; this one is called Grafted Into The Vine: rethinking biblical church membership. It's available for only $3.75 in print, or a mere 99¢ as a digital/eBook.

Here's what author and professor T. David Gordon (Why Johnny Can't Preach, Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns) said about my booklet:

"This volume clearly, gently, and biblically addresses why believers should care about and be members of Christ's visible church on earth. It is convincing without being argumentative, and instructive without being pedantic. Thoughtful Christians will be rewarded for the small amount of effort it takes to read this good book."

The book is available through the Doulos Resources eStore, or via Amazon and other outlets. I'd be really grateful if you would check it out! (Maybe even "like" it on Amazon, and/or leave a review!)

Singleness in ministry and transition

2011-03-28T10:07:00.000-05:00

Pastoral transition made the NY Times again-- this time, talking about how difficult it is for a single man to find a call as a pastor.

A long time ago, I blogged briefly about a couple of struggles that singles might face (see "Singleness AND Carelessness?"); my aim, however, was not to fortify the underlying rationale that makes it difficult for singles in ministry, but to point it out as something that singles would be wise to be aware of. According the the Times piece, these difficulties still remain-- and if anything, they are getting stronger.

The article focuses on Mark Almlie, a pastor (age 37, never married) who is ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church and has experience as a pastor. Mr. Almlie, who has also written on this topic for Christianity Today's popular blog Out of Ur (Are We Afraid of Single Pastors? and part two) argues that, biblically, singleness is equal, if not preferable, to marriage as a quality in a future pastor:

Our married pastors need to preach the goodness of singleness in accord with 1 Corinthians 7 (consider emailing this post to your senior pastor). Denominations should write position papers affirming singleness as equally biblical as marriage. And pastoral search committees need to stop listing marriage as a requirement in their job applications.

Finally, prominent Evangelicals concerned about the importance of marriage need to avoid obscuring the importance of singleness. Albert Mohler (President of the Southern Baptist Seminary) recently wrote: “From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible assumes that marriage is normative for human beings.”1 The Bible makes no such assumption. In 1 Corinthians 7, for instance, Paul argues that both marriage and singleness are normative for Christians.[ref.]

I don't disagree that singleness has its own dignity, nor that Paul is arguing that singleness has its advantages when it comes to ministry; in my own experience, I remember being a single Youth Pastor and reveling in my freedom to devote as much time as I wanted to my ministry pursuits (and, likewise, reflecting some years later on how marriage could sometimes require turning aside from ministry for family matters, and seeing the validation of Paul's argument). Neither do I disagree that the church in general has done a disservice to singles, and made them to feel like second-class members. I'm certain that I have participated in that, in spite of my heightened sensitivity from my sister's long-time singleness.

But I don't fully agree with Mr. Almlie's exegesis of 1 Corinthians 7; I don't believe that Paul is arguing (contra a huge chunk of the rest of Scripture) that singleness is equal to marriage and normative for a believer. Frankly, I think he takes that point too far, and perhaps discredits himself in so doing. While some Christians are obviously single, and while this shouldn't leave them without a sense of belonging or place in the community of Christ's church, Scripture does teach that marriage is normative. If marriage is normative, then singleness cannot be-- for they are clear opposites.

However, he has a solid point when it comes to the biblical rationale (or total absence of one) for excluding singles as viable candidates for a given pastoral position. And I think Mr. Almlie's points to that end are solid and valuable:
The bottom line is that it is not about being single or married. It’s about being called and gifted by the Spirit to minister to people both like and unlike us (race, gender, marital status, etc). I plead with search committees everywhere to reflect on the implications of 1 Corinthians 7 before overlooking your next single pastoral candidate. They deserve to be evaluated on their excellence, not their marital status.[ref.]

What's interesting is just how uniformly pervasive this problem is. In all of the church profiles and other documentation concerning what sort of candidates a congregation will consider-- in all of the ones that I have seen-- I can't remember ever seeing one that checked single as a preference, or even that indicated no preference. All of them indicate a desire for a married man, and most prefer "married with children".

Some of this is due to poor biblical exegesis: verses such as 1 Timothy 3:2, which speaks of an Elder being a "one-woman man" (as a fairly literal translation) leave many with the assumption that the prescriptive texts about the qualifications of officers require that he be married. This rules out widows, also-- can you envision a man stepping down as pastor solely because his wife passed away? Oh, and it also rules out Paul and Jesus.

Some of it is due to really lame reasons and excuses offered by inconsistent thinking and irrational fear. Mr. Almlie testifies to his own experience here:
When I press people on why they think single pastors are treated with suspicion, 99 percent of the time I get a list of fears rather than actual evidence:
“What if he’s gay?”
“What if he flirts with all the single women at church?”
“What if he tries to steal a married woman for himself?”
“There must be something wrong with him because he’s single.”
“Aren’t single pastors more likely to molest our children?”[ref.]

Ironically, as Matt Steen (another single pastor) points out, all of these can be struggles for married men, just as much as for single men. "Many interviewers seemed to fear that he might 'do something stupid, like get involved with a student,' he said. 'I told them that I understand the concern, but that I’ve seen married pastors make the same mistakes.'”^[ref.]

Some of the problem is due, sadly, to a notion that a married pastor is a "two-for-one" bargain, and an unrealistic model for congregations. Witness the example I posted about a few months ago: "Wife to Assist". From the Times piece again: “Sometimes, parishioners have an unspoken preference for a happily married male with a wife who does not work outside the home,” Cynthia Woolever, research director at U.S. Congregations, wrote in a 2009 article. “She also volunteers at the church while raising ‘wholesome and polite children.’ ”^[ref.]

Whatever the root, it's a problem that needs to be rooted out. Search Committees, take note!

Ministry Reality Check

2011-03-17T10:53:00.000-05:00

A friend recently passed along the link to this article, from the ChurchLeaders.com website: "Death by Ministry" by Eugene Cho.

There is a lot to agree with in this article, and it certainly portrays some of the great difficulties of ministry very accurately. What I love, though, is Cho's call to love, care for, and pray for pastors. His goal isn't simply to complain and say, "look how tough pastoral ministry is!" That would serve little purpose, and might even be sinful (Philippians 2:14-16).

No, Cho wants to urge congregations AND pastors to devote themselves to healthy ministry. Here's what he says toward the end:

"Churches must seek to honor and care for their pastors and staff and build healthy structures to ensure such care. Similarly, pastors and their families must make choices to be holistically healthy! We must rest, Sabbath, enjoy God, love the Scriptures not simply for the sake of sermon preparations, be in deep friendships and community, exercise, work on our jump shot, continue to be a reader and learner, love and honor our spouses, nurture our children, laugh and have fun, eat healthy and drink good refreshments [use your imagination here], examine and repent of any possible addictions, and [add your contribution here]."

This is great advice-- and I'd love to see more search committees folding a self-examination step into their search process, wherein they took stock of these kinds of questions.

At the same time, pastors and especially seminarians aspiring to be pastors would do well to read this article as a reality check of how difficult ministry can (in some ways) be.

From M.Div. to Rev. -- endorsement #3

2011-03-11T08:43:00.000-06:00

As my 10s of readers will surely know by now, my book From M.Div. to Rev.: making an effective transition from seminary into pastoral ministry will be published later this year (probably in the summer) by Doulos Resources. I posted my first endorsement from Dr. Rod Culbertson of Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte) back in January, and my second endorsement from Bishop Will Willimon in February.

My friend Mark Dalbey sent along another endorsement. Mark's endorsement is so valuable to me, not only because he is my friend, but also because he is VP of Academics and Faculty Development and Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis. When I was a student there, Mark taught the elective class on "Candidating and Transition into Ministry" and several times honored me with an invitation to lecture on this material as part of that class.

Here is Mark's endorsement:

"I have been looking for this book for over a decade. Finally it has been written. Ed Eubanks has captured and written what every seminary student seeking a ministry call needs to discover. The biblical and theological foundation and perspective are strong. The sensitivity to the range of struggles and challenges a candidate for a ministry position goes through is very pastoral. The extremely practical and detailed information from start to finish is incredibly helpful. This is the precious gem that has been sought after by many for a long time. I heartily recommend it to seminary students. It will also be very helpful to already ordained pastors seeking subsequent calls after their first call."

Search Committees' evaluation of sermons

2011-03-04T09:53:00.000-06:00

I mentioned Pastor Chris Brauns, whose recent book When the Word Leads Your Pastoral Search I have been so impressed with, about a month ago. Chris recently posted an article on the Gospel Coalition website entitled, "Churches Looking for a Pastor Should Watch for More Than the Splash."

The article is excellent, and highlights one of the real struggles that surely most Search Committees face: how should a candidate's sermon be evaluated?

Chris offers four great questions, and describes what to look for in each. His questions are:

Did the sermon preach a bullet?
Did the sermon preach a biblical bullet?
Did the sermon fire a biblical bullet?
Did the sermon fire a biblical bullet aimed at the life of the listener?

The summaries of the questions are taken from his book, and these are really good questions for sermon evaluation. Great stuff, Chris!

Read about Chris's excellent recommendations for evaluating sermons in his article, "Churches Looking for a Pastor Should Watch for More Than the Splash."

Pastoral finances

2011-02-28T14:45:00.000-06:00

Pastors-- and pastors-in-training-- who are westling with matters financial would do well to visit this website: Pastor Personal Finance.com.

This is a website and blog that is passionate about strengthening and informing pastors in their financial life in a similar way that this site is about pastoral transition. There is great help here about budgeting, debt, tax-related concerns, financial issues unique to pastors, bi-vocational ministry, and other topics.

The site is run by a pastor, and he is quick to disclaim any expertise, legal or otherwise, related to finances, tax law, or money management. Nevertheless, it is clear that this pastor has invested a lot of study, research, and thought toward this important category of information.

Pastoral Burnout

2011-02-21T07:15:00.000-06:00

The following is a reflection from Ricky Jones, a fellow PCA pastor. It is reprinted here with his permission.

________________________________________

I have spent the past few months thinking almost exclusively about burnout. Watching my friends spin out of control and seeing ministers more gifted than I leave the ministry frightened me. Plus, knowing my own heart and feeling the pressure and exhaustion of the past five years has forced me to wonder how much longer I could go on.

What makes burnout such a big deal for pastors? Why don’t I see it in other professions?

Finally, last week it hit me. If a dentist burns out on his job, he can turn away from it, or compartmentalize it with no detriment to his soul. But a minister can’t do that. There is only one source of true life and revival. Jesus is the only fountain of living water; there is no other stream.

When Jesus seems more like your boss than your savior, he no longer provides rest. When reading the bible, rehearsing the gospel and praying feel like drudgery, there remains no other place to go for true rest. You can force your wife to restore you, but she will fail and you will resent her. You can divert yourself with crosswords or puzzles, but the work you put off only increases as does your desire to escape it. Bored, exhausted, resentful and unwilling to turn to Christ, the only respites left lead to death: alcohol, porn, or worse.

What is the answer? Well what attitude got into this mess in the first place?

Luke 15:27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’

Somewhere along the way, I felt like the only one who really cared about the church. I started being the responsible one bearing all the weight. Now, for all these years I have served God without disobeying, and I never was given a time to celebrate. No one really noticed. God stopped being my loving father and started being my boss.

So what is the way out? I don’t know for sure, hopefully I’ll know more this time next year. But right now I know where it starts. It starts with repentance, asking God to forgive me for counting the blood of Christ a small thing. I need him to forgive me for considering the ministry a burden and not a wonderful blessing. I need Him to forgive this self righteous pharisee.

A funny thing happens when I repent like this. God stops feeling like my boss and starts being my redeemer again. Prayer doesn’t feel like work, but more like my only hope. And Jesus becomes this dead man’s only source of life again.

Help Doulos Resources

2011-02-16T11:59:00.000-06:00

For the last 2+ years, this blog has been hosted by and associated with Doulos Resources, something of a "parent ministry" for my work in researching and reflecting on pastoral transition. During that time, Doulos Resources has grown and expanded in surprising ways!

During that time also, I've received a number of e-mails and phone calls about pastoral transition. I've had the blessing and privilege of encouraging pastors and seminarians in their candidacy and placement into a new pastoral call. I have counseled with those considering transition. I've helped search committees with the "big picture" and also been able to help some make connections with candidates they eventually called. It is such an honor to serve Christ's church and the pastors He has called to minister to His church in this way.

Doulos Resources is facing some financial need, and therefore is conducting a small fundraising campaign. If you have been helped by the ministry of this blog, or if you think it helpful for others, please consider supporting Doulos Resources financially. Any amount-- seriously, ANY AMOUNT-- will help.

Here's more information about the fundraising campaign.

Here's a quick way to contribute, and to see the progress of the campaign:

(If you can't see the neat widget, please click here.)

From M.Div. to Rev. -- endorsement #2

2011-02-10T10:27:00.000-06:00

As I've mentioned before, my book From M.Div. to Rev.: making an effective transition from seminary into pastoral ministry will be published later this year (probably in the summer) by Doulos Resources. I've begun to receive endorsements from those who have gotten an advance look at the book, and I posted my first endorsement from Dr. Rod Culbertson of Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte) back in January.

I received my second endorsement recently, this time from Dr. Will Willimon. Dr. Willimon is an author, and a Bishop in the United Methodist Church in Birmingham, AL. He is a former professor of Duke Divinity School, and served as the Dean of the Chapel at Duke as well. He has also served several congregations as a Pastor. I'm so honored by Dr. Willimon's words:

Here is a book full of wisdom and practical advice for new pastors making the most important transition of their ministry – the move from thinking about ministry in seminary to practicing ministry in the parish. Ed Eubanks has poured his great experience and theologically informed insights into this lively look at the crucial first days of ministry. I highly recommend this very helpful book.

When the Word Leads Your Pastor Search

2011-02-05T09:45:00.000-06:00

There is precious-little good information guiding search teams and pulpit committees through the process in a godly, biblical way. That's why I'm very interested in this new book by Chris Brauns, entitled When the Word Leads Your Pastor Search.

From everything I've seen (including a handful of reviews on the web), it appears to be a valuable and much-needed resource for search committees, Sessions/boards, and other leaders as they labor in congregations that are undergoing a pastoral search process. Brauns's focus on biblical principles for guiding the search process (and for selecting proper candidates to present to congregations) is refreshing in a time when the criteria often seem careless or arbitrary.

I've read part of the book, and look forward to the rest. You can download a free chapter at the book's website, or get a copy on Amazon. (The Kindle edition is only $5.99!)

Search Committees: take note!

How to be a member of the clergy

2011-01-26T08:41:00.000-06:00

Here's another very funny cartoon from the wonderful mind of Dave Walker (see his Cartoon Church Blog for more):

From M.Div. to Rev.-- first endorsement

2011-01-12T08:43:00.000-06:00

You may be aware that much of the content of this blog will soon be a book, entitled From M.Div. to Rev.: making an effective transition from seminary into pastoral ministry. The book should be out later this year.

The first endorsement for the book has come in, from Dr. Rod Culbertson, Jr., who is Associate Professor of Practical Theology, Dean of Student Development, and Director of the Institute for Reformed Campus Ministry at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC. Here's Dr. Culbertson's endorsement:

“Ed Eubanks has provided a much needed resource for aspiring ministers, one which is thorough, comprehensive and extraordinarily practical. If you are on the verge of graduating from seminary and pursuing a call to the ministry you will find From M.Div. to Rev.: making an effective transition from seminary into pastoral ministry invaluable. I highly recommend it!”

9Marks articles on transition

2011-01-05T16:23:00.000-06:00

My friend Adam recently forwarded an e-mail of the most recent (January/February 2011) 9Marks eJournal, from the 9Marks folks (they take their name from Mark Dever's 9 Marks of a Healthy Church). Knowing my interest in pastoral transition, he knew I would be interested in these articles.

They are all very good. Here's a run-down of the articles included:

Pastors Leaving
Leaving Your Church Well: An Interview with Michael Lawrence. This is an informative interview, offering one pastor's reflections on his experience with transition. (I think it's important to keep in mind the fact that this is one guy's experience.)

Prepare the Church for the Next Guy by Matt Schmucker. A good list of things to do that will accomplish what the title suggests. This particular list is written from a Baptist perspective, and will have less application in other contexts.

Book Review: Handle That New Call With Care by David Campbell (reviewed by Bobby Jamieson). This is a helpful review; there are a lot of good books on this topic, and I appreciate the objectivity in this review.

Pastors Coming
What's Wrong With Search Committees? Part 1 of 2 on Finding a Pastor by Mark Dever. This is standard Mark Dever fare: good insights and sound wisdom, served up with a slightly abrasive tone. If committee members can read through the abrasiveness, they'll find some good warnings here.

What's Right About Elders? Part 2 of 2 on Finding a Pastor by Mark Dever and Bobby Jamieson. A very interesting counter-point to the previous article, here arguing for Elders (instead of more broadly-based Search Committees) conducting pastoral searches. He makes some strong points, though I question how practicable this approach is, especially for larger congregations.

What Not To Do When You're The New Guy by Walter Price. Very solid advice from a seasoned pastor, useful in pretty much every transition. Definitely worth reading.

You Might Have The Wrong Candidate If... by Dennis Newkirk. Skip the opening half of this article; the real meat is in the last half (and especially the last third). But the stuff there is really good stuff. Committees, please take note!

Tips For An Interim Pastor by Jonathan Leeman. Generally some good advice here. The writer's points of reference were fairly short interims, and those with a longer interim tenure (six months or more) might take much of this with a grain of salt.

Pastors Staying
Staying To The Glory Of God: One Preacher's Death Wish by Jeramie Rinne. This piece is a good challenge to consider long-tenure pastorates, which I agree is not seriously considered often enough in today's pastoral climate.

Staying For The Glory Of God: The Sibbes, Simeon, And Stott Model by Mark Dever. Another good challenge to consider staying longer.

Click over to the 9Marks site through any of the links above and check out some of these articles. Thanks, Adam for pointing these out to me!

Good pieces on pastoral compensation

2010-12-31T12:03:00.000-06:00

Doug Wilson recently wrote a series of posts on "ministerial compensation" on his blog. He included four posts:

Double Honor
Shepherds Who Feed Only Themselves
Shortchanging for Jesus
Actually Count the Shekels

I recognize that Mr. Wilson tends to evoke strong reactions (favorably or not), and I certainly don't agree with everything he says. I do find that he sometimes puts his finger upon something exactly, and I think in this case he has done so. He lays out a careful consideration of an important topic, starting with a theological basis (in Double Honor), then discussing good and bad approaches to ministerial compensation (in Shepherds Who Feed Only Themselves and Shortchanging For Jesus) before frank discourse about how a congregation ought to think (and re-think) how they pay their pastor(s) (in Actually Count The Shekels).

Well worth reading if you are in some way involved in the process of evaluating what a new or existing pastor should be paid.

How far in advance should a pastor give notice?

2010-11-25T09:58:00.000-06:00

In a post a couple of months ago, I received a comment asking about how far in advance a pastor should give notice about his resignation/transition. This is a great question, and an important thing to consider.

The commenter expressed concern about becoming a "lame duck" if he announced it too far in advance. I think this is a valid concern; we sometimes see this take place in a political office when an incumbent has been voted out: there is a season when he may feel he cannot act on his conscience and convictions, even though he still occupies that office for a time. A pastor is called to be a spiritual leader of his congregation, also in an office of authority and leadership. If his congregation, lay-leaders, or fellow staff have the impression that he does not have the "right" to function in that office, he cannot effectively function in that office.

The commenter also stated his desire to allow the congregation and leaders to begin moving toward finding a replacement. Again, I'm sensitive to this desire, but I think other factors may mitigate it a bit: first is the "lame duck" problem, and another is the realistic fact that a few weeks, a month, or even a couple of months will not likely represent a significant advantage to most congregations in this way.

Let me start with the shorter end of time-frames: I think a month is the absolute minimum that is appropriate; less than that, and a congregation doesn't have adequate time to make adjustments, say goodbyes, and begin preparing for a season of transition. It may also unintentionally communicate that the departing pastor "can't wait to get out of there"-- which will cause them to question their leadership and themselves in unfair ways. Even if he is leaving under difficult circumstances, a pastor should commit to staying for another month after his announcement.

On the far end, I think three months is probably the far-end of how long a pastor should typically stay. By the end of that time, he will almost certainly face a lot of "lame duck" tendencies. Still, there may be things that will take time to properly hand off and/or delegate to those who will handle them in the interim (especially in larger congregations).

In my view, somewhere around two months is ideal. This gives ample time, in most cases, to say goodbye and to make good preparations for the ministry hand-off. There will be time for the congregation to begin the process of searching for a new pastor in earnest, but not so much that the outgoing pastor will be around to make things awkward.

There are always exceptions. In the case of a pastor who will be retiring after many years of service, that announcement might be made six months ahead (or even more) without impropriety. And unfortunately there are sometimes circumstances that are so dire that the quickest departure that is possible is needed. But these are obviously not typical scenarios.

Let me also say that this is with regard to the public announcement before the whole congregation. The lay-leadership (like Elders and Deacons) might be told further in advance-- and probably should be in most cases. It is usually respectful courtesy to inform fellow staff members even before the transition is certain.

Lecturing on Pastoral Transition

2010-11-15T09:11:00.000-06:00

For those of my 10s of readers who are in the Charlotte, NC area and are interested in hearing me lecture on the topic of Pastoral Transition (specifically, the transition from seminary into pastoral ministry), I will be lecturing this afternoon at Reformed Theological Seminary's Charlotte campus.

Dr. Rod Culbertson, who is Associate Professor of Practical Theology and the Dean of Student Development for RTS, graciously invited me to lecture to a new class he is teaching on "preparing for pastoral ministry". The class meets at 2pm, and I would guess that neither Dr. Culbertson nor the other students would mind if anyone happened to drop by.

Incidentally, I'll also be giving a lunchtime lecture at RTS tomorrow, on the topic of "The Solo Pastor."

If you don't happen to be in Charlotte and available for my lectures (more likely), please pray that there would be some value and benefit to these students in something that I have to say.

Thanks!

Where? Or Who?

2010-11-09T13:47:00.000-06:00

In a recent interaction with a friend and fellow pastor, I asked "what did you and your family do to make transition easier?" His response was challenging to me, as it caused me to reconsider a factor in the decision-making process that I now believe to be vital.

Here is what my friend said:

(1) Before we even said 'yes' to employment, we asked 'who' rather than 'where.' That is, rather than focusing on where are we moving to, we focussed on who we have existing relationships with. In this last instance, we had several employment opportunities but settled upon [our current city] primarily because of the relationships we had here. (I said 'yes' to being an Assistant Pastor over a solo and a senior pastor role; and I did this because I valued what these relationships would mean for me more than what a different title or role might mean). (2) Once we arrived, we immediately plugged back into active relationships -- even although the majority of them were not at the church we came to. Obviously we built new relationships with our new church family, but having some other prior relationships took a lot of pressure off and enabled us to function well as a family.

I think this is a fundamentally different approach to decision-making in pastoral candidacy and transition than most take. It certainly is different from the one I took. And that betrays a couple of things about my thinking:
The importance of Kingdom-relationships. I overestimated my (and my family's) capacity to adapt relationally to wherever we moved. In His grace, God has sustained us in west Tennessee in spite of my overestimation, and in spite of the distance to any of our family and/or existing friendships-- but that doesn't change the fact that existing relationships matter greatly. My friend's approach to his decision is a real challenge to me, because I've seen the struggles that I and my family have sometimes had relationally, yet I wonder whether my pride could forsake role or title in favor of meaningful relationships.
The unimportance of cultural or geographical boundaries. Let's return to basic New Testament redefinition of what it means to be a part of the Church-- the new Israel-- and see how flawed my thinking has been and is: I still think in terms of the cultural differences that I embody as someone who grew up in the American South, or the geographical issues that arise when I think of what it means to live in one part of the country (or the world) or another. But my friend, whose move to his current congregation was even further from his home country than he already was before, exposes the spiritual lie in my thinking.

As I've been mulling over my friend's response for a week or so, I wonder if this paradigm-shift in the starting-point question (who instead of where) doesn't have even broader implications than what his response suggests. I think the "who?" question should ALWAYS be asked--and answered-- long before the "where?" question comes into play.

What does this look like? Perhaps it means setting aside questions such as, "is the geographical/cultural context one in which I believe I can effectively minister?" or "how far away from my parents/siblings is this ministry context?" While vital questions, and worthy of asking, these might begin to lead a candidate in a direction that commits him to a certain opportunity (or rules one out) prematurely.

Instead, the candidate might ask "who?" in this way: "are the people in this congregation those to whom I can have a fruitful and effective ministry?" Or, "do my core values and ministry gifts serve and shepherd these people in the manner that they need to be served and led?" Or, "what kind of pastor does this congregation need to lead them to the good pastures and still waters of the next season of their congregational life-- and am I the pastor to shepherd them there?"

I consider this a major breakthrough in my thinking about pastoral transition, and urge candidates everywhere to ask and answer "who?" before you begin to ask "where?".

Pastors Search for Churches, Home Buyers

2010-11-09T11:03:00.000-06:00

Here's another article on pastoral transition, this time from The Gospel Coalition, entitled "Pastors Search for Churches, Home Buyers". This article, by Collin Hansen, is a good exposé on the problem of the pastoral transition process being halted by the obstacle of selling homes.

The article points out a reality that more and more churches may NEED to consider if they will be able to bring in a new pastor in the coming years: the return of the parsonage/manse. Says Hansen:

Churches might be in a different position today if more still housed their pastors in parsonages. Threatened with burnout, pastors have been counseled to separate their home and church life. Parsonages, often located near the church, make erecting such boundaries more difficult. Plus, financial planners advise pastors to take advantage of the tax benefits that come with a housing allowance and build equity.
But new economic realities may alter this thinking. The New York Times surveyed analysts in August and reported that home ownership is not expected to pay off in the foreseeable the future the way it did between 1950 and 2008. “More than likely,” David Sreitfeld wrote, “that era is gone for good.” Going forward, housing values may only keep pace with inflation. If this analysis is true, then the parsonage may return. Churches may even recruit younger pastors burned by the market in recent years with the incentive of free housing. Now would certainly be the time for such churches to buy low.

This is an excellent point, and something that more congregations (and perhaps ESPECIALLY the smaller ones) ought to consider more seriously.

I highly recommend this article posted at the Gospel Coalition website.

Joblessness Hits the Pulpit

2010-10-30T08:37:00.001-05:00

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal looks at the problem of "Joblessness in the Pulpit".

Here's a vital take-away from Joe Light's article for those who are in the midst of transition (interestingly, from my own denomination, the PCA): "Right now, the Presbyterian Church in America, which includes about 1,700 churches, has about five pastors looking for work for each of its 54 job openings, about twice the level before the recession."

This statistic isn't presented as an anomaly, but as the norm. That means that, if you are in transition into ministry right now, the "competition" is as high as it has been for a long time. It also means that seminary students are particularly disadvantaged in at least one way: most churches would prefer to hire a pastor with experience over one who has little or none; likewise, most will ordinarily prefer a pastor who has been out of seminary and is already ordained than one who is a fresh graduate.

Another interesting note from the article is that "[n]early half of the 3,000 members of the National Association of Church Business Administration say they have reduced or frozen salaries and benefits." I certainly know guys for whom this is true; I'll be you do too, even if you don't realize it.

"Wife to assist"

2010-10-18T15:16:00.000-05:00

I mentioned a real tragedy of a comment in an information packet from a church before. I've come across another.

I recently saw a profile for a church, after a friend who is in transition forwarded it to me, where they are seeking a solo pastor. They describe themselves as a congregation this is mostly older, with a substantial need for pastoral visitation. No big surprises so far.

Then they say that they are looking for a younger pastor: a man with young children, whose "wife can assist" in the pastoral duties and visitation!

There are so many problems here that it's difficult to know where to start, but let's start with this: NO wife who is taking care of young children will have any time to "assist"!!!

Furthermore, my advice to candidate-pastors anywhere and everywhere is this: if any church states, or even implies, that they expect to get a "two-for-one" deal with you and your wife, run away as fast as you can. That is absolutely not the role of a pastor's wife, and should not be the expectation (or even request) of a congregation.

Search committees: please, think through these statements and priorities according to biblical perspectives!

The Preaching Competition

2010-10-08T15:15:00.000-05:00

From the wonderful blog of Dave Walker:

On bi-vocational ministry

2010-09-30T09:14:00.001-05:00

My Associate Pastor (who is bi-vocational) and I were talking about some recent statistics from our denomination, which show that more than 80% of the congregations in the PCA have memberships below 100. His comment, to which I fully agree, was that, "bi-vocational ministry may be the best hope for the future of our denomination."

Along that line of thought, here is a great post from a guy named Todd Hiestand, called "10 Suggestions/Thoughts on Bi-Vocational Ministry".

I don't know Todd or his circumstances, but as someone who has served in bi-vocational ministry myself (and who works with an Associate Pastor who is bi-vocational), his thoughts and suggestions all strike me as spot-on.

Here are his ideas:
1. Try and find a second job that feeds your gifting and passions in some way.
2. Try and have your second job be a career type job and not just a part-time placement where the only positive is that you make money.
3. Do what you have to while you search for that kind of second job.
4. You better really be ready to sacrifice a lot.
5. Be more committed to the Church than your career as a pastor.
6. If you aren't prepared for it to be hard, it's way to easy to become bitter and resentful.
7. You better be willing to admit that you can't do it all.
8. Make sure your spouse is on board.
9. Be ready to learn how to be self-disciplined.
10. Being bi-vocational isn't more spiritual or better than being a full-time pastor.
11. Being bi-vocational has both positive and negative aspects to it.

Todd expands on all of these in his post. Be sure to read the whole thing.

I'm a bit curious about a couple of the commenters who take issue with #10, and who seem to be cynical about pastoral ministry in many ways. I've never encountered that before, and at first I was surprised by the fact that such a viewpoint existed.

Otherwise, though, I highly commend this post to you.

Dealing with rejection in transition

2010-09-18T10:39:00.000-05:00

By the end of the “decision-making” season of the candidacy process, you will either be ready to accept the call offered and begin the next steps of making an effective transition, or you will be facing the difficult and complex point of either having turned down an offer or having been passed over.

If you find yourself in the second category, you will feel a wash of many emotions. Disappointment. Relief. Loneliness. Discouragement. Uncertainty and doubt. Ambivalence about moving forward with other opportunities. Inclination to guard your heart and avoid honest vulnerability in future candidacy encounters.

This is a hard point to reach, yet it is a point that almost every pastor and candidate-pastor will eventually face. If my research is any indication, very few seminary graduates landed a call to a particular ministry the first time through; even rarer is the case when a man might do so and remain there for the duration of his ministry. In other words, you may feel very alone, but you are not alone. You are in the company of 99% of all pastors and seminary graduates around you.

Don’t be afraid to simply live in these emotions for a little while— maybe a day or two, or even a week or two. Spend that time in spiritual refreshment and in relationships that are renewing to you. Engage your heart in soul-nourishing spiritual disciplines. Get extra rest. Do something fun.

A few more concrete suggestions for this hard season come to mind:

Speak frequently and openly with your spouse and/or a few close friends. If you are married, the conversations with your wife (or husband) are vital. Open your heart to them and let them open theirs to you. Lean heavily on your friends, as well. After one particularly discouraging rejection, I may not have been able to continue pursuit of candidacy had it not been for the prayerful support of a few good friends; I simply sent out an e-mail plea for their prayers, and the following days were filled with e-mails, phone calls, and visits from those who bore my burdens with me.
• Ask for your pastor’s counsel and support. There may be no one better to understand what you are going through than your pastor: he has been through the process, and also knows you individually. He can offer you a unique type of care and encouragement.
• Find renewal in Word, prayer, and worship. I found corporate worship especially poignant during my last season of candidacy, especially during the hardest times (like when I was processing a recent rejection). Longer seasons of Bible reading and prayer were also great times of soul-searching for me.
• Take stock of the calling God has given to you. Remember how He has particularly gifted you, prepared you, and strengthened you for ministry. Our Lord does not labor in vain; His calling for you will be fulfilled in a way that will be satisfying and beyond your dreams or expectations. In His timing, He will place you in an opportunity that will be even better than recently ceased to be before you.
• Remember God’s protection. The idea that I named before about how “rejection=protection” isn't meant as mere platitudes; they are biblical truths that you are feeling the reality of in a hard way. But the other side of the equation is just as real and true for you: God is protecting you from what is a bad fit, and making you all the more ready for His service elsewhere.

Churchill on writing books

2010-08-30T15:20:00.000-05:00

Winston Churchill once said that writing a book goes through five phases. In phase one, it is a novelty or a toy. But by phase five, it becomes a tyrant ruling your life. And just when you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling it into the public.
~Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, Built to Last (New York: Harper Collins, 2002), p.ix.

I resonate with that quote so strongly, especially because, at this point in the brief history of my life, I am at phase five with one book and close to it (probably phase 4.9) with another.

Most of my 10s of readers (are you still there?) know that I've long been working on a book on the process of transition from seminary to ministry. Lord willing, this November that book will be released by Doulos Resources; From M.Div. to Rev.: making an effective transition from seminary into pastoral ministry is about 90% complete, and I'm earnestly hopeful that I might finish the manuscript in the next month.

You may also be aware that, a few years ago, I realized that I needed to carve a section out of that manuscript and use it to form a separate book on surviving and thriving in seminary. It wasn't very long after that point that I came in contact with Mark Warnock, who writes a blog entitled Seminary Survival Guide. We quickly figured out that we should combine our efforts to fight the powers of evil, and we began to hammer out a hybrid of our collective work into what is now taking shape as a book. We're still working on a title, but we're considering Mastering Divinity (and Other Myths): a seminary survival guide.

Soon I will fling the beasts out into the public! Get ready...

Things to Pray for during Transition

2010-08-09T11:31:00.000-05:00

Pray that God would lead you in your search. Pray for wisdom and discernment. Pray that He would grant you awareness of key factors for your decisions. Pray that your priorities would be rightly aligned with His for your particular calling. Pray for clarity, and that He would make straight your path to fulfilling your calling in service to His church and Kingdom.
Pray that God would lead the search teams you have interacted with. Pray that they would be wholly submissive to His will and leading. Pray for their hearts to be made ready to follow the pastor He would call to them. Pray that He would give them wise and discerning insight into the candidates they are considering. Pray for the information that they need to make careful decisions to come to light quickly and clearly. Pray for their endurance through the search process. Pray that God would fill their pastoral needs in the timing of His will— and pray that His timing would be speedy!
Pray that God would protect your heart from discouragement and fatigue. Pray for Him to prepare you for the reality of rejection. Pray that you would be able to see His work of protection in those opportunities that tell you that you are not the right fit. Pray that God would protect your heart from bitterness and disappointment. Pray for God to raise up friends and supporters around you who will buoy your spirits and refresh your commitment to your calling. Pray that you would be able to press on when the search has become long and your endurance is tested.
Pray that God would protect your heart from a competitive spirit. Pray for earnest hope and expectation both for yourself and for your friends who are also seeking placement. Pray that you would know how to love and support one another through the season of candidacy that you will all face together. Pray that you would be able to rejoice with those who find placement before you do, and that others would rejoice in your placement in spite of their own lack of it. Pray for God to overcome on your behalf those temptations to envy, jealousy, and slandering of others in your heart and mind.
Pray that God would shepherd His flock well during the difficult seasons of transition they are encountering. Pray that the churches that you have encountered who are seeking a pastor would be sustained by God’s grace, and would weather the season of transition in a healthy manner. Pray for the members of the congregations to be made ready for their new pastor. Pray that God would tend and care for them through the leaders that are present, as well as through sister congregations and others who may come alongside them during this season. Pray for their patience and perseverance through a time of unknown and uncertain future.
Pray that God would make you ready for transition into ministry. Pray that the remaining weeks/months/semesters that you have in seminary would be useful for your pastoral preparation. Pray for your spiritual health and maturity to be well-founded and grounded in His grace, mercy, and love. Pray that you would gain the knowledge you need, as well as the experience, wisdom, and love to lead a congregation or ministry well in the capacity to which you will be called. Pray that He would prepare you (and your family) for the joys, difficulties, successes, and trials that lay before you in your calling to ministry.

These are just starting points. You might add more than double to this list, or it may be sufficient for sustaining your prayer life with regard to transition. And there are many other needs in your life to pray for— many of which, you alone will know. Nevertheless, it is my prayer that these suggestions will be nourishment to your soul through transition.

A narrow window?

2010-07-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

While I was at the PCA's General Assembly, I had opportunity to spend time with a number of pastors who were either in transition or preparing to enter into it. One interesting fact arose: the perception of a narrow window.

Three of the men I spoke with indicated that they felt they were facing a barrier because they were "older" -- which, in these cases, translated into somewhere in their 50s -- and that it seemed like many churches might not consider a pastor who was of that age for a solo or Senior Pastor position. My sense is that this concern was based on at least nominal exposure to hesitation about this on the part of one or more search committees.

At the same time, my own experience (and that of others I've known) is that "younger" men (maybe early 30s or younger?) are also often overlooked for such positions.

I have guesses about why these false barriers are there: for the "younger" men, there is concern or even a fear of a lack of experience and/or lack of wisdom or spiritual maturity; for the "older" men, there is concern about approaching retirement and/or age bringing on health problems.

While neither concern is entirely unfounded, I want to push back against those and encourage both pastors and search committees alike:

[Younger] Lack of experience and/or spiritual maturity are factors at any age; isn't it far better to consider the man, and not necessarily his age?
[Younger] How much of your concern is based on your own experiences at that age? In other words, are you evaluating a candidate by age simply by thinking, "I wouldn't have been able to be a solo/Senior Pastor when I was that age"? If this is so, isn't it possible that your experiences might be the exception instead of the rule?
[Older] Are you basing your assumptions about retirement age on the model of the business world, rather than of the pastorate? Is it reasonable to assert that, because our culture assumes retirement between the ages of 62 and 67, pastors will also retire then? Have you asked yourself whether pastors (or anyone else, for that matter) should retire at that age?
[Older] What basis do such assumptions about age and health have? Does the fact that, in general, pastors tend to be healthier than other demographics (due to lifestyles of moderation, stability, and good mechanisms for coping with stress) mitigate your concerns at all?

Anecdotally, I know several Senior Pastors of churches that are in their mid-30s or younger, who are incredibly capable. I also know a number of pastors who have served ably and actively into their 70s. In my experience, I haven't found age to be a valuable primary consideration.

One more comment in defense of my colleagues mentioned on the outset, whose maturity and "older" age seems to be a liability: were I on a search committee, several things would stand out in favor of such men. Most have experience, wisdom, and spiritual maturity that is the fruit of many years of ministry. If they have children, the children are often grown and are either adults or approaching adulthood-- which means that their family may not require a salary that can support multiple young children. They also will have paid off education loans, and will have established some equity in their homes. While financial matters ought not be the primary driving force, these factors add up to a compelling picture.

Spiritual preparation for an interview weekend

2010-06-30T17:28:00.000-05:00

The most important preparation you can make— throughout the process, but especially at the point of getting ready for an interview visit/weekend— is spiritual preparation. Because of the nature of the interview process, there are two dimensions to this: ministry preparation, and personal/candidacy preparation.
First, remember that you will be in-residence as a minister to the people you are with during your interview weekend. They are sinners in need of God’s grace, broken and wounded, growing in their faith and knowledge of God, and being increasingly bound together as His body. Therefore, you must begin beforehand to pray for them— by name, as much as possible. You must prepare well for whatever lessons, sermons, or other preaching/teaching opportunities you will have. You should consider what you know of their circumstances and recent history, and marshall the pastoral knowledge and wisdom that you have for that context.
You also have preparation to do personally, and in terms of your candidacy. Here again, pray for your own discernment and for theirs: that your ministry among them would demonstrate accurately to everyone in what ways He could use you among them; that God would reveal to all whether there is a good “fit;” and that He would begin to bind you together if so. Ask Him to give you the endurance and fortitude to carry you through the whole interview time. Pray that they would also be both aware of and sensitive to the trials that an interview can be.

Considering a "revitalization" church

2010-06-19T16:54:00.000-05:00

I recently interacted with a pastor who was contemplating a transition to another congregation. The one he was considering had a number of markers of need for "revitalization" and my colleague wondered, "how can I know if they are ready for true revitalization?"

This is an excellent question, because a number of churches will recognize the need at some level, but will not be ready for it.

I asked him: do you think they really want to grow? Do they genuinely want to minister to others? Or is there a sense of urgency mostly out of fear of continuity— that is, they are afraid the money will run out, there won't be anyone around in 20 years, etc.?

If they really want to grow through the ministry of the Gospel, be interested. If it's motivation out of fear, not so much.

He responded that he agreed— he didn't need to move to minister to people motivated by fear; he had plenty of that where he was.

How do you discern whether a congregation is motivated by fear, or by Gospel urgency? Asking the following questions is a start:

Health: What is a healthy church? Is your church a healthy church? What brings you to that conclusion?
Good ministry: What does good ministry look like to them? What are the marks of success/effectiveness for good ministry?
Workload: Who do they see as the "front lines" of ministry in a healthy congregation? Is it the pastor? Is it the church's officers? The members?
Roles: What is the role of the pastor in a healthy church? What is the role of the officers/other leaders? How does Ephesians 4:11-16 apply to them?
Goals: What are the two most important things that you hope the Lord will accomplish through your next pastor? Why are those more important than others? How will you know that your new pastor is effective in his work of ministry?
Values: What are the things that must not change in any future ministry of this congregation? What is open to change, however great? What sets the boundary for what may or may not change?

Answering those questions will set you on the right track of evaluating motivation. A church that is ready for true revitalization will exhibit a biblical definition of church health, and they will recognize that their congregation is unhealthy in at least some ways (every church is!). They will define "good ministry" as "Gospel ministry"— that is, the faithful preaching and teaching of Christ with the result of transforming work through His grace. They will recognize that the workload is to be shared among all of the leaders (and all of the congregation in general), and that the primary work of the pastor is to teach and equip them for Gospel ministry (as Ephesians 4 states). Their goals will reflect that, and they will understand that the only things not open to change are the faithful preaching of the Gospel and the right worship of Christ.

Indoor pets

2010-05-09T20:22:00.000-05:00

A friend recently asked me to help him evaluate a few churches that he was candidating with, and some of them had Church Information Forms (which is sort of a church-side equivalent to the Ministerial Data Form in the Presbyterian Church in America).

Part of this form has a place to rank "Pastoral Strengths Desired"-- things like Preaching, Evangelism, Youth Work, Community Service, etc. At the very bottom, there's a place for "Other" and a blank.

One of these congregations had ranked Other as one of the highest (ranked 7 on a scale of 1 to 7), among maybe three that were similarly ranked. What had they indicated as "Other" that was such a high priority?

No Indoor Pets.

Really? That's one of your top three strengths desired? Really?!?

On the one had, there's an honesty to that, and I acknowledge the truth of that self-report. But on the other hand, I have real concerns about the degree to which an incoming pastor has opportunity for real and meaningful gospel ministry in a congregation that is choosing their next pastor in large measure by whether they will bring indoor pets to the manse/parsonage.

There's revitalization where difficult circumstances can be overcome by gospel priorities-- and then there is a context where spiritual barrenness has already set in, and the congregation is past the point of no return. I counseled my friend to pass this one by.

Churches: if you're finding things like this turn up as priorities in the process of searching for a new pastor, you should serious rethink whether you are indeed ready for a pastor who is coming to invest energy, time, and intellectual and spiritual resources in your well-being.

Update on books (mine)

2010-05-03T14:35:00.000-05:00

There has been a good bit going on, writing-wise, and I wanted to give my tens of readers an update about it.

To begin with, Doulos Resources released a book I wrote about six weeks ago: For All the Saints... Praying for the Church is a short book that I wrote for congregation-level reading, offering a guide to what specific ways people might pray for the church, the biblical basis behind each, and some suggested sub-topics for prayer under each. It's available in the Doulos Resources e-Store, as well as through Amazon, Monergism Books, the PCA's CE&P Bookstore, and the Covenant Seminary Bookstore.

Second, my friend and fellow pastor Mark Warnock joined me here in west Tennessee for a few days last week, and we made substantial progress on a book on surviving and thriving in seminary. Mark is one of the pastors of First Baptist Church of Columbia, IL and who writes and edits the blog Seminary Survival Guide. We're encouraged about the work we got done, and I hope that this book will be available by the end of this summer-- in time for incoming seminary classes everywhere to benefit from it.

Finally, I've also been making some progress (slow though it is) on my longtime-coming book on making an effective transition from seminary into ministry. If all goes according to (MY) plan, it will also be ready for a late summer/fall release. I'll keep you posted.

Hacking the phone interview

2010-02-20T19:14:00.000-06:00

Profhacker recently posted an excellent piece on "prof-hacking" the phone interview. It's filled with great tips for doing a better job with phone interviews; some of the highlights:

Location, location, location: make sure the place you take the call is private and quiet.
Timing is everything: be ready when the time is right.
The incredible "invisible" candidate:

Of course you aren’t really invisible, but it sure can feel that way. The typical phone interview deprives both parties of physical cues both facial expressions and body language. It can be very disorienting to interview with people you’ve never met or seen, especially because often there will be a pause between your answers and the next question.

There are several more good suggestions. Be sure to check out ProfHacker's piece on hacking the phone interview.

Questions before starting a D.Min.

2010-02-10T09:51:00.000-06:00

Chuck Warnock (who is getting closer to finishing a Doctor of Ministry degree himself) offers five very helpful questions to ask when considering starting a D.Min. degree:

Do I have time?
Will my church support me?
Can I commit 4-7 years to the process?
Do I want an accredited degree or just the title?
What criteria will I use to select a D.Min. program?

Be sure to read Chuck's particular explanation and reflections about each question. Visit Chuck's blog (Confessions of a Small Church Pastor) to read more.

Upcoming...

2010-02-06T16:54:00.000-06:00

Despite appearances, this blog is not defunct or nearly so! I actually have a small handful of posts that I've been working on, that will be coming soon. They include:

Strategies for investing for the future. This will be a multi-part series that digs into the question of retirement savings. It's a timely topic, it seems, since it's getting closer to tax day and because a lot of pastors are re-thinking their current plans (and their congregations are, hopefully, considering an increase in overall pay package, etc.). The topic fits nicely into the overall theme of "terms of call".
Dividing position description from pay package. This topic has actually come before me twice in the last several weeks (in very different contexts), so it's something I've been thinking through. The more I work through this, the more I'm convinced this is a fundamental and vital change in the way we think that needs to take place.

Keep an eye out for these and other posts!

From the archives: making a healthy transition #8

2010-01-31T17:59:00.000-06:00

Originally posted September 5, 2005

The floor examination has a clear purpose: to test your readiness for ministry.

Notice: I didn't say, “test your knowledge” or “test your theological acuity.” This is a test of how ready you are for the day-to-day, hour-by-hour work of ministry.

A little background-- when a Candidate for Gospel Ministry pursues ordination in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), he will be examined orally at least twice: once by a committee of presbytery, and once on the floor of presbytery. The committee exam will be private and closed, generally speaking. No one else will be there but the committee and possibly a few other ordinands. This exam will also take longer than the other; the committee exams sometimes go for several hours.

The floor examination, in contrast, will be an open exam. Everyone in attendance who is a member of presbytery will be there, and any other visitors are welcome to attend. It is not uncommon, for example, for an ordinand's wife or parents to come and watch. In fact, visitors may even stay after the ordinand has been asked to leave so that the vote may be taken (although the presbyters do have the right to call for visitors to be excused as well).

The committee exam is essentially all about what you learned in seminary and in other preparation for ministry. They will grill you on church history, fine points of theology, your knowledge of the English Bible, your understanding of the sacraments, and so on. These questions can be as particular as, “what was the point of difference between Ratramnus and Radbertus?” or “explain the rationale for a supra-lapsarian position,” or “give a detailed outline of the books of 2 Chronicles, Nahum, and 2 Thessalonians.” They want to be sure that you have learned as much as you can learn.

The floor exam, on the other hand, is quite different. There will be a few obligatory questions from each major area, because the Book of Church Order of the PCA requires that the floor exam include them, but when the questioning is opened up to anyone at presbytery, most of the questions will not be so particular with regard to “book learnin'.”

Instead, most will be directly related to the kind of issue or question that your ministry will put you in the line of fire for. A recent floor exam I sat in on included a question about how the ordinand (who had a call to an upper-middle class suburban church) would encourage racial and ethnic diversity in his congregation, and another about how he would support and advance that church's already active pro-life ministry.

Many of the questions in a floor examination will touch on things that the ordinand may never have considered before, and he will be forced to articulate an answer on the spot. A friend of mine told me about a question he received at his floor exam: must a person believe that the Bible is the Word of God in order to be a Christian? His answer: “No, one need not believe that the Bible is the Word of God to be a Christian, but I believe that if you are a Christian, you will believe that the Bible is the Word of God.”

The best thing about this kind of examination is that it requires an ordinand to understand his Bible, his theology, his confession of faith, and even his church history in practical, tangible ways. How else should a man be examined, after all?

Recent graduates: I offer you my prayers and hopes that every letter of the Bible, every word of theology, and every moment of history that you were exposed to in seminary may become so real and useful, so life-changing and ministry-shaping, so Gospel-driven and Christ-centered that you will find your floor exams, and all of the ministry that follows, a delight and a welcome challenge. May God bless your transition and your new ministry.

Academic interviews

2009-12-30T16:01:00.000-06:00

Though I don't focus on it much here, working in the academic world can be a legitimate pastoral calling, too-- I know that several of my former professors ministered to me in profound ways.

There was a great article recently on the ProfHacker blog on "hacking" an interview for an academic position. The highlights are:

Get your facts straight
Keep your answers short and foster conversation
Think about what you will be asked
Prepare a few questions
Wave your geek flag-- but do so cautiously
Have fun
...other advice.

Read the whole article here-- very good stuff.

A check on ministerial pride

2009-12-26T10:05:00.000-06:00

In an end-of-the-year newsletter that I recently received from a friend and former seminary classmate, he wrote something to the effect of, "church planting is physically and emotionally harder than I ever imagined."

The man who wrote these words is a good man, a great pastor, and a hard-working church planter. I'm grateful for his ministry and for the particular labor that God has called him to do, and I am thrilled that his church plant is thriving as it is. In saying what I'm about to say, I'm not trying to take anything away from his ministry. In fact, I'm not even sure that this is his particular attitude.

But his words reminded me of how many of the church planters I know embody an attitude that is unhealthy for the church-- a sense of ministerial pride. Yes, church planting is hard, and it is, indeed, physically and emotionally draining. But not anymore than any other ministry-- because the simple fact is, any pastor who is adequately doing his job and fulfilling his calling will inevitably find that it is physically and emotionally draining, to a degree beyond what he once imagined it might be.

I say this, because I know that no church planter ever had a week (plus a day or so) like I just had in a "revitalization" ministry: a week ago this past Wednesday, I got word that a lifelong-member in our congregation, age 74, had died of a stroke. I personally took this news to her best friend of more than 50 years, who has also been in the church that long, and to another long-time friend. I broke the news to much of my congregation that night, many of whom had known this lady all their lives, had been taught Sunday School and Bible School from her as children. I conducted her funeral on Monday, and then went to the hospital to visit with a second-generation member of our congregation and her family, as she gave birth to her first child. All of this, in addition to regular Wednesday and Sunday activities, plus a Christmas Eve service.

While the death of a long-time Christian isn't outside of the realm of possibility for a church plant by any means, most of the rest of those circumstances (even the regular activities and services) are. And the longevity of it makes the emotionally-draining quality that much deeper.

My point isn't to say, "you think church planting is hard-- you should try revitalization!" Rather, it is to say this: church planting is hard; so is revitalization. So is ministry in an established, healthy congregation. So is campus ministry. So is international missions.

Which is to say, ministry, if you're doing it right, is hard.

And we need to get over ourselves enough to acknowledge this better. The way my friend presented the difficulties of his year made me feel like he had to make the point that, for some reason, he felt his year was harder than mine because he is a church planter.

Maybe it is because church planting normally embodies leading people in new and fresh directions. Maybe it is because church planters are treated like the "rock stars" of the pastor world. Maybe it is because, for a decade or more, church planting has had a strangely special status in my denomination (the PCA). Or maybe it is for reasons I can't enumerate. But for whatever reason, church planters often seem to have this chip on their shoulder that proclaims, "what I'm doing is more important than what you're doing."

(By the way, all of us are susceptible to this struggle. When I was in college, it was foreign missions that took on the same attitude and pridefulness.)

Let me just knock that chip off by saying, in response: no it isn't-- and that sort of competitive spirit that you are always identifying your ministry (and, by default, mine too) by is antithetical to the Gospel. It is antithetical to Kingdom growth. Please stop it.

Ligitimacy in ministry

2009-12-12T18:43:00.000-06:00

HT: Matt

"Black Friday" Sale

2009-11-26T21:49:00.000-06:00

For my tens of readers: Doulos Resources is having a "Black Friday" sale for Friday, November 27 and Saturday, November 28.

All resources are 30% off, no limits! To take advantage of the sale, visit the Doulos Resources E-Store and use this discount code: CTZNJ6EG.

Thoughts on keeping your eyes open

2009-10-19T16:28:00.000-05:00

A friend recently shared this reflection with me, and I thought it offered great insight into this sort of situation-- when you're not sure if you should be looking for an opportunity for transition or not. I posted a version of what he wrote, but he wanted to re-work it a bit after I posted! Here's his updated story:

Ed, I hope the following reflections on my transition are helpful for some of your readers.

First, a bit of background... My wife and I took our first job out of seminary in a very expensive metro area. It was great experience, but the cost of living was very high. My dream of providing for my family faded as my wife had to begin working full time and as we were dependent on her for providing health insurance. I began to compartmentalize—I served the church with as much emotional energy as I could afford, but also began looking for a way out (that is, a different job).

The Lord apparently had lessons for us to learn because another job didn’t open up for quite a while. We were left feeling the crunch for a couple years. However, another opportunity eventually arose; and when it did, God’s guidance was clear and unmistakable.

This is not an unfamiliar story, I know. What I’d like to share below are some of the lessons I learned, or at least hope that I’ve learned. After years of feeling like victims of an unfair salary and (what felt like) uncaring leadership, we realize that most of the problems concerned our attitude.

Here are some reflections:

God's timing. What struck me most of all, in retrospect, was that when it's God's time...things happen. Nothing opened up for us as we were trying to “settle down,” but when it was time to move on (and there were more objective indicators by that point) it was as if the red carpet was rolled out. While I don't understand God's timing, it seems He was pretty rigid concerning His plan for us: he simply would not yield to our desire to escape our uncomfortable situation. I see this now as a token of his love, like a father who refuses to give their child something that is not in their ultimate best interests. I do not regret searching for other ministry positions, out of a desire to be proactive concerning my wife's/family's (real or perceived) needs--but I wish I would have done so with less anxiety and more trust in God's ultimate best for us.

God's release. One time, a fellow pastor spoke to me about sensing God's "release" from a ministry position. He told me not to look for another position until you know in your heart God has released you from your present one—until you know your work there is complete. For me, this sense of release came eventually…but not until after I’d spun my wheels trying to get hired at numerous churches (where I always ended up being their “second choice”). Had I waited for this sense of release before sending out my resumes, I could have saved myself a lot of time and a lot of postage.

Heart issues, heart issues, heart issues. I am so embarrassed to say that I allowed myself to feel like a victim during my time in this ministry position. Now that the smoke has cleared my wife and I have had discussions about "idols" in our life that were the real problem. We had idols concerning the American dream and others too. I can look back in retrospect and see how we could have served the Lord so much more effectively had we trusted God more (as I've already stated) and been less anxious...less frustrated...less idolatrous. Had we limited the emotional energy spent on fixing our situation, I could see myself taking even greater advantages of the discipling/evangelizing opportunities that were present for me in this metro area. Another way of putting this same point is, “Don’t panic.” Or, if you do feel panicked, explore whether it may be because an idol is being removed from your hands.

Money: Another heart Issue. God provided for us wonderfully once we made our move, but financial issues still plagued us. This is because issues such as being gospel-centered, planning well for the future, etc, are present no matter how much or how little you make. This is not to say that churches shouldn’t pay their pastors better; they should. But we have to be careful about feeling entitled.

As you can see, most of these lessons involve attitude. I can see now, as we face another transition, that having a much more patient, trusting attitude--and trying to discern what God desires for us to learn right here, right now--is a much better way to go. It doesn't mean I'm not praying about, and investigating opportunities for, the future. But I feel more trust than panic.

At the same time, I'd like to note a few things on the "other side"...

Pastoral/session care. I would have benefited from greater pastoral and sessional care, even though the responsibility was ultimately mine. This hit home to me when, near the very end, I asked the senior pastor to speak to the session about a serious concern we had--only to find out down the road that the request had been utterly forgotten. I personally believe that better communication concerning financial struggles would make many pastor’s situations 90% better. Trying to serve while feeling that no one knows or cares—that’s where bitterness and hard feelings develop.

Tourists don't make the best missionaries. While I wish we had been less concerned about our finances and getting “settled down, it was a simple fact that our church was located in an area where the cost of living was far higher than our income. We always felt like tourists because we could not really live like the people we were trying to serve--meaning, we could not own a home or even rent one near the church. I realize now how pastoral ministry is greatly aided by being part of the everyday, "normal" culture. I'm not saying that you cannot do ministry otherwise, but I would think twice before taking a position where you’d be an immediate outsider to the typical rhythms of life.

I don’t know if these lessons will resonate with any of your readers. But if it leads someone to greater self-examination and even a sense of hope, that would be great.

Interim leadership

2009-10-17T08:36:00.000-05:00

Ed Stetzer blogged recently about some wisdom he has regarding "interim" pastorates.

Ed has some excellent advice for interims and churches calling them, especially when it comes to what it takes to BE an interim and what is reasonable to expect an interim to accomplish. I highly recommend his post on this.

(Ed also suggests a couple of helpful other resources on interim leadership.)

I, for one, think that interim pastorates are a wonderful gift to the church, and are NEEDED in many situations. In my view, we in the PCA could take a helpful cue from our brothers in the PC-USA and actually require that churches whose outgoing pastor served beyond a certain point (15 years? 20? 30?!?) must call an interim pastor before settling in (or attempting to) with a "permanent" pastor. I've blogged before about the unintentional interim, and I think such a requirement would alleviate many such situations.

If you're interested in learning more about interim pastorates, you might check out the website ChurchWhisperers.org-- it is full of help and guidance for interim pastors.

From the archives: making a healthy transition, #7

2009-10-13T09:23:00.000-05:00

First published September 5, 2005

Most of the men I know who have remained in ministry for a number of years have done so through the friendships they made in seminary.

In whatever way that it has materialized, these men (and often their families alongside them) have maintained friendships with a few very close friends from their seminary years. Those friendships have been a central factor in keeping them in ministry, stable, and focused on serving God. I know few men who have been in ministry for more than ten years for whom this is not the case, and everyone I know who has been in ministry more than 20 years has done this.

It doesn't always look the same, but some common factors arise among all of the people I've talked to about this:

All of them are in contact regularly-- usually by phone at least once a quarter, and visiting face-to-face at least once a year.
All of the relationships have a component of basic accountability to them-- checking in on the health of marriage and family life, personal spiritual growth, avoiding temptations, etc.
All serve as a “dumping ground” for ministry problems and frustrations-- allowing an outlet for all of the things that these men want and need to talk about, but feel they can't with anyone in their congregation (or even in their town).
All eventually become a “true North-pointing compass” for the individuals-- giving them a safe and trustworthy place to explore where the Lord may be leading them in the future.

What usually happens is that good friends in seminary become a committed group after graduation, and they agree to keep up with each other. They may try different models of how to do that, but they eventually settle into a routine that they repeat year after year.

One man I know has a week-long “vacation” with two other families, and they've been doing this for over 25 years. Another man meets twice a year for 48 hours with his two closest friends from seminary, and they call each other periodically. One friend gathers with a dozen others for three days, and they close up on a family farmhouse to play, talk, sing, pray, and laugh together. Another takes turns with a best friend, each visiting the other's house every six months-- whoever is the visitor “dumps” everything while the other listens.

However it turns out, the constant among variables is this: having one or several close friends who can-- over the years, through the moves and transitions, in spite of geographic differences-- be the kind of peer and brother that every Christian needs has become one of the very few keys to long-term, Godly ministry for the men I know.

On the other hand, among any of the men I know who have been in ministry for 20 years or more and don't do this in some form, none of them has the kind of ministry that I want to be a model for my future. I simply don't have a lot of admiration for their ministries. I can't say for certain that this has been the deciding factor, but it certainly seems to have been a contributing one. (And I should mention that I don't really know very many of these-- which is probably also related to the absence of this factor; without this kind of support, you are almost certainly more likely to leave the ministry earlier.)

The lesson here for new graduates and/or new transitioners: get in touch with those few closest friends from seminary and work out how you will keep in touch. Then do it. Don't put this off.

"Advice to pastoral candidates" from David Strain

2009-10-02T15:47:00.000-05:00

My friend and fellow TE in Covenant Presbytery, David Strain of Main Street Presbyterian Church, Columbus MS, offered some good advice for pastoral candidates on his blog today:

Think long and hard about different social contexts and what language fits them.
Read correspondence before sending it off!
Practice humility.
Be careful on blogs and Facebook.
Tailor your application to specific churches.
Cultivate relationships for reference while in seminary.
Be realistic about opportunities.
Call before sending your materials.
Read Why Johnny Can't Preach by T. David Gordon.

Excellent advice, David. (Read his whole post here.)

New documents and templates

2009-09-25T08:51:00.000-05:00

We just published some new documents at the Doulos Resources "Other Resources" page. We have some forms, checklists, templates, and even a database template. Check them out!

Résumé advice

2009-09-22T16:11:00.000-05:00

The folks at the Unclutterer blog (which is generally very good anyway) posted today some great advice about résumés. They debunk some of the myths that are common, especially for folks who are going for round two or three of candidacy.

Don't miss the comments-- lots of great stuff to mine there.

From the archives: making a healthy transition, #6

2009-09-19T21:51:00.000-05:00

First published August 20, 2005...

I don't know any seminarians who have lost weight or gotten in better shape during seminary.

Don't get me wrong-- I do know a good handful of guys that find time to exercise. Even I have found streaks of a few weeks where I've been on the treadmill regularly. But my pitfall is, I would guess, the same as many of my fellow seminarians': some point in the semester (exam time, a major paper due, a break to travel home for a few weeks, etc.) interrupts our exercise patterns and the continuity is lost. Regaining it proves very difficult.

Which is why the transition from seminary into a pastoral position-- or from one position to another, as the case may be-- is a great time to re-prioritize exercise for a pastor.

Once again, this can be difficult to rationalize; after all, when is it easy to find an hour (or more) to haul yourself over to the gym, get a full work out, then shower and change in order to get back to work? And doing this three to five times a week? Surely I'm kidding, right?

No... exercise has got to fit in somewhere. If it means you have to rise early to get to it, then rise early. If it means you have to sacrifice your lunch break (though not your lunch) two or three times a week, so be it. If there is truly no time to exercise, then you're too busy. (This goes for seminarians, too-- and consider this my public confession!)

Studies have shown that the lack of regular exercise affects levels of stress, fatigue, energy, attention-- all negatively. This is not to mention the increased strain your heart, lungs, and structural system endure when you gain weight, which is the result that most of us experience when we fail to exercise regularly. One doctor told a friend of mine that every pound of weight gained amounted to five additional pounds of pressure on the joints when walking or running. No wonder my knees hurt.

On the other hand, regular exercise is just short of magic in its effects on your body. As you exercise (over an extended period of time), your muscles grow and require more energy for even mundane tasks like getting out of a chair, walking across the room, or even typing; thus, your body loses weight more efficiently as your muscular system expands. Meanwhile, your metabolism increases due to the efficiency for burning carbs, proteins, and fats, so that you digest food more efficiently (leading to more weight loss). If you maintain a regular diet-- even the same diet you've always had-- your body will eventually balance out at a healthy weight. You rest more efficiently, you have more energy and endurance, and your overall health improves.

Amazingly, other things also seem to be “magically” handled through exercise: cholesterol issues, high triglycerides, and even diabetes and asthma can be managed, if not overcome, through exercise. Even smokers and heavy drinkers who also exercise seem to fair far better than their inactive counterparts. It is almost as if you can do just about anything you want-- eat what you want, drink what you want-- and, as long as you also exercise regularly, you'll be fine. (Almost... but not really.)

So you don't have to join the YMCA, or any other gym for that matter. If you'd rather jog around the neighborhood or swim laps in your next-door neighbor's pool, that's fine. Ride your bike to work on days when you'll be in the office all day anyway. Or get a treadmill and walk or run regardless of the weather. (If you read World magazine regularly, you know that Editor-in-Chief Marvin Olasky reads on his treadmill every day, finishing dozens of books a year.) Joining an athletic club does have this draw: by shelling out money regularly to a gym, not exercising will weigh that much more heavily on your conscience.

President Bush exercises 6 days a week; he says that it never enters his mind that he won't work out. If he can find the time, why can't you? Start tomorrow-- or re-start tomorrow; exercise is similar to your devotional life: re-starting regularly is better than the alternative.

[Note to self: I'm re-starting my treadmill plan tomorrow...]

Good thoughts on language

2009-09-16T12:18:00.001-05:00

[A]n essential part of the ordination exam ought to be a passage from some recognized theological work set for translation into vulgar English--just like doing Latin prose. Failure on this exam should mean failure on the whole exam. It is absolutely disgraceful that we expect missionaries to the Bantus to learn Bantu but never ask whether our missionaries to the Americans or English can speak American or English. Any fool can write learned language. The vernacular is the real test.

~C. S. Lewis, 1958 letter to the editor of The Christian Century, Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, 3:1006-7

(HT: Dane)

Managing staff well

2009-08-31T10:55:00.000-05:00

There is an X-factor in church ministry that sort of fits into the "transitions" category, but it also really doesn't in some ways. That is the category of staff.

By staff, I mean administrative and support staff. Ministry staff should be viewed and treated essentially in the same way that ordained pastoral staff are, at least from the perspective of calling, terms of call, evaluation, etc. But administrative and support staff are a different ballgame, in many ways.

I want to reflect a bit on managing staff well. I have seen and known of staff being mis-handled in some ways, and I think the topic deserves at least one post! And some of these lessons have been learned the hard way. Here are some things to think about when it comes to managing staff well.

Team Members
Are staff members part of the ministry team? In some ways, yes. Obviously, they fulfill functions that are vital to ministry execution. They often are responsible for significant logistical and front-line aspects of ministry. And anyone who has had a staff member with an obvious weakness will acknowledge how quickly that weakness can become substantial in slowing the progress of ministry.

So, yes-- in many ways they are team members. And to the extent to which they are, they need to be treated like it. Their value needs to be emphasized, and they need to be recognized and appreciated before others. Their input should be sought on appropriate topics, and their opinions taken seriously on all topics. They need to be attended to spiritually just as the rest of the ministry team does.

And, no-- in some ways they are not team members. Staffers should recognize the boundaries of where their participation with the team ends-- and they should respect those boundaries. It is reasonable to expect them to keep their nose out of business that they don't have a part in. They have the authority and right to make some decisions-- but not just any decision. They need to rightly understand their place as support for those who have been called to be the pastors and ministers of the congregation they serve, and realize that their value as part of the team extends only as far as they are able to fulfill that role of support.

If you want a great picture of what this looks like-- of what it looks like to be a significant part of a team without having to be the one who gets all the recognition-- read this remarkable piece from the NY Times on basketball player Shane Battier.

Works in Progress
Every staff member has weaknesses. In fact, every pastor does, too-- and it's likely that part of the reason why you have support staff is because your congregation recognized some of yours, and hired someone to fill the gaps. But those support staffers will have their own weaknesses, as well. How will you deal with them?

One of the best descriptions of how to work with staff members on an ongoing basis-- particularly with regard to their weaknesses and addressing them-- is from two guys named Mike Auzenne and Mark Horstman, whose organization is called Manager Tools. They detail the fundamentals of their methods in the "Manager Tools 'Basics'" audio discussions. I think so much of their approach is valuable in church staff management, as well. Here's the gist of what they advocate:
Open communication-- the first thing that Mike and Mark talk about is how vital it is that open lines of communication be established BEFORE there is a problem with weakness, etc. They talk about doing weekly "One-on-Ones" with each staff member under you (or "direct report" as they call them), wherein you briefly check in with them on personal things, family matters, etc.-- and let them get to know you in a similar way.
Appropriate feedback-- giving guidance for corrections is crucial, but knowing HOW to do that is sometimes difficult. Mike and Mark have developed their "feedback model" into a boilerplate approach, which lends helpful structure to the difficult task of correcting and re-directing. Notice, too, that this starts early-- so that problems aren't allowed to persist and fester.
Room to grow-- every staff member will respond well to feedback in some areas, and continue to struggle in other areas. What happens then? Mike and Mark have a model for that, too-- "coaching." They outline the benefits and strategies for creating constructive situations for staffers to learn and grow in the areas where they are weak.

One of the underlying premises that Mike and Mark emphasize, which I find so valuable, is the idea that firing someone is a last resort and an admission of failure on the manager's part. I've known many whose attitude is almost the opposite: "be glad you have a job, shape up and figure out how I want things done fast enough so that you don't get fired, and when the first mistake comes my way you're gone." That's unproductive and not helpful, for one thing-- but it's also wrong (as I'll get to in a moment).

Be assured of this, too: if they understand their role and place as they should (and as you can, in a pastoral manner, continue to instruct them in through one-on-ones, feedback, and coaching), they will not need you to shame them when their work falls short-- they will long to do better before you ever mention it.

If you have staff under you at any level-- even volunteers-- I urge you to give these audio discussions a listen.

Children of God
It is vital that the dignity of the staff member be kept in view at all times. This, sadly, is one of the greatest shortcomings of staff management in many churches.

Frequently, the leadership of the church is chosen from those who are successful in the business world. A corporate executive obviously knows something about running organizations, right? As a result, those execs bring their corporate expertise into a Session or Board meeting, and apply the same principles in the church as they do in the business world. The only problem with that is that the church isn't a business.

Now, in fairness to businessmen, many Christians who are in the business world conduct themselves in a manner that is distinct from their unbelieving counterparts. Nevertheless, 99% of the time that I have seen a Christian businessman who is in leadership attempt to apply his business expertise to the leadership of the church, it doesn't fit-- but he will push and work to shoe-horn it into fitting, resulting in a leadership fiasco. Leaders: if your only model for leadership has been the corporate business world, you must re-learn how to lead!

Never is this more important than in dealing with staff. In the business world, the bottom-line controls everything. All other principles are driven by profitability, which means that if someone isn't "pulling their weight" then they have to go. This is sometimes presented more coldly, while other times it is couched in more positive language (Jim Collins talks about "getting the right people on the bus"). Regardless, the mindset from the business world is, if your support staff is ineffective, then let them go.

This isn't the business world. Your staffing decisions aren't made by measures of efficiency alone. They are not just another paycheck that has to be distributed. These are people-- and they are children of God, created in His image, and granted all of the dignity of heirs of the Kingdom.

Your calling as pastor is to treat them as such. If it helps, employ this imagery when dealing with your staff: imagine that your administrative assistant is actually someone else-- think of the matronly widow whose husband was an officer in the church long before you came, whose children grew up and professed their faith in your congregation, who faithfully attends every worship service even when her health is frail, whose service as a prayer warrior on your behalf has been a frequent encouragement to you. Imagine that she has come in to volunteer in the role of your administrative assistant. How would you treat her? How would you deal with her?

I have a sense of how I would: I would find ways to muster greater degrees of patience than I knew I could. I would be grateful for her willingness and desire for service. I would offer correction gently, quietly, and tactfully. I would ask of her, not demand of her. I would try to let every encounter give attention to the needs of her soul, and not focus only on my own needs. I would give thanks in prayer for her before, during, and after she came each day.

What would the work atmosphere in your church offices be like if you, as pastor, treated every staff member that way? Your staffers have all of the dignity of heaven-- and while (as I said above) their value as part of the team extends only as far as they are able to fulfill that role of support, their value as children of God is something you can never strip from them. And you must be supremely cautious that you do not do so.

This dignity must never be forgotten or misplaced. It is your job, as a pastor, to constantly restore it. Remember the words between Caspian and Aslan, as Caspian was about to be crowned king of Narnia:

"I was wishing that I came of a more honorable lineage."

"You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve," said Aslan, "and that is both honor enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth. Be content."

From the archives: making a healthy transition, #5

2009-08-10T14:11:00.000-05:00

First published August 5, 2005:

How long will you live in your new town, serving your new church, before you seek out and befriend other pastors in the area? Will you even refer to it as your “new church” by then?

My guess is that most pastors put this at the bottom of their priorities. After all, one group that every pastor can be certain will never join their church are other pastors in the area! And there are already so many things to do-- and so many relationships to build-- that getting to know other pastors seems like an unnecessary distraction.

In fact, it is necessary. And it is not a distraction, but a key part of your new ministry.

Let me insert a few disclaimers here. First, I am not a broad ecumenist who would insist that churches should be united and working to erase all denominational boundaries; as much as I value unity in the Kingdom, I recognize the importance of denominational distinctions and what the inherent variety offers the Church. And I am not suggesting that buddying up with other pastors is more important than shepherding the flock God has called you to serve.

But I do believe that many pastors set themselves up for burnout, in part, because they fail to prioritize the fellowship, support, and accountability that can come from other local pastors.

“But,” you counter, “I made some great friends in seminary who will be that for me!” Great, I say. (And I'll address that more fully in a later blog post.) I happen to believe, however, that there are benefits to deep friendships with local pastors that your friends from seminary can rarely fulfill. Some of them include:
• They know the area. Ministry occurs in a context; your fellow local pastors will know and understand that context in a way that your seminary friends won't (unless they happen to also be local)-- and you won't either, at first. Early on, these friends can become a part of the process of integrating unto your community, learning how to minister within it.
• They are easy (or easier) to meet with. How will you keep up with those friends from seminary? However you do it, it won't be as simple as a lunch appointment across town. Your new friends are just around the corner compared to anyone else.
• They are hard to avoid. When I need accountability the most, I often also want to avoid it the most. Maybe you struggle in the same way. If so, local friends can get in your face, showing up at your office or home if necessary.
• They present new ministry opportunities. Whether it be a pulpit exchange, a regular joint worship service (holidays like Thanksgiving offer good opportunities here), or a collaborative effort at a regular ministry, having another pastor (and therefore his church) to try out these ideas is easier if you are already friends. Ending them if they don't work out is easier, too.
My first long-term, paid ministry job emerged out of a relationship just like what I am describing. Two pastors at different churches each needed development for their youth ministries, but neither could afford staff. Their good friendship and the familiar relationship between their churches opened the door to a collaborative youth ministry that I oversaw.

Befriending other pastors is the kind of thing that is easily put off indefinitely; then, when you really need that friend, you're all alone. Start now, and make it an essential part of your transition. You might even communicate this need/desire to your Elders or Deacons, so that they can support you in it-- maybe they'll even hold you accountable for getting started.

Special Circumstances: the Assistant/Associate Pastor becomes the Senior, part four

2009-08-04T12:28:00.000-05:00

In part one of this series, I addressed why a hand-off (where an existing Assistant or Associate Pastor becomes the new Senior Pastor) is valuable. In part two, I answered the question, "should the Assistant/Associate become the Senior?" In part three, we looked at some strategies for an effective transition of this sort.

In this (final) installment, I want to think about planning for succession.

The biggest, and most important, aspect of planning and preparing for effective pastoral succession is this single concept (let's say it together, class):

"Pastor, this congregation is bigger than you."

This is true whether the succession is in-house (where an existing Assistant or Associate Pastor steps into the Senior Pastor role or some other role) or external (where someone new to the staff and congregation is brought in as a part of succession). This is essential to get, and must never be forgotten in any part of the pastorate-- and particularly not in the process of planning for pastoral succession.

Many established, historic churches will already have a good sense of this. They, and in some cases their parents and grandparents before them, have worshiped and served in their congregation for long before the current pastor came to them, and they (and perhaps their children and grandchildren) will likely serve in that congregation after he leaves.

A congregation in my hometown in South Carolina is a great illustration of this. Their current pastor is one of the most well-known names in the Christian culture today, and certainly among "Reformed" churches and people. He is a wonderful pastor, and I am grateful that he is there. Yet, that congregation has more than 200 years of history prior to him arriving, and he would be foolish and egotistical (and he isn't, in either case) to think that the life of that congregation hinged on him.

In newer congregations, this can be less clear. A church that was planted by the man who now serves as pastor, the same man who recruited many of the leadership to dream of an established church, who led the brainstorming of the very vision that put that church in place-- that congregation may have more difficulty thinking in terms of the institution existing apart from the man.

But this is what they must do-- and any pastor who is worth his salt will begin early in his ministry to encourage that thinking in his congregants. The fact is, regardless of how young or old he is, no matter how effective his preaching or how beloved his pastoral manner, in spite of whether he speaks openly and confidently of his desires to remain with that congregation for the long-term, he will leave them one day. It may be because God has called him away, or because his health has finally prevented him from pastoral service, or because of his death. But one way or another, every pastor eventually leaves his current congregation.

So a pastor concerned about what happens after he leaves will go about teaching, counseling, and training his congregation to learn to say, "Pastor, this congregation is bigger than you." Hopefully, those who went before him did the same, and he is reaping the benefits of ministry in which those seeds have been sown. But he must continue this work.

What does that look like, practically? A few things come to mind:

He celebrates the history of the congregation, and acknowledges God's faithful work through those who have served in leadership (pastoral and other) throughout that history.
He talks openly and comfortably about previous pastors, not being threatened by their memory or what God accomplished through them.
He thinks in the long-term, asking questions (of himself and of the leadership) regarding how the decisions they make today will affect the saints who will be a part of that congregation in one, two, several generations from now.
He trains leadership for the long-term, incorporating both historic and future trajectories in the way that they disciple and train current and future leaders.
He casts a vision before them that has lasting and healthy implications, not one centered around himself or any one particular leader's strengths.
He constantly seeks to move to the periphery in leadership, placing the focus of all ministry on Christ and His redeeming work instead on of himself or any other leader.

A pastor who does these things is one the way to beginning an effective succession plan.

There are a number of other steps that a pastor, the leadership, and a congregation all might take to plan and prepare for effective succession. In most cases, these are not something that can be "templated" but must be chosen and adjusted given the context. So instead of trying to summarize these (and poorly, since I have limited experience in dealing with this question) I'll recommend a book: The Elephant in the Boardroom: Speaking the Unspoken About Pastoral Transitions by Carolyn Weese and J. Russell Crabtree. This book offers great insight into this process, and guides any congregation's leadership in working through the process effectively.

Ordination floor exam advice

2009-07-20T10:15:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine is standing for his ordination exams later this week.

If you don't know what that means, here's a summary: after finishing a long written exam (or several) on theology, church history, church government, and Bible content, and an oral exam by a committee on the same, he will now stand before a whole presbytery (which is all of the ordained pastors in that region, plus representative Elders from all of the churches in that region) and face an oral exam from them, wherein they can ask them any question they want.

Sound brutal? It is-- and very intimidating. It's also, by the way, one of the best things we do: the ministry of Word and Sacrament are nothing to be taken lightly, and I applaud the way that the PCA takes it seriously. It ought to be hard.

Here are five pieces of advice I gave him about Presbytery floor exams in an e-mail this morning:

Keep in mind that the floor exam is primarily about examining you about your fitness for ministry -- NOT your academic and intellectual development (The written and committee exams were for that). So they're looking for your ability to articulate that you have a "ministry sensibility" about you. This means that, often, the questions will be ones such as you aren't really able to prepare for, but simply must react to. That's okay. (I remember one of our classmates gettting asked what he would do to encourage and support the long-standing Pro-Life ministry of his new congregation, for example.)
Keep your answers as short as possible-- at all times, but ESPECIALLY when it comes to "views" questions. Answer briefly, though not in a brusk or abrupt manner. Far better for them to ask you follow-up questions (to which you also give brief answers!) than to over-answer and take the discussion in a direction it wasn't going in the first place.
Approach the entire process with humility. No one should come into this process with an air of entitlement or worthiness. We are all failures, and we are going to be failures in ministry, too. When you're asked a question, it won't hurt to thank him for the question, and then answer with confidence, but let your confidence be in the sure foundation of the Gospel and your knowledge of that, not in your own intelligence, academic achievement, or rhetorical ability.
On a related note, floor exams are not an opportunity to make a point, instruct the brothers in an area where they are weak, or an opportunity to air out theological dirty laundry. Therefore, your answers need not be defensive or aggressive, but should always reflect a proper deference to the brothers and a teachable spirit. This is never more true than when you have a confessional exception or a variation of views. If you believe that the larger bodies are in error (and we certainly are, probably in many ways), there will be plenty of opportunity to study that and present it AFTER you are ordained. Don't let an over-confidence about how "you're right and everyone who questions you is wrong" stand in the way of your ordination.
Finally, remember that everyone in the room with you loves Christ, and loves His Bride. All of them are approaching this process with a spirit of godliness, hope, and the desire for what is best for the Church and her members. They are for you and for your present and future ministry, and they want to see you succeed in both ordination and ministry. Their questions are not motivated out of fear, suspicion, or an unhealthy ambition, but are motivated out of a biblical view of what is good and right for an ordained minister to be and know. (Okay, the truth, very likely and quite sadly, is that for some of the people present, none of this will be true. Some people present at ordination examinations are, in fact, the antithesis of what I just described-- and it is possible that some of these will be at yours too. But here's another fact: all of the above OUGHT to be true of EVERY one of them. So you should go in expecting that of them, hoping that of them, believing that of them. Love them in that way, and you will start your ministry among them well.)

From the archives: making a healthy transition, #4

2009-07-13T13:28:00.000-05:00

Originally posted on August 5, 2005

You think transition is hard on you? Wait until you see the fallout for your family.

Any transition is difficult-- not just for a pastor, but for his wife, children, parents, siblings, former friends... no one is left unscathed. Some friends of mine recently felt the force of this as they moved to seminary: they were doing pretty well with it, until it finally caught up to them. Like the rest of us, they were hit with the troubles that transition brings.

I can remember how it was. Coming to seminary was difficult enough: moving all of our stuff, settling into a new home, meeting new people, looking for/starting new jobs, finding a new church, and undertaking a new degree program. While we didn't have any children at the time, I can only imagine that those who do find the difficulty to be increased exponentially. The seminary transition, as most of my readers will understand (I presume), is beastly.

Yet, it was also wonderful in its own way. The anticipation helps a lot; I can remember just as well all that I hoped for: learning new things, meeting those who will become life-long friends, interacting with professors, getting training and experience for the fulfillment of our callings...

No, wait. That's just me who would be doing all of that. Marcie would be working to put me through that. (Or working at home to raise our children.) She wouldn't really get to experience very much of that at all, would she?

Yes and no. Marcie has had a great seminary experience too.

But if you're married and in seminary (or if you were in seminary at some point), hopefully your wife has communicated to you some of the differences between what you are experiencing and what she is. Sometimes it is like night and day.

Don't forget this.

Keen awareness of this point will be essential information during the transition into pastoral ministry.

Because often, in ministry, the situation is surprisingly the same: you, the pastor, come in with great anticipation of all that will happen. You'll meet many wonderful new people who you'll call your flock and co-laborers. You'll be able to jump right into the hands-on work of ministry. You'll become familiar with the community, the town, and the places that will become your regular haunts. You'll begin to catch a vision for what the Lord may do with you there, and the excitement will be nearly overwhelming.

Meanwhile, your wife will be at home with the kids. Or starting a new job. Or looking for work. She'll be lonely, stressed-out, and tired. She'll feel the pressure to get the boxes unpacked while you're writing a sermon or visiting the home-bound. She'll be the one worrying about the family budget-- after all, she still hasn't found a job and you've already been there four weeks!-- while you're going out to lunch with an Elder.

Sunday will come, and you'll go in early, teach Sunday School, chat with the members you met earlier in the week, lead worship, preach your sermon, and accept an invitation to lunch with your new friends. What a wonderful Sabbath!

She'll wander into church uncertain of what class to attend, stand to the side and talk politely with folks she doesn't know, sit alone with the children during worship, and quietly eat her lunch while you talk and laugh, all the while worrying about getting the kids down for a nap. Was that even a Sabbath?

Brothers, as you're settling in to your new position, making new friends, and getting a vision for the ministry God has brought you to do, don't forget the co-laborer that He gave to you for life-- the one who knows you the best. Share her concerns and burdens. Pay attention to what she is struggling with. Help with the boxes. Watch the kids so that she can get coffee with an Elder's wife. Open your heart and mind to her by telling her about the vision God is giving you.

And take her out on a date very soon after the move. And regularly thereafter.

From the archives: making a healthy transition, #3

2009-06-22T07:11:00.000-05:00

Originally posted July 30, 2005

Anytime I'm left waiting in someone's office, I look at what is on the shelves: usually, the books capture my interest the most, though I was once fascinated to find a clean, yet broken, inner-race of a automotive constant-velocity (CV) joint on the shelf of a philosophy professor! (The CV joint is the amazing piece of a car's axle that allows the wheels to spin at different speeds around turns.)

You can learn a lot about a person from what is on the shelves in their office. In fact, you can learn a lot about them from the whole office.

Now, in spite of Tychicus' (valid and true) comments that motivated this post, I'm not going to post on “feng shui for the pastor.” But there is a psychology to the arrangement of a pastor's study that those in transition ought to pay attention to.

Take, for example, the shelves of books. Nearly every pastor or seminarian I know is a bibliophile, and most of us are somewhat proud of our book collections. Will my study be the best place to store all of my books? Inevitably, there will be those in a congregation who are intimidated by the scholarly nature of their pastor, and the fact that his study is entirely lined with books will not help the intimidation. Perhaps the avenues of ministry would be less congested if some of the books were housed elsewhere.

Obviously, there will be some books that are essential, or nearly so, to a pastor's ministry and therefore have a proper place in his study. But many will not: in my office at the last church I served, I had an entire shelf unit filled with my philosophy books, though-- oddly-- I never used them for youth ministry. They were a nice testimony to the degree I completed in that field, but probably hindered my ministry (and certainly didn't help it). At present, I would guess that 1/4 to 1/3 of my 2000+ books have no direct value to ministry whatsoever, and could be shelved at home when I transition into ministry.

Another aspect to consider is the desk and work space. It may take a while for a working system to emerge as the most efficient way of using the space you have, but let me make a few recommendations based on experience and/or reflection:

Don't bother with the “In-box/Out-box” sort of arrangement unless you will actually use it. Since I never did, mine were always overflowing, which gave the impression that I was either overworked or never did anything!
Keep file storage close-at-hand. If you have ready access to your filing cabinets, you are more likely to actually file things regularly. Filing is usually tedious anyway, so any excuse (e.g., “I don't want to bother getting out of the chair to walk across the room”) will be enough to prevent regular filing. [N.B.: for a good system to get this under control, I recommend “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” (David Allen).]
If possible, place your desk so that it is visible from the doorway. When others walk by and see you working, it will affirm their sense of your work-ethic. Stated negatively, some congregants already suspect that a pastor loafs and slacks all week (“Pretty good pay for two hours a week...”), so if they can't see you working (or see the evidence of your work from the stuff on your desk), they may assume the worst. Obviously this only applies if you actually do work.
An ancillary point to the last one: set up your computer so that the monitor can be seen from the doorway. Hopefully you're not tempted by pornography on the Internet, but if you are (or is anyone suspects that you are), this setup will provide accountability and dispel suspicion.

Also, if the door to your study doesn't have a window in it, insist that one be installed, or the door be replaced with a windowed one. This is for your protection, as well as for the peace of mind of those you counsel. Otherwise, your alternatives are three: leave the door wide open (which means anyone can hear you and your visitor); close the door but always have someone else sit in with you (which is not always possible, nor does it avail the privacy that counseling often requires); or close the door and be alone with them (which, at best, invites speculation...). Of course, a fourth alternative is that you could simply refuse to do any counseling (but don't bother unpacking the books).

The size, shape, and kind of furnishings in a pastor's study vary so greatly from one church to another that it is difficult to offer any concrete suggestions about how a study might be arranged. Here are a few thoughts. Make the space as inviting as possible. Have comfortable seating available apart from your desk chair (one pastor I visited kept metal folding chairs behind the door for guests-- no wonder he seldom had them!). Light it well, but not harshly; indirect, incandescent light has been shown to be both soothing and restful, while fluorescent lights can make the eyes tired. The perfectly arranged study is one that is comfortable and functional for long periods of time, both when you are alone and when others are with you.

As Tychicus suggests, the desk can become an unintended divider between the pastor and his people. I've seen a variety of arrangements that accommodate this, with one thing in common: all of them had a part of the study that was structured for sitting with others-- almost an ante-room of sorts in some cases, while others were just chairs or a loveseat placed behind the desk, so that the pastor could turn around and face his visitors.

Finally, acknowledge the impact of nomenclature. What is the difference between a “pastor's office” and a “pastor's study?” Psychologically and semantically, there is a world of difference. An office is used mainly for administration, meetings, and business. A study, on the other hand, is a place for reading, reflection, contemplation (in other words, for studying). Which of those two best describes your calling?

William the Baptist

2009-06-20T19:07:00.000-05:00

Doulos Resources has recently released one of my latest projects: an updated edition of the book William the Baptist.

William the Baptist was published by James M. Chaney in 1877, and is a great book on Reformed, covenantal baptism. Some have called it the finest book ever written on baptism.

Unfortunately, it has been out of print for years, and the best copies available were simply facsimile editions that were often poorly printed. With Doulos Resources, I have updated this book for re-printing: the language has been gently edited to reflect 130+ years of linguistic changes; the Scripture quotations have been changed from the King James version to the English Standard version; Scripture quotes that were unattributed have been referenced in footnote; and a Scripture index is included.

I'm really excited about this, primarily because I have longed to see this book in print again for years. Check it out here:
William the Baptist

A couple of helpful links

2009-06-12T10:47:00.001-05:00

I've come across a couple of helpful pieces lately that I'll pass along:

Church Whisperers-- this group focuses on strategic interim pastoring, which is a sorely-needed ministry and an oft-neglected topic. I really like what this effort is doing. Check out the latest article: "Working Yourself Out of a Job".
Congregations and New Pastors: A How-To Guide-- this is a great article for congregations on how to receive a new pastor. The advice here is SO good. I'm really grateful to this Lutheran brother for his work in writing this.

I trust you will find these helpful, as I did.

Special Circumstances: the Assistant/Associate Pastor becomes the Senior, part three

2009-06-09T10:32:00.000-05:00

In part one of this series, I addressed why this sort of hand-off is valuable. In part two, I answered the question, "should the Assistant/Associate become the Senior Pastor?"

Now, let's look at some strategies for the newly named Senior Pastor for an effective transition into the new role.

I recommend three essential steps toward moving forward into the new role as Senior Pastor.

Deal with changing relationships. The new Senior Pastor already has existing relationships with the staff, leadership, and congregation; that's one of the real benefits of this sort of hand-off. But those relationships have been defined, at least in part, by his former role as an Assistant/Associate Pastor. That role is gone, and the relationships MUST change along with his role. Sometimes this will mean frank conversations, or even open discussion of it in a congregational meeting, during Sunday School classes, etc. At other times, the leadership needs to proactively step in to run interference for him (for example, when someone wants him to continue to fulfill one of the duties of his former role). It may mean changes in leadership structure, and even leadership personnel-- in fact, it may even result in staff changes. The important part is that EVERYONE involved in leadership be on the same page about what the new Senior's role now is, how he will fulfill it, what the "chain of command" is, what things he won't do any longer, and other details such as these. I think it would be helpful for the new Senior Pastor to lead a retreat of his staff and leadership in order to work through all of these.
Recruit mentors. The odds are good that the new Senior Pastor has never been in this sort of position before-- even if he has served as a Senior Pastor before, it has likely been in a smaller congregation with substantially fewer responsibilities. (Very few men who have been Senior Pastor of a medium or large church move into Assistant or Associate roles in other congregations.) It is reasonable, therefore, to assume that the new Senior will encounter questions, issues, and puzzles that he may need some assistance figuring out. A mentor-- a seasoned pastor of another congregation, for example-- may be invaluable in such a setting. They are also great for prayer support, general encouragement, and simple fellowship and accountability. In my Presbytery, our Church Care Committee has begun working to put these sorts of mentoring relationships in place with ALL newly-installed Senior Pastors. What is more, because this sort of transition (from Assistant/Associate to Senior in the same church) is atypical, it may be worthwhile to find someone else who has been through a similar transition. I e-mailed a leader in my denomination about this, and he provided me with a list of a half-dozen pastors who had made this transition. I'd be surprised if most of them (if not all) weren't willing to offer counsel to someone else venturing into these waters.
Own it. As I pointed out before, one of the tangible benefits of this kind of transition is that there is no "honeymoon" period wherein substantial changes and progress are more difficult; instead, in this kind of transition the new Senior can hit the ground running. So he should. As I suggested in part two, if the church is moving in a healthy trajectory, then the new Senior ought to already be asking, "what's the next step down that road?" And he should be ready to lead the congregation in taking it. For example, a pastor I know recently made this transition, and he knew that the church that he served essentially needed revitalization (even though it is a larger congregation). Knowing that I have a particular interest in that subject, he asked me for some "summer reading" recommendations, and we also talked about the value of taking his staff and Session to a conference on church revitalization sometime soon. He's owning his new role, and leading them in the next step toward greater congregational health. Not every such church will be in such need of revitalization-- the next steps will be different for every congregation. But the important part is that the new Senior Pastor not tarry in owning and accepting the leadership that has been given to him.

I believe that, if the context is right (as discussed in part two), and the new Senior takes these steps, then all of the conditions are perfect for a thriving ministry as Senior Pastor. In part four, I'll address succession planning and how a congregation can prepare for this sort of hand-off effectively.

From the archives: making a healthy transition, #2

2009-05-29T15:11:00.000-05:00

Originally posted in July, 2005: Who are the people in your neighborhood?

Sing along if you know it: Oh the postman always brings the mail, in rain or snow or sleet or hail...

The Sr. Pastor I worked with in Roanoke had an interesting experiment going on when I started: he would stop for gas at the station less than two blocks from the church property and would routinely ask the attendant for directions to our church!

When he first started this practice, the response was usually something vague, at best. “I've never heard of that place,” “Isn't that on ___ street [on the other side of town]?” and, “Sure-- it's a half-mile south of here [exactly the opposite direction]” were some of the answers he received. In time, it became a joke-- and not a very funny one.

Our church was fairly active in local issues, and though it would have been easy for my pastor just to explain who he was to the attendants, he wanted to see if they knew about the church by its reputation. I appreciate this desire, but I think that a new pastor can do great things for his ministry if he is attentive to intentionally building relationships with his neighbors, as well.

One of the aspects of transition that is probably overlooked more than any other is this sort of relationship-building outside of the congregation. Getting to know the physical neighbors around the church property (and around the pastor's home, as well) is definitely a ministry-builder, and an invaluable part of settling into ministry.

Here are a few things that such relationship-building accomplishes:

It allows genuine fulfillment of the command to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
It heals past hurts-- particularly those inflicted by other Christians-- by showing true care and concern.
It is itself an exercise in hospitality, and it opens up further opportunities for hospitality.
It creates a venue for the Gospel to be shown and told.
It helps in future circumstances when civil and political difficulty may arise.

My pastor in Roanoke would agree with this: when Planned Parenthood erected a clinic directly across the street from our church property, he was the first one to extend a hand of hospitality (but not a hand of welcome, exactly, though the distinction is a fine one; make no mistake, he is strongly “pro-life” and was not supportive of what the clinic was built to do) and worked hard to build a friendship with the clinic's director. Rather than only showing opposition to the clinic's purposes (which he also did, in a loving way), he also led the charge to long for, pray for, and work for the salvation and redemption of those who work there. Those workers, it seems, are people too-- in need of a Savior, just like me.

Who are the people in your neighborhood? You don't have to try to meet them all in the first week or even the first months, but set some goals-- maybe you can get to know every merchant, businessperson, or resident on your block by name by the end of the first year of ministry. One new introduction a week would be fairly ambitious. Do you know your regular mail carrier's name, or the folks that make deliveries to your offices? How about the pastors of other nearby churches (more on this in a future post)?

Eventually, those station attendants did get to know us, and where we were. Not long before I left, my pastor can in from lunch beaming. “I stopped at the station like always,” he reported, “but when I asked if they knew where the church was, the guy said, 'You're there! It's just in the middle of the next block on the left!'”

They're the people that you meet each day...

Some LinkedIn help

2009-05-29T09:09:00.000-05:00

Some time back, I mentioned Jibber Jobber-- an online tool for managing job search and career details. I've also mentioned LinkedIn before as a good tool for advancing your networking.

So here's an interesting confluence of the two: the CEO of Jibber Jobber, Jason Alba, has recently created a resource about how to make the most of LinkedIn for job-seeking. Here's an article that summarizes five of the suggestions that he offers.

Thanks, Jason.

Interview about placement and transition, part two

2009-05-27T23:21:00.000-05:00

My friend Doug did an interview with me via e-mail about my process of candidacy and transition. Part one is here.

Here is part two:

8. Briefly describe your experience of transitioning into your role as pastor?

It's still going on, in many ways: most studies have shown that pastors don't really become as effective in their ministries as possible until seven years in, and that they don't effect significant and lasting change in the first 2-3 years. So in many ways, I'm just approaching the threshold of that second season, with the first a long way off.

That said, transition has been about what I expected: I dug in with building relationships with my congregation, began teaching and preaching on what I believed would best fit a new pastoral ministry, and started learning what my patterns and routines would be. I had been planning how I would spend my transition time for months, so it was not hard to know WHAT to do-- mostly just HOW to do it.

9. What surprised you about it?

I was surprised by little things, the kind of things that hide from plain view but make a big difference. For example, I fully intended to not worry too much with getting my pastoral study set up, but to spend my first days heavily with members of my congregation. But I picked up on cues that suggested that they WANTED me to focus on my study and get it set up-- that was a sign of stability to them, and they needed a strong sense of stability in their new pastor. Similarly, I felt very encouraged to spend extra time at home in the first few weeks, helping Marcie to get our house established; they wanted to love us by helping us set up our home, and part of that was freeing me from pastoral labor to attend to that.

(All of this, by the way, is more the nature of the hospitable people I serve than simply an artifact of transition-- they continue to be generous with my time in these ways, even now.)

10. What are some helpful tips you would give to someone about to go through the process?

Don't try to do everything at once! You're settling into a (hopefully) long ministry, with plenty of time to encourage growth, teach what is in your heart, and accomplish your goals for ministry. Don't be in a hurry.

Also, it's not possible to spend "too much" time with your congregation in the first months. I'm in a fairly small congregation, so I set out to visit every household once in the first six months. That didn't end up being possible, but I DID get to see everyone who was a part of the "core group" of the congregation. I tried to include someone from the congregation in almost everything I did-- lunch, a project at home, helping me find a mechanic or specialty store, etc. That relational investment pays big dividends.

Finally, don't be in a hurry to change things. Some things will need changing, but most things can change much more gradually than your instincts tell you. Remember: they are already going through a lot of change just by bringing you in as their pastor, so don't push them too hard on change. A lot of guys will tell you that the "honeymoon" season is the time to change as much as you can; I think that is short-sighted. Such change is seldom lasting, causes the congregation to feel overwhelmed with change (and maybe no longer at home in the church they once loved), and suggests to them that you have no value of anything that happened before you came. If you want to be in transition again in a matter of months, this is a good way to set the stage for it!

11. What do you wish you knew heading into the first year at your current location?

I don't think there was any one thing (or set of things) that stands out as a gap in what I knew: I was pretty familiar with the demographics of the area, what the prospects for ministry were, and what the culture was like. I knew the church's recent history, and had been briefed on the important details of what had been good and what had gone wrong in the past, particularly with regard to the previous pastor. I knew of many of the ways in which the congregation needed healing, and also had a good starting notion of where they were spiritually strong. In short: I knew what I was getting into, both in the great ways and the hard ways. There have been difficult moments, and even weeks and clusters of weeks where I have been challenged by the circumstances-- but nothing that constitutes a "blind side".

I think most guys don't have the benefit of this. Either they are stepping into a situation that is much worse than they were led to believe, or they are entering a culture they really don't know, or something where there is a point that they think, "I'm not sure I would have taken this position if I had realized all of that!"

For those guys, first of all I would challenge them that they probably WOULD still take it, and that they SHOULD. But probably the biggest thing is to go into a transition knowing that there are going to be things that you didn't know about, and that you're going to get blind-sided. I may yet-- who knows? But most guys probably will, and they just need to be ready for it.

12. How has the transition been for your wife?

It has been good in many of the ways that it has been good for me; she has been encouraged by the love and hospitality of the congregation, just as I have. She has noted on several occasions how well our congregation loves our family. She hasn't been forced into a pre-conceived role of what the pastor's wife ought to do or be, and that has been freeing.

It has been hard, too, since she left behind her close friends from seminary and has not found as many friends of similar "age and stage" in our area until recently-- and those are just now budding relationships, approaching two years in. Meanwhile, I've made friends with some other pastors in the area, and don't feel as much need for friends of the same age or life-stage as me anyway-- so it has been harder for her to see me find fulfilling friendships when she hasn't. She has dealt with that very well, but it hasn't been easy.

New resource posted

2009-05-20T09:26:00.000-05:00

Well, it is "new" in that it has just been posted here.

A few years ago, I wrote a few posts on how a church can prepare for a new pastor; these posts were themselves the result of a series of sermons and Sunday School classes I taught on the subject at a church I was serving in pulpit supply at the time. After I had written these, and received a good bit of positive feedback on them, I re-formatted them into a single article form, and added a few things as well.

That article, entitled "When the Pastor leaves...", is now available here, via the Doulos Resources Transition Tools section. It's in PDF format, and you are free to copy and distribute it in quantity to your congregation, if you wish. (There is information about the Creative Commons license on the Transition Tools page.)

I hope this will be helpful to others. I have had it posted on another website that I'm associated with for several years, and it has consistently been one of the most popular downloads on that page. I thought it would be good to make it available here as well.

[Download "When the Pastor Leaves..."]

From the archives: making a healthy transition, #1

2009-05-19T14:02:00.000-05:00

I've been blogging for four and a half years, with well over 300 posts. Somewhere in there is some decent stuff-- and, while I'm still writing new stuff, I'm going to start occasionally re-posting some of the older ones, particularly when they are timely.

And, since many who were seminarians a week ago are no longer seminarians, but now are seminary graduates, I'm going to re-post my series on making an effective and healthy transition into a new ministry opportunity. Starting now.

Originally posted in July, 2005:

Start your ministry by stacking your boxes of books by the door of your office. Now leave them there for the next two weeks.

It should be no surprise that, if I am convinced that the key to placement is relationships, I am also sure that relationships are the key to good transition. If one of the key questions for placement is, “Who do you love?” then surely one of the key questions for transition is, “How do you love?”

Forget the boxes of books, the adjustment to the new places, and the sermon you have to preach next Sunday. (No, not completely; but don't you have a few sermons you could re-work and save some prep time?) Begin your new ministry strong with a heavy focus on relationship-building. Let the logistics of the new position take care of themselves-- or at least wait a while.

In one of the positions I served, I went the other way: I jumped into the logistical details during the first weeks of ministry. I spent time setting up my office, unpacking books, organizing my schedule, and establishing mobile phone service. Looking back, it was a big mistake that hurt my ministry for the long-term.

After all, ministry is not about those things. Not about cell phones, bookshelves, or offices. Not about the contents of the books on the shelves or the appointments on the schedule. Not even about the sermons you preach-- not essentially. If no one is listening, it won't matter how good you preach, how many appointments you make, or how many books you read. And once they decide that you're interested in things other than relationships with them (whether that is the truth or not), they stop listening.

Jump into your new ministry with both feet by building relationships. That doesn't mean you can't do anything else; obviously you must have something to preach on Sunday, and you should take some time to prepare for that. But let the bulk of your time be spent with people. And make sure they can see that this is your priority; if you can, see to it that everyone in the church knows that they'll get time with you soon. Maybe not this week, but based on how much time you're spending with others...

Interview about placement and transition

2009-05-18T08:31:00.000-05:00

My friend Doug e-mailed me earlier this week and asked if he could interview me (via e-mail) about my candidacy and transition experience. I was happy to oblige-- and happy also to post the interview here. Here's the first part; the second part will follow in a few days.

1. Briefly describe your experience of candidating for jobs in the PCA

I approached candidating from several angles-- through networking, using many of the available lists of opportunities, and through cold-calling Presbytery clerks and committee chairs to inquire about opportunities they might know of. All of these produced at least some usable results. I followed every viable lead that I was able to-- which probably amounted to well over 50, maybe as many as 75 opportunities that I explored at some level.

I explored opportunities of many types: Senior, Solo, and Associate/Assistant Pastor roles; foreign missions; campus ministry; educational ministry; para-church ministry. I cast an ever-widening net as time went on, while maintaining focus on Senior and Solo Pastor opportunities the whole time.

From start to finish, it took me about 9 months to complete placement. During that time, I moved beyond "first steps" (initial contact, sending resume, etc.) with about two dozen churches; I completed some level of interview-like interaction with about 10; I made the "short list" for four; I visited two in-person, and both took a congregational vote about whether to call me as Pastor. Obviously, the last one voted in favor of doing so.

2. What surprised you about the process?

I might be the wrong guy to ask that question to, because I have done a lot of study, research, and writing about candidacy and placement-- so very little came as a surprise to me, even when it might have for others.

The one thing that stands out as a surprise was how emotionally and spiritually taxing the process was. In spite of my awareness of the difficulties, I nevertheless occasionally found myself overwhelmed with a sense of defeat and despaired of the process ever producing a positive result. During these times, the support of my wife and of my close friends (with whom I was in regular contact about my progress) as my "burden-bearers" was vital for me; had it not been for them, I may have given up.

3. What went easier / harder that expected?

A number of things were harder than I expected. Exercising patience for a process that I knew would take a long time. Spending day after day scouring lists and making first contact with opportunities. Starting from scratch on one day, because the day before a church that I thought I would get a call to ministry from told me they were going with someone else. These are just a few.

If anything, what was easier than I expected was how things fell into place with the church that I serve. Almost nothing about the candidacy process with them was difficult-- it was plain and straightforward from the start, and it was clear from the start that this was a good fit (both to me and to them). That doesn't mean that this part will be easy for others, of course-- but it was easier, at least, for me.

4. How many places did you apply before getting your current position?

As I mentioned before, I made at least initial inquiry with a lot of places-- probably between 50 and 75.

5. How many places did you interview before getting your current position?

I had about half a dozen phone interviews, and a second phone interview with maybe four of those. I interviewed in-person with two, including the church that called me. (It's worth noting that the church that called me did not do a phone interview.)

Additionally, I did some form of "on-paper interview" with probably two dozen churches. They'll often send a questionnaire or application form that they have customized to bring answers to questions they believe to be the most important. These are more like interviews than they are anything else.

6. What are some helpful tips you would give to someone about to enter the process?

I would say the following:
~Start early and work hard
~Focus on making contact with opportunities through people you know
~Be prepared for a long and difficult process
~Be willing to open yourself up to a diverse range of opportunities
~Remind yourself often that your dignity, value before the Father, and eternal security as His son are not dependent upon this process

7. What was the process like for your wife?

It was hard-- without a doubt, it was probably harder for her than me in some ways. For one, she was left with a greater sense of being out of control in the process (which is a myth anyway, since none of us is in control of it!), which probably increased her anxiety about the future.

It was also very good for our marriage and family life, in some ways. We came to cherish the time we had to worship together, since we knew that there would be a day soon-coming when I would not be in the pew beside them on Sundays. We had a greater sense of dependence on one another, and mutually on the Lord, during our candidacy time than probably before or since.

Special Circumstances: the Assistant/Associate Pastor becomes the Senior, part two

2009-05-15T11:50:00.000-05:00

In part one, we considered why the hand-off is valuable. In this post, I want to consider the question, "Should the Associate/Assistant become the Senior?"

There are numerous circumstances in which the answer to that question ought to be a resounding, "YES!" and only a few in which the answer ought to be, "no." Think of it this way: below are some diagnostic questions about the Assistant/Associate Pastor which suggest reasons why the answer might be, "no." If a Search Committee can answer all of these questions in the negative, I see little reason why he should not be the primary choice for the next Senior Pastor. Furthermore, even if one or more is answered in the affirmative, this doesn't necessarily mean that he should NOT be the next Senior-- only that further consideration may be necessary.

Was the Assistant/Associate Pastor hired for a specific niche in ministry? It isn't uncommon for a church to bring on an Assistant or Associate Pastor for a very specific aspect of ministry. I don't mean something like, "Pastor of Adult Nurture" or "Minister to Families"-- these are broad enough to incorporate most, if not all, of the qualifications that a Senior Pastor would require, and are not a factor. But if your Assistant/Associate's title is, "Pastor of Junior High Guys," "Sports and Leisure Ministries Pastor" (I'm not making that one up, folks), or "Counseling and Grief Minister," it may be that they are too "niche" to easily make the transition. (It may also be that such a niche Pastor may not have the training, giftedness, or experience to be a Senior. Or he may-- that's not the point; the point is that his ministry among YOUR congregation has possibly been to narrow to effectively transition directly into the Senior Pastor role.)
Had the previous Senior Pastor been the Senior for a long time? Very often, a long pastorate by one Senior Pastor can lead to difficulty in adjusting for the next Senior Pastor-- as I discussed here. (This isn't a deal-breaker for the sort of succession I'm talking about; in fact, I think that good succession planning can be the solution to this problem.) If the Assistant/Associate being considered has not also been around for a while, it may be difficult to execute an effective hand-off. If he has been on staff for a couple of years, it's probably not going to be a factor-- and if he has been around for only a year but was brought in with an eye toward effective succession, it should be fine. But if the previous Senior was there for 15 years and the Associate has been there only six months, there may be difficulty in such a transition.
Did the previous Senior Pastor leave under difficult circumstances? Having a pastor-- any pastor-- leave under difficulty can cause instability in a church that should give way to further consideration about what is next. Here again, I believe that good succession by an existing Assistant/Associate Pastor may actually be the most healthy way to go-- but only if a couple of other factors are properly addressed:

- Was the Assistant/Associate a part of the difficulties that led to the previous Senior's departure? It isn't always the case, but sometimes a Senior's failure is due to factions and rifts that split off in support of other leadership, including an Assistant or Associate Pastor. If the Assistant/Associate was a part of such a circumstance, naming him as the new Senior will likely further the division in the church, not re-unify it for health and vitality. (And if the Assistant or Associate was actively involved-- in other words, he encouraged the division-- then he probably ought to be let go.)
- Has the congregation faced the circumstances surrounding the previous Senior's difficult departure honestly, and with repentance? When a church has problems enough for a pastor to leave poorly, everyone has some fault. Further, certain individuals within the congregation need to be rebuked and brought into accountability, with discipline if necessary; others need to be sought out for individual apology and asked for forgiveness. If the congregation has not owned its sin and sought repentance and forgiveness for it, they are not ready to be led yet. Better for the pastoral staff that remains to urge them toward the healing and health that comes with such repentance FIRST, and THEN work on who will be the next Senior Pastor.

Will the outgoing Senior Pastor remain in the area and involved in the life of the congregation (or has he)? Obviously, this is a factor in ANY new Senior Pastor's ministry-- a former Senior who lingers around can be a blessing of support, encouragement, and understanding of complex and history-filled circumstances. More often, however, he presents a difficulty for the new pastor in the newest of circumstances. With a succession, however, the problem becomes more complex: it is too easy for the members of the congregation to continue to relate to the former Senior Pastor as if he is still the Senior, and the new Senior Pastor (who was the former Assistant/Associate for the other guy) as if he is still the Assistant or Associate Pastor. (And if you think that sentence was confusing written out, just think how confusing it can get on a relational level.) Here again, this doesn't HAVE to be a deal-breaker-- but it certainly presents a context where executing an effective hand-off is harder and more complicated.

As I said before, an affirmative answer to one or even most of these does not necessarily indicate that it won't work! Only that further thought and consideration-- and probably a lot more pro-active planning than is usual-- will be required.

If, on the other hand, you have an existing Assistant or Associate Pastor, you're looking for a Senior Pastor, and none of the above apply, then why aren't you considering your Assistant/Associate as your primary (and maybe your only) candidate?

Help during difficult transitions due to economic distress

2009-05-13T15:47:00.000-05:00

Some pastors are apparently being let go during this economic recession, because their churches aren't able to pay them anymore (or at least, they aren't able to pay them adequately). Thankfully, I have not encountered this personally, nor has anyone that I know, to my knowledge.

However, I am greatly encouraged to see this: in my denomination (the Presbyterian Church in America), we have an "agency" of our denomination called Retirement and Benefits, Inc. (RBI) who have as a part of their charter and purpose the economic assistance of pastors, missionaries, and other ministry workers (and their families) during difficult times. For example, the have long had a "Ministerial Relief Fund" whose purpose is to assist church workers in the PCA through one-time, periodic, or monthly financial aid.

This has a number of dimensions-- but the newest to be introduced is called "Emergency Assistance" and has in view those pastors and missionaries who have lost their ministry jobs due to the recession. Naturally, there are some stipulations, and an application and approval process is required. Still, this is a great ministry to folks in the PCA.

To learn more about RBI's Emergency Assistance program, follow this link.

Does your denomination have a similar program in place? I'd love to know about it, so that we can post a link at Doulos Resources and mention it here on the blog. Please, let us know!

Responding to claims of seminary's irrelevance

2009-05-11T10:35:00.000-05:00

Over at Going to Seminary.com, a guy named Jake Belder has written a post entitled "Is Seminary Relevant? The Contra Argument". He offers 10 reasons why he believes seminaries are (or are becoming) irrelevant. [Update: Jake Belder is actually the editor of Going to Seminary.com; the post was written by Matt Cleaver.]

I call "bull" on all of them. Really-- he has substantial flaws in every argument. Let me address them each:

1. Seminaries remove people from ministry contexts.

What Belder is driving at here is that, for those already engaged in ministry, packing up and moving to seminary will take them out of that ministry. But he pre-supposes that moving to another city is a requisite for seminary training, and/or that it must be done immediately. This simply isn't the case: I know a number of guys who are involved in ministry (several as Interns) while pursuing seminary study at the same time. Distance learning, mentoring models, and well-planned internships can cover a substantial amount of seminary training without requiring a move at all. I've heard or read about at least a dozen different programs for overcoming this problem.

2. The process of seminary is no longer effective in preparing for ministry.

Belder says, "When the dominant church model was oral proclamation, reasoned argument, and apologetics, perhaps sitting in classrooms studying the minutiae of supralapsarianism, practicing speaking skills, and honing rhetoric was helpful. Today, however, we are moving past such a model..."
When was that? I can't remember an era in my church history classes (or in my classes on historic philosophy in undergrad, either) where this description fit the church in the way that Belder paints it.
That said, I will say this: if what Belder is saying is that studying theology, learning how to preach effectively, and dealing with matters of defending the faith is no longer effective, then it sounds to me like he is giving up the ship-- or at least, he is abandoning any biblical notion of what the church is.

3. Denominations are becoming a thing of the past.

This is surprising, because of the rise of denominational (and denomination-like) affiliation that I see today. Some of the biggest things happening in church ministry today are at least quasi-denominational in their organization: the Acts 29 Network, Sovereign Grace Ministries, the Gospel Coalition... all very much like denominations, if not overtly so. The Presbyterian Church in America, the Missouri-Synod Lutheran Church, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, and many smaller denominations are all seeing regular and, in some cases, substantial growth.
While the mainline denominations are in decline (even, surprisingly, the Southern Baptist Church), denominations are alive and well. So what is Belder's rationale? "Most of today’s younger generation could care less about denominations." Maybe that's true-- until they actually begin to engage in the life and ministry of the church and, sometime after they are the "younger generation," recognize that the church is something much bigger than themselves.

4. The future of ecclesiology is in the priesthood of all believers.

Newsflash: the past of ecclesiology was in the priesthood of all believers, as well. Oh, wait a minute-- Belder doesn't actually mean that in the way that Luther, Calvin, and others in church history did.
What Belder means is that the PASTORS won't be paid for their ministries anymore. "Many future church leaders will be bi-vocational, making a dedicated graduate degree impossible. Dedicating full-time graduate level study to something that doesn’t pay the bills is not a practical option." Where does he get this? And since when has this been true?
Thousands of pastors are bi-vocational TODAY. Hundreds of thousands have been throughout history. Most of them, by far, received advanced theological training to prepare them for ministry.

5. Seminaries are about credentialing as much as training.

There is absolutely a lot of truth in this. And that actually makes it a reason FOR seminary, not AGAINST it.
There MUST be some standard for training. Many congregations (and not a few denominations) take this far too lightly, and they do so at their own peril. When we (existing pastors, members of the church, etc.) see that a pastoral candidate has a Master of Divinity from a recognized seminary, we've just saved ourselves dozens of hours of examination and questioning, because we can (rightly) make some assumptions about how educated for ministry the guy is. This isn't a problem-- this is actually helpful, and good.
I'll give you a counterexample: I'm meeting with a guy who is NOT seminary-trained, who wants to plant a church (with a denomination that allows this). He's desperate for help getting up to speed on what he missed in seminary, because he KNOWS his credibility will instantly be in question once those who might consider his church learn that he hasn't been to seminary.

6. The cost is too high.

I'll grant that seminary is expensive. So is any other graduate education. But simply counting the cost by putting a dollar figure on it is irresponsible. Let's go the other direction: what happens if we do away with seminary as we know it today, and everyone is basically self-taught. The local church becomes the classroom, and real live saints become the guinea pigs for pastoral learning-- less pastoral care and of lesser quality, coupled with greater division among believers (largely due to poor leadership), fewer conversions because of lower quality teaching and preaching, and a general atrophy of the church. How's that for costly?
On the other hand, how about run in the other direction: let's pour MORE money into seminary, and make them even better. What if the quality of leadership being turned out by seminaries was so high that we actually saw an increase in conversions and an advancement in discipleship-- which resulted in higher giving as a consequence?

7. Resources are becoming available for little to no cost.

I can't believe he put this one back to back with #6. Who are those resources being made available by? SEMINARIES!
There are a few other groups doing some modest work here, but by far the vast preponderance of free and low-cost theological materials being made available are offered by seminaries, which alone proves their relevance and their ability to keep up with technological trends, while at the same time making their very relevant training available more locally and organically.

8. Technology has made brick-and-mortar institutions less important.

I think this one betrays an equivocation of seminary training with plain "book learnin'."
The very reason it is called "seminary" (instead of simply graduate school or, in some cases, "divinity" school) is because of the seminar aspect, i.e., the face-to-face interaction with others. You cannot replicate that via technology-- not now, at least. Consider this a serious threat to the seminary as we now know it when Facebook, chat rooms, and conference calls are replaced with holographic conferencing that allows dozens of people to interact in the same "space" while physically remaining remote from one another. Until then, the face-to-face and in-person quality of seminary is too valuable to write off as irrelevant simply because I can listen to a professor's lecture via podcast.

9. You learn too much too quickly.

Belder's alternative: "A more sustainable model would be to take one or two classes at a time, take steps to implement those classes, and then move to the next topic." Talk about costly! For the 104 credit hours that I completed for my seminary degree, this approach would take about eleven and a half years of year-round study, assuming I took no breaks and was able to get three classes learned and "implemented" during that time.
But again, Belder is missing the point of seminary. NO ONE looks back on seminary and believes that they learned everything they needed to know; frankly, only the most naïve students enter seminary thinking that they will learn even most of what they will need to know for ministry. Neither, by the way, did the doctor that you go to for medical care learn everything he needed to know while in Med school; yet, surprisingly, most of us still see the relevance of Medical school training!
I've said before, maybe 50% of seminary is bibliographic: you're not learning all of the data you'll need, you're gathering the resources you'll need so that you know where to go for information when you need it. Add that to the widespread presence of field education requirements, internships, and other ways to integrate learning while in seminary, and #9 is a non-factor.

10. Seminaries usurp the role of the church.

Belder goes even further: "The fact that training has been outsourced to the seminaries is a sign of a failure of the church." Wait a minute, though-- did he just say (in #3) that, "many seminaries are bastions of denominational conformity and preservation"?
The seminary I attended was the seminary of my denomination-- as such, we view it as an extension of the local church, and consider its leaders as a part of our church. Even when a seminary is not denominationally-affiliated (which many aren't), it is incredibly short-sighted to state outright that the seminary is at odds with the church in this way. I think that Belder does not display a view of "church" that goes much beyond the local congregational level.
Nevertheless, he complains that seminary-level training ought to be the role of the local church, not an outsourced institution. Fair enough; how will the leaders of that church be trained? Probably by other leaders, right? And what happens when those who are newly-trained for ministry are released, and they themselves begin to train others-- will they be equipped to do so? Probably not, at least not at that level, and not immediately. It may be, therefore, that they look to the "mother church" that sent them to help with training. In fact, it may be the case that one larger, established and more central church equips several church planters, who then send leaders back up to the mother church for training initially, and so on. Is this not effectively a denominational seminary, writ smaller?

All in all, what bothers me the most about Belder's claims is that he is still in seminary while writing them-- thus, lacking the benefit of actually being a pastor to evaluate whether the training he is now receiving will be relevant for him or not. Ironically, he admits that he is in a program at Luther (shhh-- it's a seminary!) that has demonstrated to him how seminaries can adapt to cultural changes and remain irrelevant. Which is it?

Special Circumstances: the Assistant/Associate Pastor becomes the Senior, part one

2009-04-29T10:57:00.000-05:00

One of my "dreams" for the church is that pastoral transitions would go more smoothly for most, if not all, churches. I am convinced that one way for this to happen more frequently is if the transition is a planned "hand-off" of the outgoing Pastor's rather than a "from-scratch" restart of pastoral ministry every time the Senior Pastor (or any other pastoral staff member) leaves. I want to focus on this topic with a short series. There are four areas to consider:

Why a "hand-off" is valuable
Should the Associate/Assistant become the Senior?
Strategies for the newly named Senior Pastor
Planning for succession

I'll look at all three in their own post, starting with the first in this post.

Why would a church, or a search committee, consider naming one of their Assistant or Associate Pastors as their new Senior Pastor? Maybe a better question is, why wouldn't they consider it?

I'm often surprised that this is not considered a more viable option than it is. After all, in every other area of our lives, we would expect this to be the case: a hard-working employee might get first consideration for a promotion to management. A natural leader on an athletic team will be named as captain. An effective Sunday School teacher might be nominated for a church office. In almost every circumstance, it is not difficult to imagine that someone who proves their capacities in one area will be seriously considered in a similar area.

Why is it so difficult to imagine the same thing happening with a pastor? I can see three reasons that immediately commend giving serious consideration to an Assistant or Associate Pastor for any church that is seeking a Senior Pastor:

His abilities are known. Quite often, an Assistant or Associate Pastor has already demonstrated his abilities in most, if not all, of the areas of responsibility that the Senior Pastor might have. In many cases, he was what I call the "dump guy"-- in other words, everything that the Senior Pastor didn't have time for that week got dumped on his desk! Which means that he likely has a broad range of competencies, the capacities to handle many things competing for his attention, and the ability to get done the most important parts of ministry. You've probably heard him teach plenty, and unless the previous Senior was a pulpit despot, you've heard him preach a good bit, too.
His weaknesses are known. This one might be more important even than the first, because these are the things that are difficult, if not impossible, to get a sense of in a typical candidacy process (with resumés, interviews, etc.). You already know where he's going to be a disappointment! What is more, you've probably already gotten over the disappointment he'll bring in those areas, and have accepted those weaknesses along with all of the strengths and abilities that make him a good Associate Pastor. In short, the "honeymoon" ended a while ago-- and you're still together, even though you have a clear sense of what his ministry among your congregation will really be like. How much is it worth not having to go through those disappointments again?
His character is known. By this I mean, he has already earned the trust of the congregation, or at least of a significant part of it. No new Pastor, be they a Senior or Assistant, fresh from seminary or a well-known name in the denomination, has enough credibility to instantly have the trust of a congregation. Sure, there will be some who got to know him through the interviews and like him a lot, and there may even be some who know his name from a conference where he spoke or an article he wrote for the denominational magazine. But if he is new, most of the congregation will not grant him their explicit trust right away. Meanwhile, your existing Assistant or Associate has already done the groundwork to earn their trust, and he now has it. Which means that real ministry can actually happen.

Another way to think about this is by way of generalities. Generally speaking, most pastors say they were not able to have a true, impacting ministry until they had been at a church for five to seven years, minimum. Yet, the statistical average of how long a pastor remains at a church is somewhere around two years. See the problem?

Now, I know what you're thinking: of course, your next Senior Pastor won't be one of those who leaves in around two years. Of course, your next Senior will have true, lasting impact almost right out of the gates. Of course, your church isn't anything like the average church out there.

But if your congregation would name an Assistant or Associate Pastor as the new Senior, you've just done two things to counteract those two statistical points. First, you've all but guaranteed that he'll stay longer than the statistical average, because he's already been there for a little while, and now he'll stay longer than he might have otherwise. Second, you have just shaved off however many years he has already been there from that 5-7 year turning point: his real impact as your Senior Pastor will come a lot sooner, because he already had gotten through the "honeymoon" and earned the trust of the congregation.

There are some circumstances when the existing Assistant or Associate would NOT be a good fit for the Senior Pastor role; I'll consider these in part two. Barring them, however, I would challenge you to think in these terms:

If your existing Assistant or Associate Pastor is not fit to be considered as the next Senior Pastor, then what justifies keeping him on staff in his current capacity?

What are their expectations?

2009-04-24T09:43:00.000-05:00

Here's an interesting and helpful idea from David Gordon at Gordon-Conwell Seminary:

Dr. Kenneth Swetland, from Gordon-Conwell, recommended a good practice for our students when they were candidating for church positions: that in the later stages of that process, whenever possible, the candidate meet with the appropriate committee and, with a chalkboard or whiteboard, ask the committee members what they expected a minister to do. Dr. Swetland recommended that after listing the variety of activities on the board, the candidate then ask the committee how much time it would take to perform these tasks, including the preparation time. Ordinarily, the result of this exercise is that the committee realizes that the minister is expected to work about seventy-five hours a week, and also to be a good example of a family man!

[T. David Gordon, Why Johnny Can't Preach (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Books, 2009), p. 107.]

When the search lingers... part 2

2009-04-10T15:50:00.000-05:00

As I highlighted in my last post on this subject, the core factor here is, are you called to serve in pastoral ministry? If the answer is "yes" then nothing-- not economic crises, not the reality of more seminarians to "compete" with for a position, not the length of time since you began earnestly seeking placement-- NOTHING should keep you from continuing to pursue the fulfillment of that call.

How should someone whose candidacy process has stretched well past his expectations, who is discouraged and heavy-hearted, who has begun to despair of finding placement and has even questioned whether God is truly calling him into ministry-- how should such a man continue to pursue placement into ministry?

To begin with, he ought to continue to serve whenever possible. Are there Sunday School classes to be taught at his church? He should make it clear that he is available to teach them. Are there other volunteer opportunities? Again, he should avail the church of his gifts and service if possible. Can he continue to serve in pulpit supply for area churches that need a preacher? The more the better.

There are a few reasons why. For one thing, ongoing service like this will keep him from getting "rusty"-- his skills and abilities will grow sharper, not more dull, with continued use. He'll actually continue to grow in the calling God has given him, not become stagnant. The discouragement he has from the absence of placement will be tempered somewhat by the opportunity to fulfill, at least in a small measure, the calling that he longs to have made complete.

It will help his candidacy, as well: churches aren't looking for someone who was seminary-trained a while back but shelved his education until he was paid to use it; they are looking for men whose sense of service to the church and Kingdom compel them to find any opportunity to use their gifts for God. They are seeking churchmen-- and a churchman will use all of the resources available to him to serve in all of the capacities available to him.

Such a candidate might also continue to advance his training and education. A "joke" at the seminary I finished was that, if you weren't placed by graduation, you could always start a Master of Theology (Th.M.) degree. While this was offered tongue-in-cheek, there's certainly no harm in continuing to learn and grow as a candidate awaits God's timing for placement. Whether it is a Th.M., a counseling program, a doctoral degree, or some other pursuit, he might seriously consider further academic work.

It doesn't have to be an either-or proposition, either. In most cases, degree programs like this can be completed, at least in part, by distance education-- so if he were to place before finishing the degree, he could continue to make progress (though he would certainly want to slow down!). He shouldn't see this option as "giving up" on placement; instead, he ought to continue to pursue placement while working on his ongoing training.

He also shouldn't feel like he must start another degree, either. There are plenty of seminars and workshops that he could attend; for example, I've mentioned the "From Embers to a Flame" conference on church vitality and revitalization that is a great four-day learning opportunity. There are probably short classes (week-long, or weekends) at the seminary he graduated from, which he could enroll in (perhaps at a discounted rate-- my alma mater offers such classes for free to alumni). Continuing to advance his learning doesn't have to be a long-term commitment.

Long-term or not, what it will be is an opportunity to gain more than what he was offered in his existing seminary degree. I know of no one who is in ministry who can report that seminary prepared them for everything. Every class, workshop, conference, or degree that a graduate accrues is an advantage to him and to his future ministry in this way. (And don't think that search committees won't recognize this, either-- they know as well as anyone that more training and education almost always means "better-equipped.")

Another thing he might begin (or continue) to do: cast an ever-widening net in his candidacy efforts. If he has been searching for an Assistant Pastor role, then he might open up his options to Solo Pastoral positions as well. If he has been looking only in a single denomination, he might also look in like-minded sister denominations. If he's been looking only in presbyterian circles, he might consider a more broadly Reformed circle. There are many avenues where he could expand your search without compromising crucial convictions.

I've blogged about this before, too-- and the longer I'm in ministry, the more I appreciate (and agree with) the advice that my friend Joe Novenson offered concerning that circumstance: there is more agreement, generally, than there is disagreement among brothers and sisters in Christ. Joe said, "I have more in common with my fellow pastors, even in congregations of very different theological convictions, than I do with an unbeliever who shares my political and social agenda."

This isn't to say that we should quickly abandon our theological distinctives for the sake of a pastoral call. But it does emphasize how much room there is to cast a wider net in our search.

When the search lingers... part 1

2009-04-05T14:39:00.000-05:00

A seminary graduate recently wrote to me, asking for advice. He graduated from seminary over two years ago, but has not yet found placement into a pastoral call. He has made it to the "short list" a few times, and actually beyond that once or twice. He feels the pressure of the fact that every semester more seminary-trained men enter the ministry field, and he knows that the economic pressures on churches may be causing some to stave off of hiring when they otherwise might. He wonders what advice I might have for him.

I imagine that this man is not alone; there are many guys who graduate without a call, and many go on to linger in their candidacy process for a while-- months, even years pass before they reach a point of resolution. For some, the eventual resolution is placement; for others, it is a decision to abandon the search for pastoral placement (for good or for now) and move on to other things. Regardless, this young man is in a difficult position.

What advice would I have for him? First let me say that I am certain that his level of discouragement is quite high. I know that it must be so difficult to persevere! I know men who have given up; some of them, I am convinced, should not have given up-- I am as sure as I could be that God had called them into ministry. And I know others who persevered, some for longer than you have, and they are now well-placed and thriving in the ministry God had been preparing for them.

Thus, I'll offer two responses: first, some thoughts about how to continue to discern a calling to pastoral ministry; second (in another post), a few things to "do" to continue and press on.

I know that many seminarians sense an inward call to ministry; I trust that, and consider that to be a foundational aspect of a call to ministry-- but it is one aspect of a few. I would say, with confidence, that there are two other aspects.

First, is there a "scriptural" call to ministry? We must ask ourselves, what does the Bible teach about those who are called to ministry? One way to proceed with considering whether you should continue to pursue a pastoral call might be to dig deeply into a study of the Word. Do a survey of those who served as leaders throughout the Scriptures, and consider whether there are normative factors in their calling. Dig into Paul's teachings on gifts, and look at what gifts he teaches are crucial for leadership and servanthood in the pastoral office. Do some serious exegetical work in the pastoral epistles and construct a biblical portrait of the Elder/Overseer. Study the writings of Peter, James, and John on those who lead the church.

There is more study to do here than most have time to complete between now and when the Lord places them! I would strongly suggest spending devotional time in this sort of study-- so that daily, in their time in the Word, a candidate is more deeply affirmed from Scripture of their call to ministry. (Incidentally, if God is NOT calling them into ministry, such a study should reveal that to their hearts, as well.)

Also, is there an external call to ministry? At a point where the search for placement has gone well-beyond what we would think of as a "normal" length of time, the fact that someone hasn't yet received a ministerial call might suggest that there is not an external call. A candidate shouldn't let this be the final decision-factor, however. Instead, they should ask, "Who first encouraged me to attend seminary, and why? How was I affirmed in my call to ministry by seminary professors and classmates? What do those who I served-- and those whom I served under-- during field education and/or internships have to say about affirming my call to ministry? Am I involved in leadership in the church now-- and if so, what do those whom I serve under say about a call into ministry?"

Between now and when they first were led to begin seminary study, there should be many people-- dozens? more than that?-- who have first-hand experience with their ministry, and who can speak honestly and informedly to whether they see God calling them into ministry. The candidate must find them, and ask them. He must invite them to be frank, even blunt with him. If they have any love for the church and for the candidate, they will tell him whether they see God calling him to ministry.

Big list of links

2009-03-03T15:50:00.000-06:00

I've been working to update my list of links for placement and transition help. I've added a bunch of denominational and school links, as well as a good number of others. I've been prowling around for these for several years now, and I think this is the largest list I've ever seen compiled in one place.

If you want to make use of this master list, you can see it on the Doulos Resources website under "Placement Links".

Clergy tax preparation

2009-02-27T09:10:00.001-06:00

As I have mentioned before, being in ordained pastoral ministry affords a number of wonderful tax benefits. It also brings a number of tax peculiarities. (This is doubly true if you have chosen to opt out of Social Security and the rest.)

Having access to a good CPA or tax preparer-- and one who is familiar with clergy tax law-- is a great help. The trouble is, they can sometimes be difficult to find.

I know of three:

Deborah Lee, St. Louis, MO. 314-821-2560. deborah.a.lee@tax.hrblock.com
Doug Neal, Columbia, SC 29204. (803) 787-7017.
Brenda Paoni, Cordova, TN 38018. (901) 757-8866.

Deborah recently wrote a short tax guide for seminary students for goingtoseminary.com. I don't know her personally, but she's a graduate of my seminary alma mater, and we know some people in common. I've known Doug for years, and he has prepared my taxes before. Brenda currently handles our taxes. All three should be able to help you with yours, if you find yourself in need of a tax preparer who is acquainted with the nuances of clergy tax law.

Special circumstances: The unintentional interim

2009-02-25T09:28:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine recently learned-- the hard way-- that he was in a type of position I call the "unintentional interim."

Here's the lay of the land: the pastor that served this congregation before my friend was their pastor for several decades. He was beloved by his people, and served them faithfully. This isn't to say that there were not surely more difficult times, but over their many years together they learned how to weather those difficult seasons more easily. By the end of his tenure as their pastor, his ministry was marked more by how well he knew his flock-- and how instinctively he could attend to their needs-- than by anything else.

Because of health difficulties with this long-tenured, outgoing pastor, it wasn't possible to execute a well-planned, thoughtful hand-off from him to his successor. It may be the case that such a hand-off was not in view at all, or that circumstances didn't allow one to take place. Regardless, there was only so much that was done to ensure that the new pastor would be empowered for a long, effective ministry.

In comes my friend: new to pastoral ministry and fresh out of seminary, hopeful for a fruitful and long ministry among his new congregation. Over the course of his first two years of ministry there, however, it became clear to him that a portion of the congregation wasn't ready for a new pastor; consciously or not, they still wanted their beloved former pastor instead of this new fellow. Before long, it was apparent that my friend's only true choice was to resign and move on.

Why it didn't work
There are a small handful of factors at play that are unique to that particular pastor and congregation, and I won't address those. However, there are several factors that are true of nearly all churches with a long- (or longer) tenured pastor that, in this case, led to the failure of his successor. We can recognize and avoid these.

They needed to grieve the loss of their beloved pastor. When a pastor leaves, the congregation needs to deal with the sense of loss they experience. This is true regardless of the circumstances of the pastor's departure, but particularly in cases where the pastor was loved and isn't leaving under duress or troublesome conditions. In some cases, the outgoing pastor retires in the area, stays on as an emeritus pastor, or in some way remains present-- and in many ways, this can be even worse. There is still a substantial sense of loss ("he is no longer my pastor") that a congregant can be made to feel like he/she shouldn't have ("at least he's still in the area"). There must be a good, healthy grieving by the whole congregation, especially the leadership and others who were personally close to the outgoing pastor.
They needed to actively plan the hand-off. Churches-- and especially the leadership, be it a Session, a Board, or what have you-- must address confidently and realistically the need for a succession plan. Many avoid this because they fear it will stir up concern among the members, or make a pastor feel like he is being pushed out. But the truth is that there is going to be a hand-off whether you plan for it or not. So you may as well plan for it, to ensure that it is done as well as possible. This should take place well before the pastor plans or needs to leave. I recommend highly the book on this subject called The Elephant in the Boardroom by Carolyn Weese and J. Russell Crabtree (Jossey-Bass, 2004) for guidance on how to do this well.
They needed to seek someone similar, but not identical, to the outgoing pastor. This was one of the factors that, in some ways, created the biggest problems for my classmate: his style of relating to the congregation was fairly different from his predecessor, if for no other reason than my friend didn't have 20+ years of history with them. Their preaching styles were quite different as well. This is common in pastoral transition for a church; consciously or unconsciously, they think, "this is our chance to fill in the gaps that we realize were missing with our previous/outgoing pastor." What they need, though, is someone who will expand the pastor's ministry to meet some of the most important needs that the previous pastor wasn't able to touch on, while not sacrificing the most important needs that the previous pastor DID meet. This can be difficult, but it almost always means finding someone who is like the outgoing pastor in many ways.
They needed to be patient and forgiving. In many ways, they tried their best to do this-- and that is to their credit. Anytime a church gets a new pastor, there must be a season where everyone extends an extra measure of grace and forgiveness to each other, and especially to the new pastor. Most pastors are given this grace period, at least to a degree; in some ways, it happens whether the congregation is intentional about it or not. For someone following a long-tenured pastor, it ought to be consciously and intentionally offered, and it ought to be for a longer time period than "normal" (which is usually between 6 months and a year, at most). I'd like to see such a grace-period last at least 18 months to two years for such a church.
They needed to work with him in his ministry. One of the big differences between a long-term pastor and a newcomer-- especially when the new pastor is recently out of seminary-- is that the seasoned, long-tenured pastor has a clear understanding of both role and expectations. The new pastor needs to be counseled in both in a helpful, godly manner by the leadership of the church. For a very new pastor, this may be as basic as helping him learn what it means to be an Elder in the church! He simply may not have enough experience to know how to do things like visitation, counseling, etc. Even an experienced pastor might be helped by some frank discussions about how the pastor has fulfilled his role in this congregation's past. There must also be clear, upfront discussion about expectations. It is too easy for a congregation to assume that the incoming pastor knows and shares their expectations-- but they should assume nothing of the sort. Instead, they should assume that the most helpful thing they could do-- for themselves and for the incoming pastor-- would be to spell out their expectations in as concrete a manner as possible.
They should have seriously considered an interim pastor. An interim pastor is a vital help in a time like this. One of the things we in my denomination (the PCA) could learn from our brothers in another related denomination (the PC-USA) is how they handle long-tenured pastorates: they actually require that an interim pastor be brought in for a season of time, and that season's length corresponds to how long the outgoing pastor had been there. This affords everyone-- the officers, the lay-leadership, the congregation, the community around the church-- an opportunity to proactively think and plan for how the church's ministry and community will be inherently different, and how to maintain continuity as well.

Objectively, the reasons for my friend's resignation weren't entirely the fault of the congregation or leadership. They offered to him particular reasons why they felt it wasn't working out, and asked for change and improvement in several concrete areas. Even here, however, these things cannot be taken at full face-value; because of the factors above, it is difficult to distinguish which of their reasons and concerns are the fruit of an impossible comparison to the former pastor, and which are objectively legitimate.

In the end, my friend didn't have a strong hope of lasting long at this church. As I said, he unintentionally became the interim pastor that they needed. Thankfully, he maintains his commitment to his call to ministry and intends to pursue another opportunity; sadly, I fear that too many men, otherwise well-qualified for pastoral ministry, would leave the ministry after an experience like this one.

The bottom line: churches and pastors alike would do quite well to be cautious in such situations and recognize the dangers of an unintentional interim.

Two new resources

2009-01-13T16:50:00.000-06:00

Here are a couple of new resources you might be interested in:

Covenant Discipleship Communicant's Curriculum. My good friend and colleague, Richard Burguet, and I have been working on this together for years, and have finally seen it come to the point we've been hoping for. You can learn about about it, and order it, through Doulos Resources (which is a new ministry I'm involved with, and this blog is now co-hosted by Doulos Resources).
PCA Housing Allowance Form. If you're a pastor in the PCA, this is the time of year to declare your housing allowance for tax and legal purposes. Here's a form I created to make this a neat and clean endeavor-- and I've even built a form into the PDF so you can enter the data before printing it out. (While you're there, check out the other Transition tools we've been posting-- and there are more coming soon!)

Stuart Briscoe on mechanics and dynamics

2008-12-04T13:17:00.000-06:00

Stuart Briscoe captures an idea that I tried to get to a while back-- how my research and writing has focused primarily on mechanics and not essentially on dynamics (I didn't use those terms then).

By and large, I have assumed the dynamics at work-- and that candidates are attending to that aspect, as well. I think now that this might be an presumption that there isn't always grounds to make, but for now I will stick with it. (I've been thinking that a book on the spiritual/dynamic aspects of transition might be worth writing, as well.)

Here's how Briscoe describes the differences-- and the interplay-- between the two:

The Promised overflow of "living water" commensurate with the requisite input of life through communion with Christ is the work of the Holy Spirit, as John carefully and helpfully explains in John 7:39. There is nothing hidden or mysterious about the reception of the Holy Spirit. John tells us that it is those who "believe on" Jesus who receive the Holy Spirit. Sadly, I think we should admit that some segments of the church neglected the Holy Spirit, and in a commendable effort to redress this imbalance, other brothers and sisters addressed the person and work of the Spirit but produced an imbalance in the opposite direction. Tensions and temperatures arose, and divisions resulted, but fortunately, in more recent times, wiser heads have prevailed and a much clearer consensus on the person and work of the Holy Spirit has been forged. Having said that, I still believe that particularly in the Western church the Holy Spirit is too often deprived of his proper standing. Let me illustrate.

People where I live love their Harley-Davidson motorcycles, which is not altogether surprising, since they are built in Milwaukee. I know nothing about such vehicles, but I do know that my friends take great interest in the mechanical workings of their machines and lavish infinite care over the appearance of their expensive toys. I also know that all the oiling and polishing, fine-tuning and decorating are of no avail if they run out of gas. Even the mechanical masterpieces we call Harley-Davidsons are useless without the dynamic to drive them. They need mechanics and dynamics-- and so do we! And so does the church. The Holy Spirit provides the dynamic-- he is the dynamic.

So great is our commitment to the thought patterns of the modern world that assume every effect has a traceable, measurable, and understandable cause, that we assume that if we get the causes right or fix them when they are not right, we can guarantee the effects. So we have seven steps to this and five principles of that. We have five-year plans full of goals and measurable goals and intermediate goals, all of which we believe can be reached if we take the right steps and organise sufficient resources. Then if we can keep the program running smoothly-- presto!-- the kingdom will be built. But what of the mysterious, unmanageable, uncontrollable, unpredictable, irresistible, indefinable, unmistakable work of the Spirit? He is the dynamic factor without whom our latest state-of-the-art, cutting-edge technology and know-how and our most sophisticated management principles are useless to penetrate the closed minds, to open blind eyes, to demolish the spiritual strongholds, and to work the miracle of regeneration. The Holy Spirit's dynamic working in the hearts of individual believers and the soul of the community of faith must not be lost in the gloss of our sophistication and the polish of our performance. he works as he chooses, not as we plan. If we overlook this, the more likely it is that we will finish with a manmade system of canals and locks rather than a free network of brooks, streams, and rivers flowing into the brimming river of the relentless life-transforming work of the Spirit of God. True, we will be able to keep control, and undoubtedly we can regulate the depth of the water, organise the times when the locks are open and shut, and manage the order in which the boats pass through. But canals don't flow; they stagnate.

[From Flowing Streams: Journeys of a Life Well-Lived by Stuart Briscoe. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008, pp. 198-199.]

Stuart Briscoe on choosing candidates

2008-11-17T12:23:00.001-06:00

One added benefit of the [Elmbrook Church] Study Center became evident over the years as more and more people who would never have gone to seminary completed the training we offered (all the time supporting themselves in their secular jobs and pursuing their ministries in the church. This meant that when we had a vacancy on the staff or an opportunity to develop a new ministry, we didn't have to look very far for a suitable person to give leadership. "Look under your nose first" became a rule of thumb as we built our pastoral team. Added to this, we had a system of internships in which young college students who had shown gifts and aptitudes compatible with ministry were invited to spend a summer working with us at the church. Over the years a number of them found their way into pastoral ministry or missionary activity. Little tributaries were flowing in many directions.
I am not at all enthusiastic about modern methods of "recruiting and hiring" in which resumes of hundreds of people are gathered, endless procedures of vetting and interviewing ensue, various "candidates" are displayed, and eventually one person survives the process. While one church is satisfied and one pastor is happy, many ministries are disrupted, dozens of ministers are distracted, and most of them are disappointed. This issue came to a head early in my ministry when I presented someone as a suitable member of the pastoral staff to the church leaders. One of them asked me, "How many people have you interviewed for this position?"

"One," I replied.

"One?" he questioned, startled. Then he added, "How can you possibly know he's the best person for the job?"

"I don't," I freely admitted. "But I know him, I know his heart, I know what he can do and what he can't do, and I think I know where he can grow. In addition he knows us and he has no illusions about what he's getting into. So why look any further? He may not be the 'best,' but he's one of ours and certainly good enough. And why should we have the best anyway?" I happen to believe good enough is good enough-- and in a fallen world, there's no such thing as perfection.

[From Flowing Streams: Journeys of a Life Well-Lived by Stuart Briscoe. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008, p. 133.]

Happy Reformation Day-- another free book

2008-10-31T16:46:00.001-05:00

Happy Reformation Day from Placement Reflections (and Ligonier Ministries).

Twins update

2008-10-24T12:04:00.001-05:00

Marcie is scheduled for a C-Section today at 4pm! Caroline's fluid levels were still low this morning, so the doctor felt that the safest thing would be to move ahead.

As of yesterday, all indications were that both girls (well, all three really) are healthy. Both twins are over 5 pounds, both are showing signs of breathing movement, etc. Marcie is 34½ weeks right now, and 36 is considered full-term for twins-- which means that they were pretty close.

Marcie is feeling well, though a bit tired-- and both hungry and thirsty, since she hasn't had anything to eat or drink since midnight or so. She's a little anxious about the surgery, anesthesia, etc., but is otherwise bearing up.

Please join us in praying:

For Marcie's preparation and endurance for surgery
That the surgery would go smoothly, without pain or complication
For the health of the twins and Marcie as they come out of delivery
For wisdom about follow-up issues: whether the twins need intensive care, how long before they could come home, etc.

An open letter to the organizing generation

2008-10-16T09:09:00.001-05:00

This is a re-post from my Pastor's Blog, originally posted on 10/9/2008...

To the generation of faithful men who, as Pastors and Elders, led the formation of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA):

Dear fathers in the faith,

Thank you for the work that you did 35 years ago, in the years leading up to then, and in the years that followed. You stood against attacks on orthodoxy and biblical truth and refused to compromise in your deep commitments to the authority of Scripture and to the faithful teaching and preaching of the Bible. At great sacrifice, personally and-- in many cases-- professionally, you remained faithful to the essential convictions that the truth of Scripture was the final authority for faith and practice.

With grief and mourning, you fought for orthodoxy in a denomination that seemed committed against it, and when you recognized that you would not win that battle, you chose to separate and form a denomination for whom the commitments to the authority of Scripture, the faithful teaching of the biblical gospel, and the brotherly association of congregations would always remain pre-eminent. What you did was difficult and costly, yet, unselfishly, you did it for the sake of the gospel and Christ’s church.

Thank you. For your convictions, commitments, sacrifices, and leadership, Thank you.

The PCA is a wonderful denomination to serve in, and I am so grateful for her. Since her foundations, she has grown substantially through the efforts of church planting. Other congregations, seeking a friendly orthodoxy, have found refuge here. The uniting of two like-minded denominations increased the PCA’s size, stature, and reach in many ways. Ministries conventional and unconventional, in all manner of contexts and to all manner of people-groups, have spread the good news of Christ’s Kingdom where it was absent before. A worldwide emphasis on missions has made the PCA one of the strongest missionary denominations in the country. All of this had its seed in your labor to form this new denomination.

I hope you hear in my words above a sincere admiration, appreciation, and gratitude for your labor and service. I have only respect and praise for you. I know that you love the PCA deeply. I have come to love the PCA too-- not in the same ways that you do, of course, but deeply nevertheless. So I hope you will therefore receive the following questions in all sincerity, not as attacks or dismissals, nor as trick questions or traps. They are asked out of love, for you and for our denomination, and most of all, for Christ and His gospel.

Through the years, you have remained vigilant in your efforts to protect the PCA from “liberal” theology. Again, thank you for this. But are there other things that we must be vigilant against as well? In the past 35 years, our culture has largely shifted from a world that generally believes in Christianity-- or at least something close too it-- and needs the perfecting of their belief, to a world where Christianity and anything close to it falls under suspicion. Is the new fight for the PCA not merely a battle against liberalism, but also against unbelief itself? In your wisdom, how might we find a balance between these two fronts?
Surely theology is essential; we must have sound, biblical theology taught in our churches, as you have, for so long, labored for. But is not orthopraxy as important as orthodoxy? I’m thinking of Luke 8:21 and James 1:22-25 in this question. Of what use is our sound theology if it is not merely taught, but also practiced? How deeply do we understand our commitments to the doctrines of grace, if we are not consequently gracious? How much have we understood the Father’s mercy, if we are not merciful as the Father is merciful? From your experience, how might you advise the next generations of Pastors and Elders to live out the grace of God?
You have shown through the years a great effectiveness for building and growing the church, and we are indebted to your capability in this way. The Book of Church Order is a model of efficiency and the very embodiment of gracious church governance, and the practices of worship and other ministry that have defined the PCA for the past decades have driven many to have a deeper heart of worship and a greater understanding of the truth. Are there ways to accomplish ministry in strict accordance with the principles that undergird our denomination without following the form and practice those have taken historically? As I consider Paul’s ability to adjust his ministry style and approach to accommodate the hearer without compromising the truth (Acts 17; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23), I wonder if we have granted the freedom of our ministers to do the same. Have we constrained our people not only in principle but in practice?
Your readiness to defend against true theological threats is so valuable, and needed. Yet we often perceive threats where there are none, particularly when we have been attacked before. Is there a way to remain vigilant against heterodoxy without operating from a default posture of suspicion? Practically, it seems that an initially defensive response becomes a hindrance to growth and ministry. Biblically, Paul challenges us to deal lovingly with each other, even when declaring-- and defending-- the truth (Ephesians 4:15), and to hope and believe out of love that our brothers are acting in earnest (1 Corinthians 13:7). Shouldn’t our attitudes toward one another at presbytery and General Assembly meetings-- toward fellow Ruling and Teaching Elders in good standing-- embody this loving, trusting spirit?
You were right to depart from a body that had abandoned its commitment to biblical truth. Yet, could it be that a contributing factor that drove them toward liberalism was a deep association of conservative theology with unloving, ungracious practice? Christ is a model of commitment to true orthodoxy in the face of bad theology, yet his manner toward even those with whom he disagreed was vitally loving and gracious (Mark 10:17-22; Luke 13:34). Ought not our practice toward one another-- and even toward those who oppose us-- be so gracious and loving that they may not mistake false teachings and poor theology as more closely following the model of Christ?

I am among the newest to join you as a Teaching Elder, Pastor, and Presbyter-- I haven’t yet been ordained for a year, and I’ve barely been a member of my presbytery a year. I wasn’t yet one year old when you were instrumental in forming the PCA. While I have enjoyed membership in the PCA for almost 20 years, and service in (non-ordained) ministry for 12, I realize that, often, I may be too young and too inexperienced, too brash and overconfident to know very well what I speak of. Had I not been confirmed in my thoughts by many other brothers-- some of whom have many more years of experience than I-- I may be inclined to second-guess myself here, as well.

I pray that these questions might be received for what they are: a genuine hope for the ever-increasing fulfillment of our vows to be zealous and faithful in maintaining the truths of the gospel and the purity, peace, and unity of the Church.

Your servant,
Ed Eubanks, Jr.

Sermon preparation and delivery, part 1

2008-10-14T20:29:00.001-05:00

A few people have asked me about my preaching practices lately-- specifically, how I prepare for preaching, and what I do while I'm actually preaching. I'm going to spend a few posts working through this.

Fundamentals

The first thing you should know is that I primarily preach verse-by-verse, chapter-by-chapter through books, in an expository* manner. When I started my ministry at Hickory Withe Presbyterian Church, I began preaching through the book of Luke. We have taken a couple of breaks from Luke, and in those times I have preached a series on the cross and a series on the Lord's Supper. Even in those cases, nearly all of my sermons are expository.

Expository preaching through a book has the side benefit of having a clear picture of "what's next." There's little mystery about where I'll preach next week, if this week I finished out chapter eight. So that is one part of my preparation that I don't have to think about week-to-week.

Another thing that is important to get clear is that I work ahead. I've been slowly worked ahead further and further for a number of months now, and I'm getting close to being as ahead as I want to be (for the time being, at least). I got ahead by increments: the first week, I developed a rough outline (proposition and main points only) for that week's text as well as the next three weeks after it. The week after that, my rough outline was already done-- so I took that time to build in more detail on the other outlines. The third week I drafted rough outlines for the next month, and in the fourth I fleshed them out more, etc. Right now I have all my texts outlined through the middle of January, except my Advent series (and I have rough outlines for some of them).

Also: I work ahead by planning ahead. I have a general idea of what I will preach in 2009, even though I haven't begun to outline anything past January. I have planned breaks three times during the next year, and I'll probably finish Luke in early 2010. I'm keeping my options open, but after that I'll probably preach a portion of Genesis before returning to the New Testament to look at Acts (thereby rounding out Luke's writings.)

So, there are some preliminary ideas. Next time, I'll begin to talk about how I prepare.

*Bryan Chapell distinguished an expository sermon as one that takes its proposition, main points, and sub-points directly from the text.

Tim Keller on, "why plant churches?"

2008-10-09T09:47:00.001-05:00

My professor and friend, Phil Douglass, is zealous about church planting. He encouraged everyone he thought was capable of doing it to consider becoming a church planter.

Here's a series of audio messages of PCA pastor and church planter Tim Keller on the question, "why plant churches?" If you're considering church planting as the next direction for your ministry (or for the first step out of seminary), this series of videos may be helpful.

Networking at work: case study #3 from my experience

2008-10-06T14:01:00.001-05:00

Here's the last case study from my own experience, and the one about how I made contact with the position I now have.

One of the important parts of my networking in particular, and my placement process in general, was to keep in regular contact with a group of friends who prayed for me, offered me feedback and advice, and generally served as brotherly support through the difficult time that candidacy and placement is.

After seeing the process go to very late stages, then watching it fall apart suddenly, one of these guys-- Bryan, a former classmate who graduated a year and a half ahead of me-- shot me a quick e-mail:

Sorry that things went south in the end. That stinks, and I'm praying for you about it.

A guy I work with might be able to help you find some good leads. I was talking to him this morning about how things fell through at this latest position, and he said you should call him. Call me in the next couple of days about it.

When I called, Bryan reminded me that the Senior Pastor at the church he served had left about a year before, and they had recently called an Interim Pastor: Dominic Aquila.

If you don't know who he is, here's a quick run-down: he has been involved in leadership at different levels in the PCA for decades, in addition to pastoring several churches, and had also be instrumental in starting New Geneva Theological Seminary in Colorado. At the time that Bryan and I were talking, Dominic was also serving as Moderator of the General Assembly of the PCA-- a position that cemented his prominence in the denomination.

Suffice to say, Dominic is also a well-connected contact. I e-mailed him about finding a time to talk, and he also asked to see my resume and Data Form, which I sent along. When we talked a few days later, he had studied both of these, and was well-acquainted with what sort of role and position I was seeking. He worked through the "vacant pulpits" list with me, and made some suggestions of which ones to call (and which ones to avoid!).

A couple of months later, I was anticipating the General Assembly in June and hoping for some good networking opportunities then. I e-mailed Dominic and asked if he might have a few moments to meet with me at the Assembly, which he responded that he would. (Remember, he's the outgoing Moderator, so he had his hands full with stuff-- but he made time for me, nonetheless.)

When we met up again, he suggested several opportunities, including my current church. Within a few days of returning from General Assembly, I contacted the Ruling Elder who was leading the search at this church, and mentioned that Dominic had encouraged me to call. We agreed that I would send my resume and Data Form to him. After we talked, he hung up and called Dominic, as well as my friend and former professor Phil Douglass, and asked them about me.

The next thing I knew, I had an invitation to come and interview. No sermon recordings, no phone interview-- just the word of two men who had become an important part of my network, and a glimpse of my resume. That was enough.

And here I am. I interviewed, gathered a lot of information, preached and led worship, and enjoyed a covered-dish dinner with them. As we left, Marcie and I were both convinced that this was where the Lord was bringing us-- a sentiment that was reciprocated the following Sunday in the congregational meeting.

Free book

2008-10-03T20:05:00.001-05:00

Got your attention? Good.

One of my favorite writers on church and ministry is Thom Rainer. His son Sam is a pretty astute guy, too.

Between now and Monday, you can get a copy of their book Essential Church? for free, as a downloadable PDF e-book.

The urgency of the preaching moment

2008-10-01T11:31:00.001-05:00

In the front pews the old ladies turn up heir hearing aids, and a young lady slips her six-year-old a Life Saver and a Magic Marker. A college sophomore home for vacation who is there because he was dragged there, slumps forward with his chin in his hand. The vice-president of a bank who twice this week has considered suicide places his hymnal in the rack. A pregnant girl feels the life stir inside her. A high school teacher, who for twenty years has managed to keep his homosexuality a secret for the most part even from himself, creases his order of service down the center with his thumbnail and tucks it under his knee... The preacher pulls the little cord that turns on the lectern light and deals out his note cards like a river boat gambler. The stakes have never been higher. Two minutes from now he may have lost his listeners completely to their own thoughts, but at this moment he has them in the palm of his hand. The silence in the shabby church is deafening because everybody is listening to it... Everybody knows the kinds of things he has told them before and not told them, but who knows what this time, out of the silence, he will tell them.

Frederick Buechner, Telling the Truth. New York: Harper and Row, 1977, pp.22-23. (Quoted in The Power of Speaking God’s Word by Wilbur Ellsworth, Farn, Ross-Shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus, 2000.)

Networking at work: case study #2 from my experience

2008-09-29T11:55:00.001-05:00

Another case study from my own experience is below. This one is almost unbelievable, but it is completely true!

I grew up in a prominent United Methodist church in Columbia, South Carolina. My mother and step-father are still members of that church, and are quite active. Naturally, there are a number of people that my mother sees regularly who knew me well as a child, and who often inquire about how and what I am doing lately.

So it didn't come as a surprise to me one day when mom mentioned, "Our good friends the Harleys in Sunday School asked about you, and I told them you were looking for a position as a pastor. They were very interested in that."

Me: "Were they? That's thoughtful! Please tell them thanks for their interest."

Mom: "Well, they asked about where you were looking, and I mentioned that you were a presbyterian. And they said, 'Oh, our son-in-law is a presbyterian pastor.' I said, well, you were a PCA presbyterian-- because I know it's a smaller denomination. And they said, 'He is too! Maybe he could help your son!'"

Me: "Wow-- that's great, mom. Where is he a pastor?"

Mom: "They said he was in Mississippi."

Me: "Oh-- there are lots of PCA churches in Mississippi. Do you remember his name?"

Mom: "It was sort of a strange name... was it... Ligon?"

Me: "Ligon Duncan?"

Mom: "That's it! Their son-in-law's name is Ligon Duncan!"

And so, that is how I happened to spend a couple of hours in two different conversations with Ligon Duncan, who is certainly one of the most prominent people in the PCA, not to mention his involvement with leadership across the Reformed and evangelical world. Dr. Duncan was very gracious, and took great interest in my placement.

How much information is too much? (part two)

2008-09-24T21:54:00.001-05:00

Coming back to the information shared by a classmate of mine: he's serving at a church that recently completed their search for a new Senior Pastor. He was able to offer me some reflections based on what he witnessed about their search team.

Probably the most valuable idea that he sent me is this: There is such a thing as too much information.

Here's a summary of what he found in a big-picture observation:

The candidates who received the quickest responses submitted only basic information in the first round. My friend said, "it was like they baited the hook just enough to interest the team member responsible for correspondence"-- no more, no less.
On the other hand, those who sent in a thick, fat packet of information didn't receive responses. There was, as my friend said, "no sense of 'teasing' or 'flirting.'" When you put it all out there, the search team isn't left with anything to wonder about.

So, what does that mean? I admit, the idea of "basic" information vs. a "fat packet" is a vague distinction. Fortunately, my friend was able to offer more insight:

Basic: a short inquiry, perhaps without even a Ministerial Data Form. Maybe even without a resume. But certainly no more than these.
"Cluttered" packets: included more than a resume and MDF, such as lengthy philosophy of ministry papers, family photos, and other "extras."

At first blush, this seems to fly directly in the face of everything that I've advocated for an information "packet." I don't think so, though: these are still important things to have available.

Here's why: as I've mentioned before, the candidacy process can be sort of like dating; this first exchange is kind of like asking for that first date. A cover letter, along with a resume, may be just the amount of information you want to offer in that first step. Let them know you're interested, and give them enough to get interested as well.

But as the relationship progresses, you'll want to give them more-- and that's when things like a brief biography or a very short statement of philosophy of ministry may be helpful. You can almost count on them asking for a recording of a sermon-- but it may not be something that they need until later in the process.

(Following the "candidacy as dating" metaphor, you might even think of sending the "fat packet" with everything you have on the first contact as being like a "one-night stand.")

Maybe this would be a good way to summarize: your cover letter, resume, data form, and other information will effectively amount to love letters to your future congregation. You don't want to overwhelm them, nor do you want to offer too little. Just enough is difficult to know for sure, but it is always what you strive for.

Exercise: Two helpful videos

2008-09-22T10:40:00.001-05:00

Here are two quick videos that are helpful information on ministry, along with a couple of quick reflections on their use in the candidacy and placement process. This is the assignment: watch each video, then spend two minutes jotting down your responses to the reflection questions below them, with regard to your current church or a church you are candidating with. (Total time: 10 minutes)

John Piper on "What is the gospel?":

Reflection: ask the leaders (Elders, Deacons, Sunday School teachers) and the rest of the search team about the gospel. Do they get it? Can they articulate it? Is it something that they have an inherent understanding that they need the gospel more than anything else? Do they understand that your ministry must be essentially and primarily about teaching and preaching the gospel?

Tim Keller on Time Priorities (ht: Mark):

Reflection: when you are interviewing with a search team, keep this in mind. How do they talk about your time priorities? How do they speak of protecting your personal and family life in the midst of the demands of ministry?

Networking at work: case study #1 from my experience

2008-09-19T17:05:00.001-05:00

I've had a handful of apparently serendipitous encounters with networking at work. Here is one.

In college, a man named Henry led me through discipleship for several years, and we became good friends. He eventually served as the best man in my wedding, and has remained a source of treasured advice and input over the years.

At one point in my candidacy, I was visiting with Henry during a trip to my hometown. Henry knew that I was seeking pastoral placement, and asked about my progress. After hearing my report, Henry asked, "Would you mind if I made a phone call on your behalf?"

I said, of course not, and Henry pulled out his mobile phone and quickly found a number in his speed-dial.

"Hello-- this is Henry."

"We're well, and I hope you are too. Hey, we're going to spend the week after New Years' at the mountain house, and we'd love it if you two would come and burn some firewood with us."

"Great! I'll call you with details next week. Say, I'm sitting here with a friend who is looking for an opening for a position as a pastor. Would you be willing to talk with him, and point him in a helpful direction?"

"That's great-- thanks so much, Luder. I'll give him your home number."

And when Henry hung up, he wrote down for me the home number of Luder Whitlock, longtime President of Reformed Theological Seminary and now President of Teleios, Executive Director of Trinity Forum, and probably one of the top 10 most well-connected men in the Reformed and Presbyterian circles.

It turns out that Henry and Dr. Whitlock have been close friends for years, and Dr. Whitlock was glad to be a phone call away for me. He suggested a few leads for me, and also committed to praying for me in my transition and ministry regularly. What a blessing!

How much information is too much? (part one)

2008-09-17T11:20:00.001-05:00

I got an e-mail the other day from a seminary classmate; he's now on staff of a church that recently completed a Senior Pastor search, and he offered me some fascinating insight into their search process.

First, some background on the church: they are a PCA church, but they aren't hardcore PCA in the way that many seminarians are. This is vitally important to realize: they are committed to the PCA because they believe in the importance of associating with a denomination. They are biblically conservative, Reformed in their theology, convinced of the practice of infant baptism, and are essentially presbyterian in their government. So the PCA is a good fit-- but to them this means that they affiliate with their regional presbytery and attend General Assembly; they occasionally receive other support from the PCA's offices in Atlanta.

But here's a key take-away: their search team (and, as my friend said, about 98% of their congregation) has very little sense of PCA identity. This means that tossing around acronyms like MNA, RUF, RUM, and MTW* meant little to nothing in that setting. Likewise, although the church sends support dollars to both Covenant College and Covenant Seminary, when my classmate interviewed then his search team (a different one from the Senior Pastor one) was under the impression that Covenant Seminary was an undergraduate institution.

This is a part of the information exchange that many fail to consider. The key question becomes: What am I assuming about this congregation (in the language of my resume, Ministerial Data Form, etc.) that I ought not? A candidate must realize that a lot of this sort of information is not helpful to their cause of presenting themselves as THE candidate for this position. In many ways, it might hurt them.

It also begs a question of motivation: why are all of these acronyms (or even the names they stand for) cluttering up a resume or data form? In many cases, they may be there for valuable information: if you served for two years as an intern with Reformed University Ministries, then that is directly relevant to your ministry experience.

On the other hand, be careful not to let all of this stuff become what one writer calls "cruft"-- which is essentially the literary version of the stuff you scrape off your plate when you're done with a meal.

One scottish pastor commented about his sermons: "the last thing I do is go back over my manuscript and cut out all of the cleverness." We might do the same if we want to clear our resumes, data forms, and other documents of cruft.

Stay tuned for part two, where I talk about the rest of the insights my classmate offered me. Really good stuff.

*All of these are "agencies" of the Presbyterian Church in America: MNA= Mission to North America, RUF= Reformed University Fellowship, which is the local establishment of RUM= Reformed University Ministries, and MTW= Mission to the World.