Hiring is Risky Business
We all want to be a part of a healthy church. As a pastor, we want to lead the church toward health, but there are a lot of obstacles in the way. I have heard countless stories of churches started by incredibly gifted men, but after a number of years and a series of pressures, the church implodes. The issue, however, is not unique to church planting.
Many churches have worked hard to develop search committees that comb through dozens of resumes for a pastoral position, spending hours doing preliminary interviews only to recommend a final candidate. The church body, trusting the process and the leaders to have vetted the candidate, often affirm that decision through a vote only to see significant concerns develop about the pastor after the hiring process is complete.
While the pressures and workload left behind by a pastor who moves on from a role can be immense, hiring someone too quickly or with little knowledge of their character can be devastating. Often, those pastors get removed from the position, and the search process must start again.
Look Under the Hood Before You Buy
While no process can perfectly solve the vetting process of potential pastors (See Jude’s concern about church leaders in Jude 4), churches need to ensure that they are aiming their hiring efforts on the right factors. We all tend to look for impressively gifted speakers and storytellers we enjoy listening to as a primary factor in hiring a pastor (2 Tim. 4:3-4). However, the real thing every church needs to be healthy is a healthy pastor as defined by his character in how they treat their family and neighbors (1 Tim. 3:1-7). This means that before pastors bring on their next associate pastor, worship leader, or youth ministry guy, they must find ways to vet their character first.
Below is a list of practical questions a pastor can ask a potential candidate to help the pastor investigate the candidate’s heart.
- What motivates you to want to be a pastor? (1 Tim. 3:1)
- How do you regularly seek to grow in the knowledge of God through His Word? (Col. 1:10)
- How have your studies in God’s word helped you conform to the image of Christ?
- Are you more driven to create material for teaching others? (Col. 1:10)
- Do you have a personal commitment to speaking the truth in love to see others come to faith in Christ? (2 Tim. 2:25) Do you speak the truth at all costs regardless of the relational damage? Do you avoid difficult but necessary conversations out of a desire to keep the peace?
- Are you committed to proclaiming truth even when ridiculed? (2 Tim. 2:25) Describe a time when you have had to do this.
- Are you committed to loving those who persecute you? (2 Tim. 2:25) Describe a time when you have had to do this.
- Are you willing to lay aside your preferences to serve others? (I Cor. 8:1-13) Describe a time when you have had to do this.
- Does your life portray the positive qualities that the New Testament requires of pastors so that you can be an example to the church and bring glory to God? (1 Timothy 3:1-7, 2 Timothy 2:22-26, 2 Timothy 4:1-2, Titus 1:5-9, 1 Pet. 5:1-3)
- Is your life free of the negative qualities that the New Testament prohibits of pastors so that you can be an example to the church and not dishonor God? (2 Timothy 3:1-9, 2 Timothy 2:22-26, 2 Timothy 3:1-9, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, Titus 1:5-16, 1 Peter 5:1-3, 2 Peter 2:1-3,13-15, Jude 4, 8, 10-13, 16-19)
- Can you receive correction from others when your life is not consistent with the character of Christ? (2 Tim. 3:16)
- Are you living out the responsibilities of an elder now without the title or authority in your own home? (1 Tim. 3:4)
Character takes more time to uncover than skill
While seeking to discern the motivations and desires of a candidate may take more time or feel uncomfortable, let me assure you that you will be grateful that you took the time to do it. Pastors have a critical role with a significant influence on the church and thus have a high responsibility for leading God’s people (James 3:1-12). Pastors, as people who love the sheep, take the time to get to know your potential co-laborers to make sure they will love the sheep well, too.
I started by saying I have seen many church hires go wrong, but I have seen many go well, too. Even this week, I worked with a church as it sought to evaluate a candidate for an associate pastoral role. They spoke to many references, asking good, honest questions about the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses. While the church honestly evaluated the candidate’s skills, most of the inquiries revolved around the candidate’s character, family life, and care for the local church. This local church went deep and took the time to do it. While they cannot mitigate every possible disaster, they sought to look for the right things in the person they called to be an under-shepherd of the Lord Jesus. And you can too!
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