Skip to main content

Do Unto Others

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” We have heard this phrase from Matthew 7 since we were toddlers, so why don’t ministerial search committees practice it?

Although I am no longer in a judicatory role, I still receive contacts from ministers who are seeking new places of service and calls from search committees asking for references on prospective ministers. Inevitably, I will run into a person who has been seriously “courted” by a committee and ask the person for an update. Too often the response is, “I never heard from them again.”

We can learn something from the secular world here. Most businesses who interview prospective employees will usually give them an immediate “yes” or “no” or a date by which a decision will be made. It would seem to me that church committees could do the same. When you are asking a man or woman to uproot their lives and perhaps their families to take on a new ministry, you at least owe the person the consideration of some resolution to a budding relationship (even if it is nipped in the bud!).

Here are some suggestions in order for ministerial search committees to be more humane in their dealings with prospective candidates.

First, provide a written acknowledgement of every resume received. This may be a form letter sent out by the church secretary. This simply lets the person know that their information has been received by the appropriate group.

Second, if at all possible, review resumes as they arrive and make a prompt decision about the potential of applicants. If you have developed a profile of the type of person you are seeking and a candidate does not fit those criteria, simply send a letter saying, “We are grateful for your interest, but your gifts, experience and/or skill set do not fit our profile.”

Third, if you have conversations with a candidate, go to hear them preach, or invite them to your community and then decide that you are not a match, let the person know as soon as possible. Some committees fail to do this because they say, “We may have to go back to this person.” You probably won’t and if you do, you will need to explain what took you so long. When you are finished with a prospective minister, let the person know.

Fourth, once you have recommended a person to the church and he or she has accepted, your work is not done. Your committee should send a letter to each person who was a possible candidate and express appreciation for his or her interest. You do not have to name the person selected (the Baptist grapevine will take care of that!) or the reasons for their selection, but the candidate will have some sense of closure to the process.

Is there any rule written somewhere that says that a committee must do this? No, but such responses are an expression of integrity, an acknowledgement of a fellow believer, and the way that you would want to be treated in a similar circumstance.

Comments

Keith Herron said…
Ircel - all good points and signs of a healthy commitment to the process and to treating candidates with respect
I've found that if committees will treat every candidate as if they were communicating with their next pastor, they will naturally cover most of these issues
Committees don't do this for the most part - in fact it's altogether too rare to be treated in such a respectful way
kdherron said…
Ircel - all good points and signs of a healthy commitment to the process and to treating candidates with respect
I've found that if committees will treat every candidate as if they were communicating with their next pastor, they will naturally cover most of these issues
Committees don't do this for the most part - in fact it's altogether too rare to be treated in such a respectful way

Check these out

Confessions of a Recovering Southern Baptist

I am grateful for my heritage as a Southern Baptist.  I was exposed to the Bible and worship from a very young age.  I grew up in a church in south Alabama that supported the Cooperative Program of missions giving.  This meant that our church had the benefit of being part of a supportive group of local churches and the educational opportunities that afforded. Our state convention provided varied and effective ministries with groups like orphans, ethnic groups, and college students.  We supported missionaries at home and abroad.  We had good Bible study and training literature (which we paid for, of course).  I went to an accredited seminary and paid a remarkably low tuition.  Wherever you went on a Sunday morning (in the Southeast and Southwest, at least), you could find a church that sang the familiar hymns and studied the same Bible lesson. In hindsight, I realize that this Southern Baptist utopia was imperfect.  There were significant theological differences, often geograp

The Bible Tells Me So

As I read the story of the Good Samaritan during my devotional today, I was reminded of the times that I have heard the story in the Christian education setting of the local church--as a youngster in primary and intermediate classes (old terminology), as a young adult in college classes, and then as an adult, often teaching the passage myself.     The characters and story line are very familiar due to these experiences of Christian education. These are challenging times for Christian education in the church.  Like so much of what is happening in the church today, the old forms do not seem to support present needs.  What once worked no longer seems to be effective.  Christian education or the formation of believers is in a state of flux. In an article on ethicsdaily.com , retired professor Colin Harris addresses this issue. He points out that the period of the 60’s and 70’s  “saw the beginnings of a loss of vitality within the educational dimension of church ministry, as the

Metaphors of the Kingdom of God

In a recent blog , consultant Seth Godin addresses the power of metaphor.   He points out, “The best way to learn a complex idea is to find it living inside something else you already understand.”   In other words, “this” is like “that.” “When you see a story, an example, a wonderment,” says Godin, “take a moment to look for the metaphor inside.”   Jesus turned this around.   In the use of parables, he told a story or provided a metaphor and challenged his hearers to see the truth within. For example, in his teaching on the Kingdom (or Reign) of God in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom to such things as a mustard seed, yeast, a hidden treasure, a net, a king, and a landowner.   His hearers are encouraged to use their imaginations to understand something that they had never experienced.   He also attempted to shift their perspective so that they might see signs of the Kingdom breaking into their present reality.  These are metaphors for the Kingdom. Where do w

The Tragedy of Willow Creek Community Church

File photo of Steve Carter, Heather Larson, and Bill Hybels As Christian brothers and sisters, we need to pray for Willow Creek Community Church.   On the eve of the Global Leadership Summit, a worldwide conference sponsored by the church in cooperation with the Willow Creek Association, church leadership imploded as a result of further allegations against former pastor Bill Hybels. Last year, Hybels introduced the team who would assume church leadership upon his retirement--lead pastor Heather Larson and teaching pastor Steve Carter.  Although the founding pastor planned to stay on to assist in a time of transition, reports of sexual impropriety involving Hybels surfaced early this year.  He accelerated his departure from the church and left the board of the Willow Creek Association. When other charges emerged last week, teaching pastor Carter resigned. On Wednesday evening, Larson and the entire elder board--lay leaders who provide accountability on behalf of the congreg

A Future for the Global Leadership Summit?

Craig Groeschel, the founder and senior pastor of Life.Church. The Global Leadership Summit which began as a project of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, and its founding pastor, Bill Hybels, over 25 years ago was held this week without Hybels. For several years, the GLS has been now produced by the Willow Creek Association, a spin-off organization and a loose network of churches but Hybels has been its driving force. Attended by thousands at the church facility in South Barrington and broadcast to thousands more at satellite locations, the annual meeting brings together not only evangelical leaders but outstanding speakers from business, charitable organizations, politics, and business.  For the first time, Hybels did not appear due to allegations of sexual impropriety brought against him over the past year by former employees, staff members, and business associates.  He has already left the church and resigned from the board of the association.