Calling a Minister – Mike Plant

 

CALLING A MINISTER

 

WHAT?

What things can easily be taken for granted and shouldn’t be.

• That the Church understands how important this is

1. A minister being called can make or break a church. While we are all aware of small, doctrinally-fuzzy, ineffective-evangelistically churches being transformed and growing, becoming discerning and effective in evangelism through the impact of a ministry we need to see it has not always been like that. A poor choice of minister – either in being unsuited to the ministry or not suitable for this particular church – has so weakened churches that, without some extraordinary intervention of God they are on their way to closure

• That the Church understands what a Minister’s calling involves

1. According to Acts 6: 4 it is ‘prayer and the ministry of the word’. One lecturer at a Bible College records that when he asks students to write down what ministers do they normally get to 50 tasks but biblically they can only establish about 6!

• That the Church should be calling a Minister

 

• Being God-honouring about finance

 

• Being realistic about the current situations in the church – are there factors which led to the last minister leaving which haven’t been dealt with? Are there issues which are unfair to leave to someone new to the situation?

 

• The Prayerful Commitment of the Church

 

• Matthew 10: 38; James 1: 5 + Proverbs 3: 6

 

• Prayer would be a mockery without a deep commitment to unity on the part of those praying

 

WHERE?

Where are we as a church and where are we going? There need to identify where the church is at this stage in its life and what its particular needs may be in the coming years.

Profile the Church:-

• Type of Area

 

• Members – names and locations

 

• Attendance – age-range

 

• Giving

 

• Meetings and Ministries – current support and effectiveness and how they are overseen

 

• Future Plans and Dreams

 

• Present Practise – Worship, Baptism, Church Membership, Leadership and Organisation (and possible developments)

 

WHO?

Who is to be Involved?

• The Role of the Church Members

1. I speak from the perspective of a Congregationalist but I think that, whatever your views of Church Organisation, there is an obvious advantage in having everyone pulling together and having a sense of ownership of what is taking place.

 

• Church Members need to be Involved in Assessing the Current Situation

 

• What are the particular gifts and attributes the church needs from a Minister at this point in time? What is negotiable and non-negotiable? ESSENTIAL – USEFUL – NICE

 

• Church Members need to Agree and Understand the Procedure for Calling a Minister

 

• A Trust Deed may lay down some conditions – for example the Minister elected must have two-thirds of the votes of Ministers present and voting.  If the percentage required is to be increased (it cannot be decreased) then it needs to be agreed at the beginning of the process. So does the length of the process – The Last Man Standing approach!

 

• Leading the Process

1. Two choices:-

• The Current Church Officers

 

• Normally this is the obvious way forward but occasionally, perhaps in a large church with very high demands on the officers, it is good to look for an alternative. Even if this is done the Church Officers must oversee the process.

 

• A Search Committee

 

• Advantages are the people can be representative of different age groups and concerns within the church. While this is good the church hasn’t chosen to entrust spiritual leadership to them. However the Church Officers will need to consult widely to carry out their duties in this matter. Is he a Male Chauvinist Pig?

A church may ask a respected minister to act as Moderator and he may be asked to chair the relevant leaders’ and membership meetings. He is there to offer advice and guidance but has no vote. Such an arrangement can be very helpful to a church.

HOW?

 

How do we carry Out the Process of Searching, Finding and Calling?

• Obtaining Suitable Names

1. There are many ways forward with this:-

 

• In some ways this may be easier for churches which are part of one of the evangelical groupings – Grace Baptists, FIEC, EFCC all have processes – widely differing by which this is done. FIEC through the Pastors’ Association link those seeking churches and churches seeking pastors. EFCC and the Grace Baptists are more personal in the way in which they do it. EFCC get a CV, a Questionnaire is completed, references are taken and an interview takes place.

 

• Other churches ask members whose ministry they have found helpful and approach them.

 

• Often trusted Ministerial friends or Bible Colleges will make recommendations.

 

• Advertising in the Evangelical Press – pluses are it gets you in touch with people you wouldn’t otherwise know – minuses = cranks.

 

If the contact is made through some informal channel then CV, Questionnaire and References are still vital.

• Approaching those who may be Suitable

 

1. This needs to be done by someone of ability and spirituality. There is nothing wrong with approaching someone who is currently in a ministry and hasn’t indicated a desire to leave. They may have been praying about it for months. However it needs to be ascertained that the person contacted is open to looking at the church as a possibility, that they are eligible doctrinally and personally for the ministry of the church, and that they understand that a first visit is simply that – neither the church nor they are under any obligation to pursue the matter beyond the first visit.

• A First Visit

1. The Church need to know if someone is a possibility for their ministry and so to pray about it.  There will normally be informal discussion with the Church Officers (or Search Committee) during the weekend and if the Candidate wishes his wife/family should be able to accompany him.

 

Following the first visit it is good for the church to meet and discuss whether to proceed – generally churches find it easier to deal with only one name at a time – it also helps unity! So I suggest you don’t have a string of visiting preachers and follow that by a vote-off! The Church and the Candidate must inform one another immediately a firm decision not to proceed is made.

• Second/Following/Final Visits

1. There needs to be:-

• A worked out procedure here – while a church may want more than two visits there has to be a cut-off point (for example: Four Visits then a Decision rather than the Last Man Standing system).

 

• A clear declaration interviewing draft letter of employment stating the expected terms of the call so these can be discussed and if necessary amended. Transparency is extremely helpful here. To be businesslike is not to be unspiritual.

 

• If possible the candidate and his wife need to be around for several days and to see the church’s weekly routines being played out.

 

• It is helpful to have an informal meeting with the membership as a whole and either here or in preaching it is good for a Candidate to make his views of and approach to ministry clear.

 

• There needs to be a formal interview at which the Candidate’s view of the church and the way forward should be discussed. The Candidate’s wife is involved but only to see if there are questions she wants to ask – she may do more than simply be a good church member and support her husband but there is no Biblical right to insist on more, unless the church actually intend to employ her.

 

• Actually Calling a Minister

1. Things to do first:-

 

• Members of the church who were absent due to illness or to previous booked holidays etc should be given recordings of the ministry and the meeting with the membership should either be recorded or reported back to them.

 

• At this point, at the latest, referees and other senior Christians who may know the Candidate should be contacted. Talk to them – regrettably referees are often more frank verbally than in writing. We are not just assessing suitability for the ministry but suitability for this church at this time.

 

• The Church Leadership need to meet and discuss whether to recommend issuing a call. This should take on board the sounded out reflections of the membership. Unanimity is not absolutely essential but the church will often (understandably) be reluctant to proceed if a respected leader is unsure or opposed.

 

• The recommendation must be taken to a members’ meeting and there may be special provision in the Trust Deed/Church Rules as to pre-announcing it or even regarding on what day of the week the meeting is to be. Respect these things as an accusation of irregularity in an appointment is damaging.

 

Issuing the Call:-

• The person chairing the meeting must take the members through the process. How the name was received, first responses to the ministry, the continued process and ongoing responses down to the present situation. Questionnaires and CV should be made available to the members but unless the referees have been so informed in supplying references, references should not be. It is sufficient to say whether they are commendatory or negative. Details which may be confidential such as a currently very unhappy ministry situation must be kept confidential.

 

• Voting – the method may be prescribed (for example secret ballot or show of hands) or the decision as to voting method may be agreed as part of the procedure initially. It is always best to spell out in advance what will happen rather than appear to manipulate.

 

• If a sufficient majority is not obtained that ends the process and the Candidate must be informed. If a sufficient majority is obtained then those who abstained/opposed are generally given the chance to make the call unanimous.

 

• The Candidate should be informed as soon as possible as to the outcome including the details of the voting totals and whether unanimity was obtained by going to a second vote.

 

• Following the initial invitation, a formal letter of call which gives employment details should be sent and while a reasonable time for response is legitimate it is also wise to give a set period for a response. A fortnight or at most a month is sufficient for this unless there are very unusual circumstances.

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