The Search for a New Pastor

Don Chaffin 

 

I know of a church that recently asked their long-time pastor to retire.  A short time later, they asked their interim pastor to resign and forced the youth director to resign.  A very deal old pastor friend of mine told me over thirty years ago, “It’s going to be more and more difficult to pastor a church.”

 

A young man simply filling the pulpit for a pastorless church made a strong statement: “It’s wrong for a church to go and steal a preacher from another church.”  What he was really saying was “Hey, look at me, I’m available.”

 

A church can advertise in the state religious paper and be confident that they will receive a colorful resume from every nut in the country.  That resume will have a long list of references (from his best friends).  A trend today exists for churches to receive telephone messages from individuals recommending themselves.

           

One pastor would often remind his congregation, “Jesus brought me here, and when the time comes, Jesus will take me away.”  This statement was repeated often over the years.  One Sunday morning, he announced, “I’ve told you that Jesus brought me here, and now He’s taking me away.” 

 

An old deacon stood and said, “Let’s all stand and sing, ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus.’”

 

I am very confident that problems exist on both sides today.  Churches must go far beyond the references on a resume.  A pastor must be led by much more than a little bit larger congregation or larger pay check.

 

Once, I had received a phone call that a pulpit committee was coming to visit on a given Sunday.  An old, godly, retired preacher came to see me and advised, “Pastor, you better be prayed up, for many, many times pulpit committees are not.” 

 

It is so very, very easy to get in trouble when we are not prayed up.  This must be the first step for both sides.  God is still on the throne and prayer changes things.