8 Odd Practices of Pastor Search Teams, and 3 Suggestions for Churches

I’m pushing close to twenty years of pastoral ministry in three different Southern Baptist churches. Over the course of my nearly two decades in pastoral ministry, I’ve talked to many pastor search teams. Some of these conversations were in depth and extended, and others were a single visit. Some of these conversations were initiated by me, and others were initiated by the pastor search team. In addition to my personal experiences with pastor search teams, I’ve walked with many friends through the process of applying, interviewing, and candidating for a pastoral position in a Southern Baptist church.

I don’t aim to be overly negative or hyper-critical, but I think the process of searching for a pastor with a pastor search team is often a deeply flawed process. In fact, if I’m totally honest, as I reflect on my interactions with pastor search teams, I find myself scratching my head in response to several realities that can best be described as insanity! Consider the following.

Lack of Training … It’s safe to assume that most senior pastors never train or prepare their congregation for the day they will leave. Thus, when the main leader steps away, the congregation is often left untrained and unprepared for the task at hand. To be fair, some churches are old hands at the search process after struggling with a revolving door of pastors who stay for short stints. Many of these churches would no doubt be resistant to the insight that might be offered by their current and soon to be departing pastor. Nevertheless, the fact remains that many churches are simply untrained and unprepared for the process of searching for a new pastor. Lack of Leadership … As I’ve written elsewhere, most Southern Baptist churches are not led by a plurality of elders (pastors, overseers). This means that when the “senior” pastor leaves, the church functionally leaderless. There is often a not-so-subtle tension that arises in the absence of a senior pastor, and that tension centers on the question of who is in charge during a time of transition? Is it the by-laws? The deacons? A committee? The staff? As I’ve talked to pastor search teams I’ve often discovered that the church itself isn’t quite sure about who’s actually in charge during the transition. This leadership vacuum tends to create uncertainty during a transition.A Popularity Vote … In a typical Southern Baptist church, the pastor search team is constituted through a democratic, congregational vote. Without being pessimistic or jaded or skeptical, I can assure you that these votes often come down to popularity and visibility. People are more likely to vote for people they know than people they don’t know. Visibility in the church and standing in the community play a big role in who is placed on these teams. Few vote for people on the basis of doctrinal depth or managerial experience. Most simply vote for people they know and like. The result is a pastor search team that may or may not be qualified to make a monumental decision like calling a new senior pastor to lead a congregation.Flawed Surveys … One of the realities that always surprises me is a pastor search team conducting a poll of the congregation to see what they want in their next senior pastor. The oddest categories are included in these polls, many of which have nothing to do with the biblical requirements for a pastor (elder, overseer). Sometimes the congregation wants a carbon-copy of the last pastor, and this is usually a recipe for disaster. Other times the congregation wants the polar opposite of the last pastor, and this too is usually a recipe for disaster. Worst of all, this kind of polling can create a sense of entitlement among members who assume the pastor search team will only consider candidates who meet a certain profile. Doctrine and Dollars … One of the most common mistakes made by Southern Baptist pastor search teams is waiting to discuss doctrine and pay at the very end of the interviewing process. Practically, this is incredibly foolish. These two issues are often black-and-white, deal-breaker-type issues for pastors and search teams. Either the candidate is a doctrinal fit, or he isn’t. Either the candidate is willing to accept a certain salary, or he isn’t. Saving these issues for the end of the search process can result in lots of wasted time as both parties delay important conversations. It can also result in super-awkward conversations when everything in a long interviewing process gets derailed at the last minute by doctrine or dollars. Mysticism … In my personal experience, one of the most amusing aspects of pastor search teams is their tendency to approach prayer as a mystical, magic eight ball. All pastor search teams pray for God’s guidance. However, rather than praying for guidance and relying on Scripture and the collective wisdom of the team, most pastor search teams tend to look for signs and coincidences that make God’s will clear and obvious. For example, I’ve had pastor search teams find “confirmation” in shared birthdays, common hometowns, similar names, and shared hobbies. Rather than looking for a biblical qualified candidate, many are looking for some mystical sign that will prove God is leading the search team to a particular candidate. Unanimity … One of the oddest practices of pastor search teams is the common preference for a unanimous decision. To be fair, not all pastor search teams require a unanimous decision to move forward with a particular candidate – but many seek unanimity. To give a personal example, in 2009 I had multiple meetings with a pastor search team from a county-seat First Baptist Church. They had ten members on the team. Their final vote for me as a candidate was nine “yes” and one “maybe.” This team allowed that one maybe vote to derail the entire search process, essentially allowing that person to decide on a particular candidate. They politely told me “no,” and they started their search over from scratch. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems odd that a pastor search team would allow one person to determine the course of the entire team on such a monumental decision. Ingoring the Staff … A final curiosity with pastor search teams relates to those teams who are serving a congregation that has multiple ministerial staff in place. Most of the time, very little concern is given to the make-up of the staff and whether or not a particular pastoral candidate would work well with the staff as currently constituted. My experience suggests that most pastoral search teams view the pastor as the all-important staff member, which means they view any current staff as entirely disposable. It is not uncommon for pastor search teams to suggest that an incoming pastor could – or even worse, should – fire current staff members. Rather than seeking a pastor who would fit well with the staff, most pastor search teams assume it’s the staff’s job to fit with the pastor – or else.

These are a few of the common problems that arise with pastor search teams in Southern Baptist churches. To be fair, not all search teams make all of these mistakes, but most make at least a few, and some make all.

In response to these mistakes, I think churches can do several things to alleviate these problematic practices. By way of positive encouragement, here are some ideas that may help a congregation when it comes time to find a new pastor.

Succession Plans … Obviously, pastoral succession can go wrong in many different ways. Some outgoing pastors may talk about succession, but then they may delay retirement year after year leaving everyone in limbo. Others may singlehandedly handpick a successor without consulting the leadership of the church or considering the fitness of their chosen successor. However, when done rightly, the idea of pastoral succession can actually be a great help to the life and health of a church. If a good, godly pastor can guide his congregation through the search process and then hand the baton to a chosen successor, the jarring transition can become remarkably smooth.Search Firms … I have plenty of reservations when it comes to pastor search firms. I think they can be narrowly focused on a particular kind of candidate. I think they can fail to appreciate the unique DNA of a particular local church. I think they can struggle to grasp cultural realities that are vastly different in different parts of the country. However, these firms are trained, experienced, and well connected to help in the process of a church finding a new pastor. I think many churches would find the cost of a pastor search firm to be well worth the expense, especially when that firm works alongside of (not in place of) the leadership of a particular church.A Plurality of Elders … When it comes to finding a new senior pastor, I think the best thing a church can do is implement a plurality of biblically qualified pastors (elders, overseers). This is an obviously biblical practice, and one that has great practical benefit for a local congregation. When a church has a healthy, functioning plurality of pastors (elders, overseers), the absence of a senior pastor does not create a massive leadership vacuum in the church. A plurality of elders can also help ensure that the right people will be making the most important decisions in the life of a church. Additionally, a plurality of elders provides the best support team for a new pastor.

If you are a pastor going through the process of applying, interviewing, and candidating at a church, check out Pastor to Pastor for more practical advice about the pastor search process, as well as advice for your new ministry!