Six Mistakes When Seeking A New Pastor
I’ve recently had several conversations with friends at churches involved in hiring a new pastor. One friend is serving on a search committee; another was thinking about the process as a whole. I realized this is something I’ve developed some thoughts on over the years, both in watching churches seek pastors and in being a pastoral candidate myself. In what follows, I want to note some common mistakes I’ve seen. I'm addressing the advice to "search committees." I realize different churches have different approaches, but translate this into whatever group is in charge of your process.
First, though, a note on something I’m not going to discuss below: a candidate's biblical or theological views per se. Mainly, that’s because I’m a part of a denomination that handles those examinations outside the local church. The decision of the local congregation is about calling and fit, not whether the candidate is orthodox or shares their theological distinctives. I realize not every church has that luxury, and I’m not sure what advice to give there because many local congregations aren’t well-equipped to explore those questions; I guess they just have to do their best and rely on recommending organizations.
That said, here are some common mistakes I see churches make when looking to for a pastor:
Mistake #1: Looking For Perfection
Some search committees have too high a view of the pastoral office. Don’t panic, I take the office very seriously, but it is possible to have expectations for pastors that can only be met by Jesus. A pastor is a human being and a Christian, and they are called to a certain standard of righteousness, but they are also sinful, fallible and finite.
Sometimes perfectionism creeps in because a search committee doesn’t find unity on the qualities they’re looking for, resulting in competing expectations. Each member has their own vision for who they want to hire, and what results is a committee seeking a studious-but-outgoing visionary-but-conservative 35-year-old with 30 years of experience.
Another common source of perfectionism happens when a church expects their pastoral hire to save them from themselves. A congregation who is uninterested in evangelism, hospitality, or doctrinal depth will not change by hiring an outsider who will be able to do the work of the whole church himself. Again, the only person with that kind of power is Jesus.
Mistake #2: Looking For A Pulse
Other search teams have the opposite problem. For whatever reason, they simply want to hire anyone willing to take the job. Maybe this is a result of discouragement and exhaustion from a long search process. Maybe it stems from an inappropriate view of grace that disallows healthy criticality. Whatever the reason, the search committee has the mentality that filling the job is the goal, not finding the right person.
I understand why search committees can end up in this place, but it is dangerous because it is blood in the water for a certain sort of clerical shark. Not having a pastor is not the worst thing for your congregation. You might be tired and in slow decline from the transition, but I’ve seen up close how unhealthy and narcissistic pastors can utterly destroy a congregation in a few short years. And those people will be drawn to your desperation, because they will intuitively view it as opportunity.
I don’t want to create undue anxiety, but there is a real caution any search team should feel. They should ask hard questions and not ignore red flags. They should explore past calls, especially if there are signs of abuse or conflict. They have a role in protecting the flock, and that is a role they should take seriously.
Mistake #3: Looking to Clone the Last Pastor
It is good that you love your last pastor. If they labored faithfully, that is a legacy that deserves honor. There are ways that pastor’s strengths should affect the hiring process (more on that below). But you will not find an identical candidate to replace him.
More importantly, even if you found one, it might not be the candidate God intends next for you. God often uses pastors to shape churches for particular seasons. Their gifts and strengths are for one phase of His construction project. By the time they leave, though, another set of skills are needed. Hiring a mason when bricks need to be laid is fruitful; hiring another mason once the walls are built won’t do much for the bad plumbing or faulty wiring. It takes discernment and prayer to see where God is leading next, but that is a part of any search committee’s calling.
Mistake #4: Looking for the Opposite of the Last Pastor
That said, there is an opposite error: looking for someone who is nothing like the last pastor. When a pastor’s tenure goes badly, it can be tempting to find the most dissimilar candidate imaginable. Even when it isn’t that pronounced, there is a temptation to look for someone who lacks their predecessor’s weaknesses while not asking whether they share enough of their predecessor’s strengths.
To use an oversimplified example, consider a church who for the last decade was led by a pastor strong in preaching/teaching and weak in visitation and relational ministry. Recognizing this weakness, the search committee then hires someone who is extraordinarily relationally gifted, but who is a terrible preacher and teacher. Here is the question: why has anyone come to the church over the last decade? It’s almost certainly in part because they valued the teaching. While they might appreciate the new pastor’s gifts, they will be missing a key part of why they are there in the first place.
Ideally, search teams are looking for candidates similar enough to their predecessor to serve the church as it currently exists but different enough to lead them forward and help them grow. The balance doesn’t have to be perfect, but there is a difference between a wobbly walk on a tight rope and diving aggressively off one side.
Mistake #5: Overvaluing Competence and Gifting
Pastors are servants of Jesus and His church, and as such they should have a certain level of competence. They should have natural and spiritual gifts that reflect their calling. Pastoring involves skills, and just like you wouldn’t have a musician lead worship when they couldn’t play their instrument, you shouldn’t let a preacher preach when he doesn’t know his craft.
However, there is a difference between expecting a level of competence and making it the measuring stick for calling. In the first place, competence can grow. Especially for younger candidates, the only way to learn to preach a good sermon or conduct a helpful visit is by first doing them poorly. Teachability and potential are more significant than present attainment in this regard.
More importantly, it is possible for someone to be incredibly gifted while also being a terrible pastor. They can be hypercompetent but foolish—I’ve seen men build a church like a mechanic restores a classic car, only to drive it off a cliff. They can also be hypercompetent but wicked—every scandal involving a celebrity pastor should be a reminder that someone can be good at building churches but bad at following Jesus.
Mistake #6: Undervaluing Culture and Character
Which leads naturally to the accompanying mistake: failing to properly appreciate those deeper matters. I’ve talked with search committees before, and I always encourage them to start with these two questions: “Is this candidate trustworthy and humble?” and “Is this candidate someone who will value what we value?”
The first question is crucial because without virtue a pastor will hurt a church more than he helps it. I remember talking to someone who was part of hiring an (impressive on paper) senior pastor who subsequently melted down and hurt the church. His comment was striking: “We knew he was arrogant, but he was so smart, we figured he had every right to be.” That is exactly the reasoning that leads to such ill-fated decisions.
Of course, character doesn’t mean sinlessness. Indeed, one of the best ways to see whether a candidate has real Christian character is by the ways they talk about their sins and failures. If they hide them, minimize them, or excuse and explain them away, those should be flashing warning lights. Likewise, it is often the gut feelings of committee members that cast light on these dark places. Do you feel like this is someone you could trust with your secrets? Do you feel like this is someone you respect? Do you want your children to be like this person, in terms of how they carry themselves?
The other often-overlooked question is about values and culture, a topic I’ve written on recently. Churches tend to be passionate about certain things, with certain mixes of gifts and core priorities. These run much deeper than doctrines and practices, and they are often unseen, but they are the DNA that dictates how they organism will grow.
One of the early tasks of any search committee should be to try to name these values and then look for candidates that share them. A bad cultural fit often leads to fruitlessness and frustration. Again, there is room for some daylight between the candidate and the congregation. Every pastor will shape his church, and every church should shape their pastor. But someone with a radically different vision will lead only to tears.
A Final Encouragement
While I hope the above is helpful, I also realize that if you are reading it as a member of a search committee, it might create a lot of anxiety. And if you’ve been a part of one and felt like you made the wrong choice, it might also stir up some guilt and shame. I don’t intend that. You have an important calling, but like all such callings, it is done within the security of God’s sovereignty.
God is guiding your process, and He is ultimately in control of it. That doesn’t mean you might not make bad decisions or a foolish hire. But it does mean that, even when we make mistakes, God’s ultimate good purposes will prevail. He is building up His church, He is the Good Pastor, and He will be working even when we fail. We all need to rest in that confidence, even as we seek to be faithful in the places He has called us.