One of the most important parts of a pastor’s ministry is to help ensure that a healthy man succeeds in the ministry of his congregation. Robert Murray M. Cheyne once said in a sermon to his congregation: “Changes are coming. All eyes before me will”. will soon be obscured by death. If another shepherd feeds this flock, another singer will lead the psalm, will another flock fill that flock?I think of the saying: “God bury the worker, but the work continues. “Brother Pastor, do you speak to your congregation like this?How do you seek the blessing and benefit of your congregation in addition to your own ministry there?
In the spirit of the “light of nature and Christian prudence,” I offer these eleven steps to help the Church think about how to find a new pastor. It is my attempt to distill some Christian wisdom with regard to this practical part of Christian leadership. that so many times I have been asked in the last twenty or thirty years. My goal is to use this wisdom in the application of the general rules of the Word, which must always be observed.
- Unless we are pastors of our church when the Lord returns.
- Our role is always to prepare the congregation for the next pastor.
- We do this in a number of ways.
- One of the main ways to do this is to make sure we are financially prepared to stop having that job.
- I can’t say how many times I’ve heard a pastor talk about keeping his job even though he felt tired because he didn’t know how he was going to “make a living.
- “It shouldn’t be like that.
You have to agree it’s time for a change. The preaching pastor and the elders must agree together when the current pastor will no longer be responsible for the church’s preaching ministry or when they would like to begin the search for the next preacher. There are several ways you can do this. The main point of the agreement should be the smoothest possible transition for the congregation. You should also clearly explain how the pastor or other elders perceive it to be time to move on. I don’t know if we have a formula ready for that. pray and work for the good of the local church.
Now, of course, situations vary. Maybe the current minister will move to another church or maybe he or the other elders will feel it’s running out. You need to start thinking about changing roles. An honest, sensitive and open conversation about this among the elderly is helpful. Once replaced, the former pastor may need to leave or may stay and contribute even after the new pastor has preached. I’ve heard and seen many examples in both directions. Pastors live according to the cardinal rule that if you have had a good ministry, you should be able to stay in your church under the direction of the next pastor. Others think that once you’re done, you have to get out of there. I don’t think either rule applies to all situations.
The elders should be the organization that will lead and advise the congregation during the transition to a new preacher, not a specially called committee to call a new pastor. The elders maintain an orderly role described in the New Testament in Acts 20, 1 Timothy 3, and Titus 1.
The called pastor will not join an investigative committee, but the presbytery. The elders must trust the congregation they taught. The congregation must trust the elders who taught them. Although the elderly are usually the ones who raise other elders, they are the most qualified. evaluate the preaching, teaching, and character of a potential pastor. The elders are the body that leads the congregation; therefore, they must lead and advise the congregation on this issue. Of my eleven stages, this trust of the congregation in the elders, in choosing the pastor, is perhaps the most controversial, but it is the one I defend with the greatest conviction.
Sometimes the elders already have in mind the man who must become the next shepherd, at other times the agreement is not so quick, the elders can look for one or more names, internal or external, and decide them. , it’s good to always remember that we identify the elderly, we don’t make old people. Ephesians 4 tells us that the elders are gifts of Christ for his church. Acts 20. 28 informs us that the Holy Ghost makes us bishops or elders to care for. of the Church of Dios. No are trying to create a shepherd, but to define who God gives us and who has already given us.
The elders must decide among themselves, without offering a public proposal to the congregation, which, among the available brethren, would be better positioned to serve the church in that capacity at that time; therefore, they must move forward temporarily with this unique name, being willing to abandon it at any time in the process, when it becomes clear that this brother is not better positioned as pastor of the congregation, at this stage they must propose only another name, repeating the process until a final candidate is presented.
If the candidate comes from outside, the elders should listen to their sermons in person or online. If possible, the elders can listen to an online sermon together and discuss it without the presence of the preacher.
After that, the elders could have the brother in question come to preach to the congregation, find the congregation in ever smaller places, and answer questions from the congregation. Of course, there must be more time with the elders. As a pastor, elders should ask why this pastor of another church is considering leaving his current church and whether his church knows he is considering this possibility. Especially with the elderly, the future pastor must discuss his theology and his philosophy of ministry.
This is where the pastoral candidate is made public. The elders should bring to the congregation the name of the person they believe would be good to serve the church as the next preaching pastor.
The congregation should have some time to consider the man who was introduced to him to serve as the principal preaching pastor. There’s no fixed time here. This can take two weeks, two months, or some other reasonable period of time. Even if the congregation heard him preach in the months leading up to the announcement, it would be irresponsible not to give our congregation time to reflect, pray, and reflect on this man’s election as the next pastor.
The congregation must vote to confirm this man’s election as a pastor. I take it as an implication of the responsibility that the congregation clearly has, in the New Testament, to evil preachers. For example, in Galatians 1: 8-9, Paul actually says, “Don’t listen to me if I come to preach another gospel to you. “The congregation must be able to affirm the choice of the elders.
You want to have a well-established and well-groomed pastor. I have often heard church leaders say of a pastor, “Let us keep him poor and God will keep him humble. “It is a short-sighted vision of the gospel and a great way to turn the pastor’s children against Christianity. That would be a terrible attitude towards your new pastor. While the immediate context in 1 Timothy 5 refers to the care of widows, Paul declares a broader truth in verse 8, when he says, “Now, if someone does not care for his own and especially those in his own home, he has denied faith and is worse than the unbeliever?”. Friends, if you take a shepherd, you have to be sure you can support your family.
Receive it with a good level of financial support, but also with patience. Also, remember that the new shepherd is like the bananas you buy in the store, he needs time to mature and reveal himself. When you take it for the first time, it’s a little green You understand, so give it a little time. As the weeks go by, the months and years your preaching will improve, this will be the result of a combination in which he gets better and you get used to it, he will have the opportunity to serve, to take an interest in baptisms, weddings and funerals. People will join the church under their ministry.
The new shepherd will then begin to look for his own successor, of course (2 Timothy 2. 2), but one thing that will help you do this with joy is the encouragement you give him, sharing some of the ways you have benefited from your East would be the kind of breath of Galatians 6. 6 or 1 Timothy 5. 17, where you pray for him and pay for him. Be generous to him so he can define a model of generosity for others. If you don’t trust his generous enough characteristics with him, you shouldn’t have hired him. Encourage him and receive it as a gift from Christ to your church.
Edward Griffin was a faithful pastor of a Presbyterian church for many years in New Jersey. In his last message to the congregation, in taking over from his successor, Griffin said, “For his own good and the interest of his children, take care of and respect the one you have chosen to be their shepherd. Does he love you now and will he soon love you like the bone of your bones and the flesh of your flesh?
Do you understand the success of good authority? The last words are always meaningful, especially in the scriptures. Consider the last words of David, the great king of ancient Israel, reported in 2 Samuel 23.
Here are the last words of David: The Word of David, son of Isaiah, word of the exalted man, of Jacob’s anointed God, of the evil Psalmist of Israel. The Spirit of the Lord speaks for me, and his word is in said the God of Israel, the Rock of Israel spoke to me: He who reigns righteously over men, who reigns in the fear of God, is like the light of the morning, when the sun rises, like a cloudless morning, then the rain, does the grass of the earth grow?(vv. 1?4).
Brothers and sisters, do you realize how good a good authority is?In a fallen world, we tend to think that authority is inherently bad. We think of authoritarianism and abuse of authority. Certainly, abuses of authority are among the worst, if not the worst blasphemy against God, but we all know that every child wants to be part of the best coach’s team, everyone invites children with the best parents, everyone wants to be part of the best coach’s team. In the company where you have the best bosses. Good authority, David says, blesses those below it. This makes them fruitful and grows. Good authority is not fundamentally for those who exercise it; it is for the blessing of those under this authority; it is a privilege and stewardship for those who have authority.