First, in seeking a pastor, a suitable doctrinal fit is crucial in my view. I would request a “faith statement” be included with the resume packet. This does not mean every single interpretation of the Bible needs to be a match. That is never going to happen even among long time members of a non-cultish church. Yet “primary” doctrine needs to be determined, and the candidate needs to be in agreement, and even passionate about his or her doctrine. Keep in mind there is the need for all of us to keep learning from the Bible.
Second, there needs to be a vision. For me vision includes what is termed “The Greatest Commandment,” based on the teaching of Jesus recorded in Matthew 22:34-40, and “The Great Commission,” based on Jesus’ statement recorded in Matthew 28:18-20. All followers of Jesus should be carrying out both, and pastors should be in the lead. I have always considered my primary duty as a youth minister to love God and to love people. Loving people can be expressed in countless ways, yet it should be rooted in obedience to Jesus, who commanded us to tell the Gospel, baptize, and teach everything He commanded.
Character is of upmost importance, since someone struggling with sin is hampered in loving people. Stipulations for a pastor are found in 1 Timothy 3:1-13, Titus 1:5-9, and 1 Peter 5:1-4. For starters, a pastor is to be an example and to live a life of holiness! Truthfully, we are all called to a life of holiness as is stated in 1 Peter 1:15-16. We are all called to be like Jesus. Pastors must be examples, yet realize even pastors sometimes make mistakes, at least I do anyway. Some of the prohibitions are a pastor is not to be power hungry, not to be devoted to money, and not to be recently born again. But for a successful interview, I think the character of the candidate should be learned ahead of time. References are the best source for learning about the character of a potential pastor, and they should be questioned before an interview.
Also, in addition to getting a doctrinal statement up front and talking with references, the candidate’s ministry education should be investigated ahead of time, and finally, whether in search of a head pastor, associate pastor, youth pastor, or deacon, everyone on the committee should have carefully read his or her conversion testimony. Then members of a committee are prepared to interview.
In an interview, I would want to know a key question: “What are your gifts?”
Some churches come up with a big list of things they want the pastor to do. The problem is, if by slim chance they are able to find a person who can do that long list, they are probably hiring a poor leader. A big lesson I learned in Scouting was that no person can do everything, rather success comes when a group works as a team. A great leader is someone who is capable of delegating roles to the proper people. Ministry work should be team work, and a pastor needs to be a leader.
Thus if I interviewed someone, I would want to know what his or her gifts are! I would look for someone whose gifts fit the major duties of the pastor which would not be delegated. And I would be searching for someone who can work successfully with brothers and sisters of the congregation.
Also in an interview, I would want to know if the person is going to be able to make himself or herself at home in the church and community. If a move is involved, there needs to be consideration about whether it will be a culture shock, and whether the candidate, and their family, if they have a family, will thrive in the new place.
After such pondering, I developed seven questions I would ask a potential pastor candidate in an interview after a character inquiry was completed. Granted if the search committee was large, each committee member would probably only get to ask several questions, yet my questions then would be ones which I felt had not been addressed by other members of the committee.
1. When was a recent occasion you told someone the Gospel?
2. If you could only do one thing as a pastor, what would it be?
3. A follow-up: What are some other gifts you have?
4. If you were able to preach a sermon in one week, what passage of Scripture might you preach about?
5. If you could change one aspect of your current worship service, what would it be?
6. What is your favorite thing about our city/town/area?
7. When was a recent time you laughed with someone doing ministry work?
I hope this pondering might be of benefit if a reader happens to be on a pastor search committee one time in the future, and I hope I get asked some of these questions in an interview real soon. After doing ministry work for many years in ministry positions and as a “volunteer,” I have learned the only way I can be a good pastor is to keep relying on the Chief Shepherd. May you and I rely on Him even today.
Hunter Irvine
