A Pastoral Search that Screened for Everything Except Character

A thorough pastoral search process protects a church from hiring the wrong pastor. That is the belief that every search team operates under.

A resume, sermon videos, social media feeds, interviews, a dinner and reference check help evaluate and present a candidate for a vote. Just as the excitement for the new pastor begins to evolve into normalcy something surfaces that the search process was supposed to catch.

A natural response would be to question our search process. A more helpful question is this: what is our search process measuring and are we placing emphasis on the right thing?

Every pastoral search team believes it is hiring for character. Should we stop viewing sermon videos or checking social media sites? Not at all! We need to assess a person’s pastoral competency. This should happen in tandem with evaluating the content of the pastor’s character.

Charisma and production value have quietly replaced character and faithfulness as the actual, often unspoken, hiring criteria.

Consider what I’ll call the celebrity pastor template. They are articulate and project confidence. They never stumble over words or phrasing. They have a warm demeanor and quick wit. They are fit, well dressed and appear to be successful. Their digital content is flawless with tight camera angles, quality sound and eye-catching graphics. Views, likes, comments and subscriber counts indicate that the content resonates with people near and far.

Contrast that with what I’ll refer to as the faithful pastor template. Pastors who have shepherded a congregation over the long haul have a quiet fortitude about them. They are the same person whether on the stage, in the foyer or in a meeting. They remember names but also remember that your dad has been ill in recent months. They show up even when it is inconvenient. They stay when leaving would be the easier option.

Our tendency towards charisma is an age old problem. In the Old Testament of the Bible a priest named Samuel was instructed to go to the house of a man named Jesse in order to anoint one of his sons as king over Israel. The Bible tells us that Samuel entered the home and immediately his eye was drawn to Eliab, Jesse’s oldest son. Samuel was certain that this was the man God had chosen as king.

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 New International Version

The church did not stumble into the wrong hire. They wanted him.

They wanted a pastor that looked good on their stage. They wanted a pastor they would feel proud to post about on their social media sites. They were impressed by the books the pastor had written and intrigued by his podcast interviews. The pastoral search process screened for one thing: would he make us look like the kind of church we want to be?

He had a strong skillset and solid references. The search firm vetted him and the denomination approved the hire. Things became shaky within months. It didn’t occur out in the spotlight which added a layer of complexity. The hot temper and an absence of humility surfaced in closed door meetings. Repeated attempts were made to bring about a God honoring resolution.

The church did not select for character. They wanted to be impressed and that is precisely what walked through the door.

John 10:10 describes Satan’s purpose which is to steal from and stop the work that God is doing in and through that church. He wasn’t sitting in the interviews. He was working beneath the surface to exploit a human desire. Their own appetite for charisma chose the pastoral search criteria.

A faithful pastor and his wife shepherded and discipled my wife as she was growing up. Nothing about him would earn likes, shares, or subscribers in today’s celebrity pastor culture.

His church was small. He didn’t write any books. Never had a cassette tape ministry or spoke from a conference stage. His sermons were grounded in his own spiritual journey not produced to build a following.

We keep in contact. He and his wife are still genuinely interested in how my wife (and we as a family) are doing.

Would he be called for an interview if he applied for a position at your church?