Putting People in the Wrong Places

In the business world, people work their way up through the ranks. It's a great system, far better than so many social and economic systems where a person is locked into a particular role simply because of their race or parents.

I'm afraid, though, that many of our churches are applying this model to something it shouldn't apply to.

Here's how it works in many fundamental churches:

Young guy decides he's called to preach, goes to Bible college. If he's smart, he usually finds a way to work in a local church for at least some of the time he's in school.

Young guy graduates from college with minimal experience, but a fair bit of book-learning, and possibly the most balance in his education he'll have at any point in his life.

Young guy looks for a church. At this point, there are several courses open. Strangely, big, healthy churches that can afford to pay well enough to comfortably support a family and that aren't likely to explode or implode within the next year rarely hire a kid fresh out of school. They're able to attact someone with experience, someone who has proven himself. Sometimes, the young guy becomes an assistant pastor at one of these healthy churches, where he learns the ropes of big-church ministry under an experienced pastor. These positions are limited, though, and frequently, the duties in such a position are very limited too, so that he becomes an expert at one aspect of ministry, but doesn't learn much about the practical side of the rest of it.

Sometimes, he becomes an assistant, but at a church that isn't so strong and healthy - he might have to work part-time or even full-time to support his family, but at least he's getting some experience, and hopefully some training from an experienced pastor. Unfortunately, if the church can't afford an assistant, it's often because the church has some kind of problem. Many times, the young guy becomes the fall guy when there's a problem. Note that he's also receiving training from someone who is not the pastor of a strong healthy church - sometimes, this is because the pastor isn't capable of building and operating a strong, healthy church, and thus, his training is flawed.

Sometimes, he goes straight into the pastorate himself. But since the strong, healthy churches are already being served by experienced, knowledeable men, he winds up with a small, unhealthy church. The problem is that while he's got a pretty balanced education, there's no way even a graduate degree can prepare him for all the tensions and problems a small, struggling church can have. So the young guy gets a trial by fire. Sometimes, he gets fed up and quits. Sometimes, the church demonstrates why it's small and unhealthy by running him off. Sometimes, he manages to learn on the job fast enough to keep his job and survive to either build the church up or to be noticed by one of those strong, healthy churches, where he goes as soon as he can.

There's a problem here. The guys who actually have the knowledge and experience to navigate the troubled waters of small-church ministry aren't in the small churches anymore! They've taken easier, better-paying positions at large, healthy churches. The guys who are getting the problem cases are the ones who are the least prepared and qualified to handle them.

Now, I know I'm speaking in generalities here. I know guys who came out of Bible college quite capable of starting a church or taking a troubled church, and by God's grace, and without too much hindrance from the congregation, making it work. I know that in some ways, it's a different skill set to administrate a church of 1,000 people, as opposed to shepherding the small flock of 40. (This is part of the problem with the young guy being an assistant in a large church, then expecting to step out and pastor a small church successfully.) The man who can do one well may not be able to do the other well.

I also know that faithfulness in the small is required before responsibility in the large, and it would perhaps be a greater disaster to put someone incompetent in charge of a church of 500 than a church of 50.

But rather than sorting out who is best suited to what kind of ministry, we do it like the business world - throw them in the water, sink or swim, and the guys who make it get the cushiest spots on the island.

Now, I'm not about to disgard the traditional Independent Baptist model of pastoral selection. I don't want some group over me telling me which church I have to go work for, or telling churches who they can and can't hire as pastors. I especially don't want said group shuffling me from church to church every few years - it can take years to really become effective as pastor of a new group of people. It takes time for their vision to adapt to your leadership and for you to learn the personalities, strengths, and weaknesses of a congregation.

The current system takes men who could have been good pastors and throws them to the wolves before they are ready. It takes men who belong in administrative roles or primarily preaching roles and has them in situations the Lord never gifted or equiped them for.

Do I have a great solution, a better system?

Well, the solution is not a system. The solution is to get back to choosing pastors based on Biblical guidelines rather than business-world models. A church is not a business. The right pastor is not necessarily the person with the most apparently-ideal education, background, and family makeup. The right church for a pastor is not necessarily the one that pays the best or is the most comfortable.

Both churches and pastors need to step away from a business-world way of thinking and ground their decisions in the Word of God, trusting the Spirit of God. God knows the right man for the job, and He knows the right job for the man. If we let Him put the bodies together, I suspect they'll work a whole lot better.

What do you think about churches and how they get pastors?