Those intangibles pastor search committees are looking for

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(What follows has reference primarily within our Southern Baptist Convention and possibly a few other denominations. If this counsel does not work within your ministerial framework, please ignore it. Thank you. –Joe)

Pastor, this one is unusual in two respects. 1) I’m going to suggest that you and your wife read it together and discuss it. 2) It comes from my wife and me. (I wrote it, then read it to Margaret and added her comments, sometimes changing what I’d said for clarification.)


I think it was Freud who said no one has ever successfully answered, “What does a woman want?”

Maybe so. But what concerns many a pastor in our denominational framework is: “What is a search committee looking for?”

The answers will depend on who you talk to. Experience, age, college, seminary, glowing references, and denominational service are some of the mainstays on their lists. The joke is they want a 30-year-old preacher with 25 years of experience, someone with a loving wife and two-and-a-half children who adore him even though he spends 80 hours a week doing pastoral calling and 40 hours in sermon preparation.

That is overstated. Slightly.

They want the usual: a good preacher who knows the Bible, believes in it absolutely, has a warm heart and great pulpit manner, and can administer a staff. They want a man who can project a vision for a church, but not force it on the congregation, leading by consensus. They want a pastor who can select a staff of winners, then see that they do a great job and that they stay with the church for many years. Oh, and they would like the pastor’s wife to be lovely and charming without letting on that she has the slightest idea she’s lovely and charming.

Nail this down and you’re on your way, preacher.

Then, there are a few other things. What we call the intangibles.

My wife and I were talking about this just today, how that young pastors get their training and experience and send out their resumes in hope that the big church will come their way but often without a clue as to what they still do not have just right.

May I start the discussion on those other things which pastor search committees want in their new pastor?That means nothing here is meant to be the final word on the subject. Perhaps it can get you to thinking and even provoke a discussion around the breakfast table or over the table at McDonald’s the next time you and a couple of your preacher buddies meet. Even better, you and your wife invite another preacher-couple in for couple and discuss it. Whether you agree is not the point. Just talking about it will be a start in the right direction.

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It’s all right to let some people leave your church.

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“As a result of this, many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.” (John 6:66)

“They went out from us because they were not of us.” (I John 2:19)

Sometimes the best thing to happen to your church is for a few people to leave.

Not long ago I ministered in a church where a few longtime leaders had just left. From the little I know, these were the ones who had controlled that church for decades, who dominated pastors and drove them away whenever it suited them, and who resisted anything remotely looking like change. The pastor’s greatest surprise was that they had left. He was one happy camper.

My seminary professor used to say, “People measure the effectiveness of a revival by the additions to the church. Sometimes, a better gauge is the subtractions.”

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10 things I like about you

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“My little children, let us not love with word or with tongue (only), but in deed and in truth.” (I John 3:18)

When our younger son was eleven, he was going through a difficult time for some reason. One day he sat in his room, alone, quiet, deep in thought. Suddenly, he got up and came into the kitchen where his mother was preparing dinner.

“Mom,” he said, “I’ll bet you can’t tell me ten things you like about me.”

Margaret thought, “Ten! Most people would have said one!” As she began reciting the qualities she treasured most about this beloved child–a sharp mind, his sweet personality, etc.–she kept sending up a panicky prayer, “O Lord, please help me to think of ten!”

She did, he gave her a big hug, and then went on with his day.

We all need a little reinforcing now and then. Most do not verbalize the need though, but squelch the sensation and suffer through the moment. I wonder if we don’t all lose something as a result: the child in us missing out on the loving affirmation and those around us bypassing the opportunity to make a lasting difference.

Remedy: Make a constant practice of telling those big in your life how special they are.

Christian author Tony Campolo says husbands can put new life into their marriages by following two simple rules:

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Choose Your Battles: Why we walk away from some people who need us and even unfriend a few

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When I was in seminary, a prominent Baptist leader speaking in chapel one day made a statement which brought forth a roomful of “amens” but which upon reflection I came to reject as forcefully as though it were pure heresy.

The leader of our worldwide force of missionaries announced, “Wherever there is a need, there is a mission field and the nearest Christian is the missionary.”

That sounds so good on the surface.

On closer inspection, that statement has a fatal flaw.

The principle that I am to meet every need I encounter and respond to every emergency situation that presents itself before me is disastrous. It says anyone with a problem has a claim on a Christian’s time and energy and resources.

Consider what our (ahem) Role Model–all caps–did when facing a long string of needy people waiting for Him to meet their needs–

And in the early morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there.

Simon and his companions hunted for Him, and they found Him, and said to Him, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’ (Can you hear the irritation in their voices? They’re fussing at Jesus for spending time alone praying when He should be back at the house taking care of all those problems.)

But He said to them, ‘Let us go on to the next towns, in order that I may preach there also. For that is what I came out for.'” (Mark 1:35-38)

Jesus walked away from needy people with legitimate requests in order to stay with the Father’s agenda for His life.

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The “church conflict” question that will get you laughed out of church

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“Why do you not rather suffer wrong?” (I Corinthians 6:7)

A dog can whip a polecat, the saying goes, but it’s not worth it.

Some fights you need to walk away from.

We’ve told here of the time in 2004 when a small group of members of a local Baptist church was taking the pastor and trustees to court over what they perceived as breaches of scripture, ethics, and good sense.  As their new associational leader, I was invited to sit in with them one evening and hear the reasons they were taking such serious action. Toward the end of the evening, the leader said, “So, what do you think?”

I said, “I think you should walk away from this. No one is going to win on this thing except the lawyers. Everything about this is wrong and bad.”

He said quietly, “We can’t. It’s gone too far for that now.”

He was wrong. They could have stopped that train in its tracks by a phone call to the lawyers. In doing so, they would have saved a church from going out of existence (within a year, the church “gave” itself away to another church that would take over its indebtedness), saved themselves and the church a ton of money (both sides hired teams of lawyers from high-priced New Orleans firms), and saved the cause of Christ a lot of bad press (the media jumps all over these things).

It’s never too late to back away from a fight.

It’s just hard. And takes more strength than most people can muster.

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Everyone ought to have grandchildren. Eight, if possible.

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“Grandchildren are the crown of old men….” (Proverbs 17:6 KJV)

A friend asked that I write a blog about grandchildren.

As one who needs no prompting to talk about these eight wonderful humans who have so enriched my life, that’s all it took.

So, let’s see how this goes.

Margaret and I have two sons, Joe Neil, Jr., called “Neil” and John Marshall, called “Marty.” When they were11 and 8, we adopted Carla Jinoke from Korea. She was 5. Her Korean name was Kim Jin Ok. We named her “Carla” for my father Carl, and kept the “Jinoke” (pronounced “jin-OH-kee”) because that first day, she pronounced her name for us in that way.

All three are children of the 1960s.

Back then, when someone asked if we had children, I would answer, “We have three–two domestic and one imported.”

In May of 1974 when we received our daughter at the Kansas City airport, I stood at the window that Tuesday afternoon watching the United plane pull up to the gate with a surprising thought filling my mind: “There is a child on this plane who will someday give me grandchildren.”  I was 34 years old and Margaret was 32. Grandchildren were the farthest thing from our minds. At that moment, I teared up at that wonderful thought.

Before they were born, they were in my heart.

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Joseph writes home from Bethlehem’s stable

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(Joseph’s letter to his parents is in bold print. His thoughts to himself are in italics.)

Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Davidson

c/o Davidson Carpentry Shop

Nazareth of Galilee

Dear Mother and Father,

I promised I would write just as soon as we arrived in Bethlehem and got settled.

We’re here, but not quite settled yet.

There’s so much I want to tell you but can’t.  For one thing, I don’t dare tell you we’re in a stable where barnyard animals have been staying. We put in clean hay, but other than that, it’s not the most sanitary place in the world. Mother would freak out if she knew.

Here’s what happened.

As you predicted, Dad, the trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem was arduous. Whether she was walking or atop the donkey, poor Mary had a hard time of it. But you know my sweet wife. No way was she going to complain. After all, she’s the one who insisted that I bring her along.

In future years, people will look back at this event and wonder why in the world we brought Mary all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem, and her almost due to give birth.  The answer is this is one strong young woman. She was bound and determined to be with her husband when the Child was born. And since I was required to make this trip, we just threw ourselves on the care of the Lord and started out.

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What a Resounding Testimony Will Do For You

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A resounding testimony of faith in Jesus Christ will get you into more trouble than you’ve ever been in your life.

You thought we were going to say how good life would be if you went “all in” for the Lord and told everyone about Him?

Let’s say it again…

A strong outspoken witness for the Lord Jesus Christ will box you into a corner and make you put up or shut up.

That’s why you ought to do it. That’s why you ought to erect a neon sign in your front yard declaring that “Jesus is Lord at 601 Park Ridge Drive” or wherever you live. You ought to put a Bible on your desk and wear t-shirts that celebrate Jesus and put Him in your conversation.

Pray in restaurants before meals, speak to waitresses about their spiritual welfare, and witness to your colleagues at work.

So live and speak that when someone wants to attack the Lord Jesus Christ and can’t lay hands on Him, they start looking for you. (Acts 5:41 comes to mind.)

In declaring yourself for Jesus, you ought to remove your safety harness and throw yourself totally into God’s hands.

Quit being so cotton-picking careful.

What are you afraid of?

Tell people you’re a Christian and that it’s the best decision you ever made and that to know Jesus is the best thing on the planet.

Keep doing it and then watch what happens.  It might be painful, so be strong.

We have a couple of stories, one from a longtime friend and the second from God’s Word.

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Pastor, What Your People Want From You at Christmastime

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“Tell me the story of Jesus, write on my heart every word; tell me the story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard.”

I love Christmas. I love the songs and the pageantry, the spirit in the air, the foods and decorations and joy, and most of all, being a minister of the Gospel, I love the opportunity to tell the old, old story all over again.

No matter how much we love the Christmas story, this season seems to return with increasing regularity.

As for ministers, after a few cycles of preaching every aspect of it you can think of–the angel’s appearance to Mary, the shepherds, Joseph’s story, the Magi and Herod, even Simeon and Anna–you run out of soap.

Now, you get into recycling. You ransack your collection of Christmas books (sermons, Guidepost stories, those sentimental collections publishers cough out each year, and anything you can find online) in a search for some angle you’ve not used before, some insight that will excite you. The sermon machine has a never-ending appetite for fodder.

You do this not so much for your people as for yourself. You feel a need to get excited about the story all over again; new insights will do that for you.

There’s a better way.

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Pastor, To Serve Well, Lose the Perfectionism

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“He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.” (Psalm 103:14

God is under no illusions about you and me.

We’re not perfect and never will be in this life.

Get used to the idea.

So, whether you set out simply to live the Christian life as a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ or you have been called into His service as a minister (pastor, missionary, whatever), you will do well to shed all pretenses and aspirations of perfection in this life.

This means that you will…

–give your best and feel it is never enough. It’s not, but the Lord can feed a multitude with a child’s lunch, so get over it.

–feel good about something you did and find out later some people were disappointed in you. You will not go to pieces over it.

–make some people angry at you for no reason you can think of. You will accept it as how things are.

–have enemies you never wanted, face opposition you never bargained for, and deal with crises not of your making. You will constantly check to see if it was something you did or failed to do. At the end, you will not take it personally.

Even when (or if) you have done everything flawlessly in your service for the Lord, you will be criticized.  Someone will find fault with what you did, write you off as a failure, reject you for whatever they were considering, and you will not be given an opportunity to respond.

Get used to it. It’s the way of life in this fallen world.

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