Hiring A New Minister

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Your church deserves to be led well.

God expects his church to be led well.

Feeling the pressure of hiring the right candidate?

Whether we like it or not, getting the right people in the right jobs on the ministry team is essential for today’s growing church. Read some best practices and learn some tips for your next hiring experience.

Hiring Your Next Minister

ONE OF OUR GREATEST BLESSINGS ALSO CONFRONTS US WITH ONE OF OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES.

In some new churches as many as 80 percent of first-time attendees return a second week because they identify with the lead minister. The senior minister’s slot is unquestionably the most important position in the American church.

But it isn’t the only important position. For example, some new churches see 50 percent of their visitors return because they love the worship and identify with the worship minister. And one of the major reasons young families do not return is because their children have a negative experience in the children’s program.

Whether we like it or not, getting the right people in the right jobs on the ministry team is essential for today’s growing church.

HOW SHOULD WE DO THIS?

How should a typical Christian church approach the hiring process? There are probably as many approaches as there are churches! While being an independent Christian church brings many blessings, one of our greatest blessings—our independence—also confronts us with one of our biggest challenges. Making decisions at a local level is not a problem when Scripture provides clear guidance. But this is

a task with issues not addressed by a “Thus saith the Lord.”

So where does the leadership of a church turn when it is time to hire a new senior minister or other staff member? Fortunately, when it comes to the hiring process, we need not go it alone. We can find much collective wisdom within the Christian church community. Tapping into that wisdom is the best way to begin the hiring process.

Christian Standard has asked six church leaders to provide insight into how their churches or ministries approach the hiring process. Two are executive ministers at megachurches, one on the East Coast and one in the Southwest. Two are executive directors of the two largest church planting ministries within the Christian churches and churches of Christ. One is a director of planter care for another church planting ministry, and one is a director of the Church Planting Assessment Center.

All have ample experience hiring ministers. They have learned much from their successes and mistakes, and when we asked them to help in developing a series on the hiring process, they were more than willing to share their wisdom and insight. We think you will appreciate what they have to say, and we hope you will save their instruction for the next time your church needs to begin the hiring process.

How To Get Started

BY THOMAS F. JONES, JR.

This doesn’t mean the elders should operate in secret. Just because they’re responsible, they can’t afford to withhold information from the congregation or micromanage the process. Shared wisdom and open communication are essential to the pastoral hiring process. The elders should not try to manage the process on their own. There are others in every local church who possess gifts or experiences, or who work in professions that will help the leadership make a solid decision.

Selection of a minister by a local church is an extremely important task and should not be taken lightly. We’re talking about the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, and the people of God. This is not like choosing a Little League baseball coach, a hired hand, or a repairman to fix a leaky faucet.

Strong and gifted leaders guide successful organizations. The church is no exception. High-quality leadership is needed to fulfill the mission of the church. This is serious business. Few decisions are equally crucial to the church, and none is more important.

A wise choice will set the positive direction of the church for a long time. A poor selection will likewise negatively influence the health of the church for many years. Some churches never recover from a poor pastoral hire.

OVERSEE THE PROCESS

This decision is so important that the elders or local leadership team should oversee the process and make the final decision. The elders can and should delegate parts of the process to others, but they must take responsibility for the final decision and the process used in hiring a new minister.

DEVELOP A PROFILE

Leaders should take time and be thorough in developing a profile for the person they seek as their next minister. Some basics should be apparent in every candidate considered.

1. CALLED BY GOD

Is the candidate called by God? Churches don’t want a minister who is simply looking for a job. Unfortunately, there are pastors out there who are incredibly capable, but who are not spiritually connected to God in their vocation. It is important to find out if the pastoral candidate has a clear call from God and if that personal call is continually cultivated in regular spiritual formation.

Scripture is clear that God’s leaders are called in different ways. Therefore, be careful not to put God or the candidate in a box by limiting how calling takes place.

2. THEOLOGICALLY SOUND

The candidate should be theologically sound. Don’t be afraid to create an initial questionnaire that includes questions on theology. The key is to find out as much as you can about what the minister believes before there is an interview.

Be careful to keep major doctrine the main focus. If you get too caught up in minor doctrinal issues, then you might never find a minister! There will always be some differences in opinion, but there needs to be basic agreement on the main issues.

3. HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS

One of the most important things a married minister brings to a congregation is a healthy marriage and family (though churches should not rule out single people for ministry roles). A strong family value modeled by the church’s public leader can be a powerful influence in our culture. Therefore, before a minister is hired, take time to get to know the spouse and family. Spend enough time with them so you have a good sense of how they relate to one another.

4. FINANCIAL INTEGRITY

Personal financial integrity is rarely talked about in pastoral interviews, but I believe it is a knockout factor. Ask straightforward questions about the candidate’s f nances and don’t apologize for it. If you hire a minister who is heavily in debt, your church will eventually suffer for it.

5. MORAL INTEGRITY

Every church deserves a minister with high moral integrity. Ask the candidate about affairs (physical and emotional), addictions (alcohol, drugs, gambling, pornography), or other immoral activities. Ask the candidate’s references, and then check with people who know the candidate but weren’t included in his list of references.

If your church is seriously considering hiring a person as minister, then the candidate’s past and current churches or ministries must be called. This should only be done with the potential minister’s permission, but it must be

done. The local church deserves to know the answer to these questions. It is a huge mistake to ignore them.

6. COMPATIBLE WITH THE CHURCH

The pastoral leadership skills and personality of the candidate should match the needs of the congregation. Leaders should consider what kind of minister the church needs. Does the congregation need strong visionary leadership? Dynamic preaching? Sensitive pastoral care and shepherding?

INSTILL THESE QUALITIES

What makes for an effective ministerial recruitment process? I believe the following characteristics are important:

Every pastoral selection process should be undergirded by prayer. Do not underestimate the power of prayer by God’s people. This is also a great way to get everyone in the church involved with the process. Don’t just talk about prayer; actually do it.

Visibility is an essential part of finding the right ministerial candidate. Communicate your search broadly. Local churches should contact Bible colleges, seminaries, church agencies, Christian Standard, and other Christian leaders.

Consider well-connected friends and members of your congregation: those your congregation has ordained and sent out to ministry, missionary agencies, camp personnel, and former ministers and other longtime leaders who know the church. Ask these good folks for help.

Effective pastoral recruitment programs are systematic. Leaders should adopt a clear set

of processes so that when a potential candidate emerges, there are procedures to move forward. Nonsystematic programs lead to inefficiency, frustration, and mistakes. This also can cause ill will with potential candidates. Take the time to develop a good system.

Successful recruitment is creative, innovative, and imaginative. The church team leading the search for a new pastor needs to make the congregation appear as attractive, viable, and dynamic as possible. The idea is to paint a picture of the church and the pastoral position that will entice prospects to check the church out. Creativity will attract those who initially might not be interested.

Innovation does not imply using gimmicks or making false representations. Pastoral candidates should be genuinely challenged by the Spirit to seek out the congregation.

Finding a God-called minister requires the leadership to invest and spend resources. There should be funds available to pay travel expenses of serious candidates and their families. It also is appropriate for the local congregation to pay for leaders to visit the candidate’s current church or ministry. The church might want to invest in psychological testing to go deeper in its understanding of the candidates, or even consider a professional pastoral assessment of some kind.

Effective recruitment is educational. Churches should assume that candidates know little or nothing about their church. Therefore, church leaders should produce a profile of the church, the community, and the kind of person being sought as the new minister.

A change in senior ministers is a great time for a congregation to reevaluate. What is the church’s history? Are there some things to be learned from the last minister? Are there

some things the church wants a new pastor to do differently? What is the church’s mission and vision? Where does the church want to be in five years? What ministries characterize the values of the church? (For instance, church planting, youth, senior citizens, global missions, higher education, social justice.) How does the church spend its resources?

Once the church has a good handle on its identity, it becomes easier to define a profile, clarify a job description, and recruit a leader who can come alongside and help the church move forward.

Assertiveness is another characteristic of successful recruitment programs. Every local church should be bold in seeking pastoral candidates. Churches and leaders have every right to be assertive if we indeed believe God is involved in the process. Each church deserves to be led by the best possible candidate. Don’t apologize. Be assertive. Don’t be passive about finding the God-given leader your church deserves.

Too many local churches take whoever comes along. If you know some pastoral leaders who would be a good fit for your ministry, then go after them. Don’t wait for them to come to you. However, this enthusiasm must be balanced by the processes and systems mentioned above. This gives the church a safety net so it doesn’t make mistakes.

Please take this important task seriously. Your church deserves to be led well. God expects for his church to be led well. Your community and the lost, hurting people in it deserve your church to be led well.

Thomas F. Jones Jr. is executive director for Stadia: New Church Strategies, a national church planting organization.

Checking Resources

BY BRENT STORMS

In my local church ministry, and now in my position as president of a church planting organization, I have considered more than 1,000 candidates for open positions in ministry. I have screened and interviewed hundreds, and have hired more than 30 people for ministry positions. As I look back on the hiring process, I understand there are few elements more important than checking references and previous employers.

Let me share three examples.

Not long ago I met a candidate for the position of lead planter for a new church to be started in one of our northeastern cities. We met at a regional ministers gathering. He was serving in a staff role at another area church. He was dreaming about leading a new church someday. As we got to know each other through subsequent conversations I realized his passion and giftedness would probably make him a good fit for one of our projects.

NOT ALL WEAKNESSES ARE BAD

Before our second conversation, we agreed he would let the senior minister of his current church know we were talking. This prompted the senior minister to contact me with some

concerns. We arranged a face-to-face meeting. I couldn’t have been more surprised at how the meeting unfolded.

I expected him to be upset with me for recruiting one of his staff members. Instead, he told me the church was already considering dismissing this staff member. He shared several disappointments with this individual.

I thought he was going to tell me, “This guy has no business planting a church.” Instead, he said, “While he hasn’t worked out for us in his current position, we think he’d be a great church planter.” (By the way, the senior minister was a church planter, too, so he knows what it takes.)

I suspected he might be recommending this candidate and overstating his abilities in order to get rid of him. But additional references confirmed some of the candidate’s weaknesses as a staff member and strengths as a potential church planter. After completing the rest of our process, we hired him. He’s doing great so far.

LESSONS LEARNED:

1. Every candidate has weaknesses. A reference who is willing to talk openly and specifically with you about the candidate’s weaknesses is a big help. Do not make the mistake of dropping a candidate once you’ve learned about his or her flaws. Their flaws provide insight into the kind of environment that would help the candidate succeed.

2. The person you’re seeking to fill your position might not have been satisfied with or performed well in his or her previous position. That may be OK, especially if you’re hiring the person to do something different than he or she was previously doing.

NOT ALL STRENGTHS ARE GOOD

Several years ago I was leading a church that was desperately seeking help in a particular ministry area. We kept striking out in our search. We needed someone, anyone, immediately.

To our surprise, a candidate contacted us via e-mail. His résumé looked great. The initial phone interview went well. The subsequent meeting in person at the church went even better. Our whole team got a chance to meet the candidate and his wife. Everyone was convinced this couple was an answer to our prayers.

I happened to know an executive staff member at one of the churches where the candidate had served. I called my friend and asked about our candidate. He said, “We loved them [the candidate and his wife]. We hated to see them go. If we could, we’d hire him back.” That was enough for me. I trust this friend and admire the church. We’d found our new staff member.

Unfortunately, the position we hired him for was not a particular area of passion for our new hire. He did the job without complaining, but he lacked the energy that comes from operating in an area of passion. Additionally, this staff member was fantastic with people but terrible with details. I doubt my friend knew how much coaching our new staff member needed in that department. His lack of administrative skills surfaced quickly.

For these two reasons, his ministry with us was less than fruitful. Everyone at our church loved this couple, but after a few years, we couldn’t afford to keep him working in a role he didn’t love with results that were less than stellar.

LESSONS LEARNED:

1. When checking references, talk to the candidate’s direct supervisor. My friend observed our candidate’s ministry only from a distance. He wasn’t directly involved in his supervision. I suspect we would have gathered better information from someone else on staff.

2. In contrast with what I said in number 2 (above), just because a person performed well in one role doesn’t mean he or she will perform well in another. You may find it helpful to ask behavior-based questions to determine how the candidate might perform in the role you have in mind.

NOT ALL REFERENCES WILL TALK

We had been looking for some time for the right church planter to start a church in a city we had never worked in before. A former staff member of one of our new churches recommended a friend for the position. We started the conversations, and things looked good. We asked to speak with his supervisor at the large church where he had been serving for nearly 10 years. He agreed (the staff at his church knew he was pursuing a new ministry).

Unfortunately the supervisor gave a noncommittal response to almost every question I asked. He mentioned a few strengths and weaknesses of the candidate, but wasn’t very specific. He didn’t enthusiastically endorse the candidate for our position, nor did he strongly dissuade us. In other words, our 20-minute phone conversation offered no help.

We have confidence in the Center for Ministry Assessment (www.center4ministryassessment.org). We use this assessment process

for all of our church-planting candidates. Increasingly, churches are using this service for all potential hires.

We sent our candidate through assessment and reached an important conclusion. While we were confident our candidate had the gifts needed to plant a dynamic church, we were

the church where he had been working. “I think you made the right decision,” he confided.

It might have been helpful to know what he thought before sending the candidate through assessment. However, our decision reinforced this senior minister’s already positive opinion of our hiring process and his remarks affirmed our approach.

LESSONS LEARNED:

1. There may be several reasons for references to be hesitant about giving a strongly stated opinion about a candidate. On one hand, the reference may be reluctant to endorse the candidate for fear you might hold him or her accountable if it doesn’t go well. On the other hand, the ref- erence might avoid discouraging you from hiring a candi- date, knowing the new challenge or new setting might be just what the individual needs to flourish.

2. While references can be helpful in the hiring process, it’s important to trust in the other aspects of the process. Checking references is only one of many tools you can use to gather the information you need to make a wise decision.

not willing to take the risk of hiring him. Why? We were concerned about the number of people his somewhat abrasive demeanor might tick off along the way.

Shortly after informing the candidate of our decision, we heard from the senior minister of

Brent Storms is president of Orchard Group Church Planting. For more information, visit www. orchardgroup.org.

Do not make the mistake of dropping a candidate once you’ve learned about his or her flaws. Their flaws provide insight into the kind of environment that would help the candidate succeed.

Face-to-Face Interviews

BY ROB KASTENS

Our leadership at Mountain Christian Church, Joppa, Maryland, has worked hard to create a mission-first, team-first staff culture. We work hard to facilitate, encourage, and protect this culture with existing staff, but we work extra hard to ensure prospective staff understand, buy in, and fit in with our culture.

In fact, we believe selecting new staff to join our team at Mountain is one of the most important tasks of leadership. Few decisions have a longer-term impact on a church’s health and mission than the people it hires. Selecting wisely can move the mission forward and heighten a positive staff culture. Selecting poorly can derail or deter the mission, hold back a given ministry area, or create negative energy within the entire church.

We always enter the hiring process by stating clearly that we want what God wants. If God is directing us to hire someone, we believe we can determine his will through a deliberate process. This includes face-to-face contact and the involvement of discerning people.

GETTING A CLEAR PICTURE

Our goal is to get a clear picture of the candidate’s “four C’s”: character, competence, chemistry, and calling

Character is the heart and integrity of a Christian leader.

Competence includes the skill sets, gifts, education, experience, and leadership required to fulfill the responsibilities.

Chemistry is the degree to which a person fits within the staff team and staff culture. This includes the specific team in which the person would be serving and the church staff as a whole.

Calling is the person’s sense of God’s voice directing him or her to this particular role, to our particular church and mission, and to impact our community (the most unchurched county in Maryland).

We can gain some understanding of these qualities through phone calls, reference checks, and a personal questionnaire, but we gain the most clarity through following these steps with face-to-face visits—sometimes on the candidate’s turf and always on our turf.

I should also point out that we hire a number of staff from within our church. For these “internal” candidates, we adjust the process described below based on our familiarity with the individual. However, the intentionality in ascertaining each of the four C’s remains.

Typically, we reserve visits to the candidate’s turf for those we need to see firsthand in their role and context in order to assess their level of competence and discern if they would fit into our church culture. This is usually reserved for candidates whose role would demand significant “up-front” leadership responsibilities (teaching, worship leading, etc.).

However, today’s technology more and more reduces the need for us to visit their turf. In-

stead, we use video recordings (DVD as well as Web-based video options) to gain a feel for their level of competence and fit with Mountain.

EXPERIENCING OUR CULTURE

While we may not go to visit each candidate, we require every candidate to visit Mountain for at least one weekend, usually two, and sometimes three. These visits are important in determining “fit” and effectively gauging the four C’s.

We always bring the candidate and his or her spouse, if married, and usually their children. Our staff culture is somewhat unique in that staff, spouses, and families truly function as family. Obviously, we are hiring only the candidate and do not interview the spouse or children. But we do believe it is important for them to experience the staff culture we enjoy and have worked hard to create. Our current staff members also have a tremendous investment in our culture and they have a great desire to help us keep it healthy. As a result, we gain their full investment in these weekend visits and they become an enthusiastic sales force for what it’s like to work at Mountain.

The weekend itinerary includes not just visits with the specific team members the candidate would be working with (supervisor and colleagues), but also a broader circle of staff members, volunteers, and families. There’s always time for social gatherings to relax and talk about things other than ministry.

The weekend involves focused interview time with the supervisor, the executive pastor, the senior pastor, and sometimes with the elders who make up our personnel team. These times

provide an opportunity to explore character, competence, and calling, as well as continuing to assess chemistry. They also give the candidate an opportunity to ask specific questions about the role, the ministry team, and Mountain in general.

Depending on the position, we may give the candidate an opportunity to demonstrate competency by teaching or leading worship. We have brought in “guest” worship leaders or teachers partly to discern their giftedness and fit with Mountain.

The weekend may also include some time to explore the area (the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, for example), learn about local schools, and look at housing options with a Realtor.

Finally, the weekend includes experiencing worship at Mountain. The visit typically concludes with a wrap-up conversation with the candidate about what he or she is sensing and also an impression of what we are sensing. We then spell out anticipated next steps in the process and commit to pray for clarity.

After the visit, we gather input from every person who encountered the candidate to make

Few decisions have a longerterm impact on a church’s health and mission than the people it hires.

observations about how the person would fit with the role in question and with Mountain.

In our experience, our worst hiring decisions, while few in number, have resulted from shortchanging this process in some way. We became enamored with the person’s competence and our needs, and we lost sight of the importance of calling, character, and chemistry. After these missteps, it took months and sometimes years to regain the ground we lost in terms of mission and staff culture.

ENJOYING THE CELEBRATION

Putting extra effort into assessing all four C’s through extensive and exhausting face-toface visits is more than worth it. And it has created a fifth C—celebration—as we hire new staff. The new staff member and his or her family celebrate because they have a great feel for the team and mission they will be joining. Our staff, elders, and church celebrate a new hire because we have developed a trust in the thoroughness of the process.

There is no doubt this process can be time-consuming and even exhausting, both for us and the candidate. However, the end result is a sense of certainty for ev- eryone involved that we have discerned the best fit for the candidate, for Mountain, and for the kingdom. That assurance is priceless—that God is at work directing the right people to us, so we can say, “We are clearly following God’s leading.”

Rob Kastens is executive pastor of Mountain Christian Church in Joppa, Maryland.

The Behaviorally Based Interview

BY BRENT STORMS

A good friend at church is the CEO of a growing manufacturing facility with more than 50 employees. He has advanced academic degrees and years of experience in business, but has only recently taken on the responsibility of interviewing potential employees.

A few weeks ago he confided he still hasn’t figured out the secret to interviewing people for his staff. In particular, he’s had a number of people excel in the interview only to flounder on the job. Hiring the wrong people has cost him a significant amount of time, money, and productivity.

If a seasoned, well-educated CEO still struggles with how best to interview candidates for employment, how much harder the task must seem for church selection committees, staffed by good-hearted volunteers, many of whom have little to no experience or education in interviewing or hiring.

Hope can be found in a specific type of interview that has been used in the church-planting world for more than 20 years. This type of interview, popularized by Charles Ridley of Texas A&M University, is known as “behaviorally

based interviewing.” This is the form of interviewing we use at Stadia, and it plays a big part in our 90 percent success rate in starting new churches.

So what exactly is behaviorally based interviewing and how is it different from other types of interviewing? Simply put, there are two key goals around which the interview questions are based:

• Evaluating a ministry candidate’s past behavior as a predictor of future results

• Determining whether the ministry candidate has been an “actor” or simply “on the stage.”

PAST BEHAVIOR AS A PREDICTOR OF FUTURE RESULTS

I’ve been a part of many interviews (including some I’ve led) that were future-focused. This is understandable. After all, we are hoping a particular ministry candidate will be a part of our church or ministry’s future!

As interviewers we ask a candidate, “Tell me about your vision for ministry,” or, “If you were to come to this congregation, tell us what kinds of things you would do in your first year.” Or we use doctrinal questions, asking a candidate to articulate his theology of baptism, church leadership, or some other important topic. These aren’t bad questions, but there are better questions that will tell us whether a particular candidate is the right fit for our church or ministry.

The common element in behavioral-interview questions is a strong belief that past behavior is a predictor of future results. In the Parable of the Shrewd Manager, Jesus says, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much” (Luke 16:10). A similar principle is found in the Parable of the Talents, in which each of the two servants who wisely invested his mas-

ter’s money was rewarded with additional responsibility because of faithfulness with a little. “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things” (Matthew 25:21, 23). These passages make it clear that God uses past performance as one measure of how well we will handle future responsibility.

As interviewers, we put this principle into practice by asking questions about very specific past behaviors. For example:

• Give a recent example of how you handled interpersonal conflict in your work or ministry. Tell me about the conflict, and how you brought resolution to that conflict.

• Give at least two specific examples of how you relate to unchurched and non-Christian people. What kinds of things have you done to build and nurture those relationships? What results have you seen?

• Describe your greatest failure in ministry. How did you handle it? What did you learn from this experience?

While the specific questions should be designed around your candidate profile, all of these questions should lead to a candidate recounting actual, specific incidents in ministry or other leadership. You want the candidate to tell a detailed story about what happened and how he or she was personally involved.

The behaviorally based approach can also be used with doctrinal questions. For example, “Tell me about a time someone came to you asking you to baptize their baby. What did you do and how did you respond to their questions?” Or, “Tell me about the process you used in selecting a particular leader in your last ministry. How did you know that person was the ‘right’ person and ready for leadership?”

Most ministry candidates know how to give the right answers to doctrinal questions. Asking how they handled the application of those doctrines will give you much deeper insight into both their head and their heart. The stories they tell you will give you a very good idea of how they would apply those doctrines in future ministry.

Of course, all of these questions are “starter” questions. You’ll want to follow them up with more detailed questions, probing deeper to determine actual past behaviors and get more details of the story. If your candidate hangs out with his unchurched friends at Starbucks, you want to know what kind of conversations he has with those friends. You want to know how she has introduced spiritual topics into the conversation, or what he has done to meet practical needs to take those relationships deeper. The more you know of the story, the better you’ll know how the candidate will likely act in the future.

ACTOR OR STAGE

The second goal of behavioral interviewing is to determine whether a ministry candidate has been an “actor” or simply “on the stage” in their previous ministry leadership. Let me explain.

The “stage” in this case is the particular church, ministry, or marketplace leadership in which a candidate has been involved. (I am not saying ministry is a performance—this is just a metaphor!) For example, the stage for someone who’s been a lead minister could be the church he led. For a youth minister, it would be the youth group he oversaw. For a person entering vocational ministry from the marketplace, it could be work or community service experience as well as volunteer ministry leadership.

One of the challenges in evaluating past behavior is separating the success (or failure) of a particular ministry (the “stage”) from the success or failure of the ministry candidate as an effective leader (an “actor”). Just because a per- son was a part of a successful ministry does not mean that person was instrumental as a leader in creating that success. Likewise, a failing or struggling ministry doesn’t necessarily mean that the ministry candidate failed or struggled.

In separating the actor from the stage, it’s important to carefully discern between ministry programs and personal involvement. I’ve found that confusing actor and stage happens fairly frequently when ministry candidates are asked about evangelism and outreach. Many have had roles in churches with successful outreach programs, and they often describe their involvement in evangelism by describing these programs. Or they describe the people who have come forward at church for baptism. They’re describing the stage, but we want to know their role as actors.

Asking questions like, “How were you personally involved in that outreach program?” or “Tell me about a time you personally led someone to Christ outside of your role as a minister,” can help determine whether the candidate was an actor or merely on the stage.

The actor-stage distinction can be helpful in situations when a candidate was part of a struggling church. Many youth ministers have developed thriving youth ministries despite substantial negative pressure from a senior minister or elders. The stage might not have been great, but they’ve done a good job as actors given the limitations of that stage. Understanding how they acted under those limitations can give a glimpse of how they perform under pressure.

On the other hand a thriving ministry can mask the fact that a candidate isn’t an especially effective actor. This is a particular danger when a candidate is moving from a larger church or ministry to a smaller one. In larger ministries, candidates often have very specialized roles and a number of paid support staff. In smaller contexts they often have to be generalists. Again, it’s important to ask questions about a candidate’s personal involvement in the health and growth of that ministry to determine whether the candidate or someone else on a ministry team made that ministry a success.

APPLYING THE PRINCIPLE

Let me emphasize that these are principles. This approach isn’t limited to the candidate interview but can be used throughout the entire process. The church I now serve is using these principles of behavioral interviewing in a written application, in phone interviews with a candidate’s ref- erences, and in telephone and face-to-face interviews with the candidate and his spouse. In all three of those contexts, we’re looking for evidence of past performance and exam- ples of how that person has served as an actor in ministry.

My CEO friend and I had a great conversation about these principles, and he’s decided to begin using them not only in the workplace but as part of our church’s search team as we look for our next lead minister.

David Limiero serves as the associate executive director for Planter Care with Stadia. In 2003, he planted Life Journey Christian Church in Bakersfield, California, which is currently using behavioral interviewing to select its next lead minister.

Extending The Call

BY DON ANDERSON

When you finally find the minister you believe has the competence, chemistry, and character you have been praying for God to provide, you feel like breathing a sigh of relief and celebrating—but your work is far from complete. It is important to be thorough as you complete these last few steps.

DOING YOUR HOMEWORK

Before you begin searching for any candidate, create a job description and poll other churches to find out the compensation packages they provide for similar positions. The best practice is to maintain approved salary ranges with associated benefits by job classification so you maintain equity with existing staff.

Consult salary survey data from a number of sources such as the National Association of Church Business Administration (NACBA), Leadership Network, or ChurchStaffing.com to decide on a salary and benefits range for your open position.

In addition, before you begin recruiting, decide if you will cover relocation costs, such as the direct moving expenses of furniture, household goods, and vehicles; house-hunting trips; breaking a lease; selling or buying homes; etc. If you are not willing to cover relo-

cation expenses, then look to fill your position from local candidates. The best pastoral candidates will likely expect some financial assistance with their relocation.

Continue your data collection throughout the entire interview process so you build an understanding of your candidate’s expectations, and informally test your understanding of those expectations. It may seem obvious, but a common mistake is not to collect enough information early in the process to be fully prepared to close the deal with the selected candidate. As a result, candidates are surprised by salary, benefits, relocation, start date, or a variety of other factors.

Several key data points to collect and confirm periodically during the hiring process include:

• Past salary history (informally or formally later in the process with W2 income or sample pay stubs for the past two years).

• Expected income range.

• If relocation is necessary, know the cost-ofliving impact for an out-of-town candidate and the expected costs and/or components (moving expenses, deposits, breaking a lease, etc.).

• Available start date.

Ask about the candidate’s professional and personal aspirations. Take time to consider the candidate’s perspective. Analyze the employment package to determine elements that might need improvement or could be problematic for the candidate.

The person who finalizes and/or presents the job offer will vary from church to church. Typically, when hiring a senior minister, the final negotiator is the head of the pulpit search committee or the board chairman. For most other

positions, the eventual supervisor or executive pastor is responsible. In any case, it is important that the person who extends the call and negotiates salary and benefits has been involved throughout the entire hiring process, has sufficient hiring experience and ability, understands the concept of win-win negotiations, and has authority to negotiate and make adjustments within pre-established limitations.

PRECLOSING A CANDIDATE

Preclosing a candidate is an important step of the offer process that often is skipped.

Make a preclosing call once you know the candidate will be receiving an offer from the church (assuming that all background and reference checking is successful). In such a call, your goal is to outline the details of a typical offer, but also be very clear that this is a confirmation of the candidate’s interest and not the final offer.

Recap the information concerning the position and compensation with a proposed start date.

Seek to identify and discuss any discrepancies between your expectations and the candidate’s expectations. Several sample questions to this end might include:

• Is this offer what you were hoping for?

• Are any of these offer parameters unacceptable?

• Have you already discussed this opportunity with your spouse or do you need more time to discuss it?

• Do you think your current church will give you a counter offer, and is there a chance you would stay?

• With the right offer, when would you be able to start? Complete the discussion and set a

time for the next meeting or telephone call to discuss the official offer.

Update the offer as appropriate with the information gathered in the preclosing call.

EXTENDING THE CALL

The next important step is extending the call with the job offer.

Once you have internally agreed to move forward with the offer, meet or call the candidate as previously agreed upon.

It is best to present the offer in person, if possible. When a face-to-face meeting is not possible, a phone call to present the offer should be followed with an offer letter e-mailed to the candidate.

In the meeting or phone call, try to convey the excitement and emotion you have for hiring the individual.

• Start with the great news of wanting the candidate to join your staff.

• Express your excitement about the impact they are going to make.

• Present and discuss the details of the job offer.

• Specifically address the candidate’s questions and concerns.

• Finally, ask for the candidate’s feedback about the offer.

Do not expect or request the candidate to immediately accept the offer. In fact, encourage him to take time in extended prayer and discussion with his spouse and family. Ask him how much time he needs to decide and set a specific day for the next conversation.

As stated above, it is important to follow up the meeting or phone call with an e-mailed offer/ letter that requests confirmation of receipt. The letter should explain the position role, responsibilities, salary and benefits, relocation parameters, proposed start date, and any other items specific to the candidate.

Always require the offer letter to be signed and returned by an agreed-upon date after the candidate acknowledges verbal acceptance of the final job offer.

CONDUCTING OPEN NEGOTIATIONS

During subsequent negotiations, it is important to remember what Warren Buffet says, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

Seek God’s direction throughout negotiations. It is important to realize your reputation and the relationship established with the candidate are more important than the position.

Go about the negotiations in the same way you’ve been conducting the interview process.

Prayerfully approach negotiations in a respectful, direct, and honest way.

Be as open and transparent as possible. Remember, this is not a competition; rather it is more like negotiating a life- time partnership. Search for the best stewardship from all viewpoints so everyone wins.

WELCOMING THE NEW MINISTER

Do your best to set up the new minister for long-term success with your church.

Take the time to develop a communication strategy specific to your church culture that outlines what you will do, when it will happen, and who is responsible. Use all available communication channels to introduce and help establish a warm welcome for the new minister.

If the church has been fully aware of the search process, then announce your success at the first opportunity. Use the worship bulletin, videos, and pulpit announcements to communicate to the entire congregation, augmented with more details in e-mails and letters.

For an associate pastoral position in larger churches, use e-mails and letters to communicate with church leaders and specific ministry volunteers within the candidate’s area of responsibility.

In all cases, introduce and pray for the new candidate and his family during all of the services on their first weekend with the church.

• Set up a meet-and-greet reception on that first weekend.

• Assist the new minister in identification of the key leaders and volunteers they need to meet with during the first weeks on staff.

• Post information about the new minister and his responsibilities on the church Web site or your social networking sites such as Facebook, blogs, and Twitter.

And when this successful search is completed, celebrate, with the knowledge that your church will have many more to go as it does its part to fulfill the Great Commission!

Donald Anderson is executive pastor of Chandler (Arizona) Christian Church. He has 30 years of marketplace and faith-based staff recruiting and management experience.

But your work is far from complete.

When you finally find the minister you believe has the competence, chemistry, and character you have been praying for God to provide, you feel like breathing a sigh of relief and celebrating.