What a prospective pastor might ask the existing church leaders
Churches are looking for pastors.
A man might feel tentatively he is being led to a certain congregation and vice versa. But there comes a point in the process when questions need to be asked of the existing leaders, and cards put on the table, so that everyone is clear as to what they are getting into.
Here are some suggested questions that a thoughtful candidate for the pastorate might raise and prove useful all round. Such questions deserve honest answers.
Q1. How committed are the current elders to the church?
A young man is on the brink of making one of the most crucial decisions of his life. The decision will have huge ramifications for himself, his wife and his family. If he takes up the pastorate, is he suddenly going to be left holding the baby while other leaders walk away in pursuit of a career or a move to an area with better schools?
Maybe this question cannot be answered definitively. The Lord may truly call elsewhere. But an existing leadership should not be expecting a new pastor to be more committed to the church than they are themselves.
Q2. How united are the elders as a team?
How often do the elders meet? Do you pray together? The Lord can do wonderful things through a leadership which is prayer-ful, spiritual and united. A divided leadership, or a leadership which is only interested in doing the minimum to keep the church ticking over, will be a blight, not a blessing.
Q3. What are the particular responsibilities of the different elders?
This question will show whether the leadership has any organisation. Disorder tends to upset the peace of a church (1 Corinthians 14.33). Also, as different responsibilities are enumerated it will become clear whether or not the leaders are firstly loving shepherds of the Lord’s people, or see themselves as CEOs of the ‘business’ they are trying to grow.
Q4. Are there any men in the congregation who are potential elders for the future?
Leaders should know their people and those who are really making progress. Some leaderships never contemplate adding new men. This often exposes an attitude which is about holding on to power.
Q5. What is the elders’ attitude towards biblical church discipline?
Leaders have to guard a flock. It has to be prepared for trouble. You need to be of one mind in advance as to what to do with the unrepentant church member in sin, or the emergence of false teaching.
Q6. What do you think most needs changing in the church?
No church is perfect. If it was, it wouldn’t need a pastor. But are the existing leaders simply concerned to maintain the status quo, or do they shrink back in horror at the idea that some things might need to be improved. If they take new ideas as a personal affront then they could be a very difficult lot to work with.
Q7. What are the terms and conditions of my employment by the church – job description, salary, holidays, Sundays off, manse?
This is more than a mere common sense question. Churches who neglect their pastor and his family are likely to be neglected by the Lord. We reap what we sow. It also might give some indication of the level of giving in the church. Jesus said this is often a gauge of spiritual condition (Matthew 6.24).
Q8. Who is responsible for the admin side of the church?
Ministry will be hindered if everything, including data protection, child protection, health and safety, lands on the pastor’s desk (Acts 6.3,4).
Q9. What expectations is the church likely to have of my wife?
The church should not think they are getting two workers for the price of one. ‘Pastor’s wife’ is not a NT church office. These women need to be loved and supported by the church, but be given freedom to handle things in their own way. Unhelpful expectations can put damaging pressures on a pastor’s marriage.
Q10. What do you do to build a good team spirit among the church leaders?
Ideally the elders should be friends, but not so close that they become an ‘in group’ or an exclusive club. There needs to be inclu-sivity and warmth towards the deacons and other leaders in the church.
Q11. Why did the last pastor leave?
If the room goes silent when you ask this question it indicates trouble! With a skeleton in the cupboard, the existing leaders may rightly not wish to share details or gossip, but should at least outline the problem. If a church has a past, the pastor needs to know.
Q12. How many people come to the prayer meeting?
There is a sense in which it is true that the real church meets mid-week. The answer will give a prospective pastor some measure of the task before him. Mature Christians are praying Christians.
Q13. Of the families who attend, how many are truly committed to the church?
A pastor wants to know if there are other children with whom his own children can form friendships. Some families come on Sundays, but that is about it. They use church as a resource for their family life, which is actually something of an idol. They are unlikely to give the right signals to his own children.
Q14. What do you find most encouraging / discouraging about the church?
This question is good in its own right, but it is also likely to tell you if you are dealing with a bunch of optimists or pessimists.
Q15. How connected are the church members with one another?
In loving fellowship is the strength of a church. Is the church more about formality than friendship? Do they practice hospitality among themselves? Will they strive ‘as one man’ for the gospel (Philippians 1.27) and support each other in good times and bad?
Q16. How would you describe the state of the young people’s work?
The young people are often a thermometer of the spiritual temperature of the church. The pressures against the faith on church young people have increased phenomenally and subtly in recent years. So if the church has converted, sound and truly committed young people these days then it really has something going for it.
Q17. To what extent does the church take seriously its documents / doctrinal basis / constitution?
Many churches, which are nominally evangelical, no longer know what they believe. There is a big repair job to do in lots of congregations. Bobby Jamieson’s book Sound Doctrine* spells out why without it there is no true holiness, joy, worship or witness. Congregations are sometimes held together by things other than the gospel.
Q18. What outreach has the church engaged in recently?
How many conversions / baptisms have you seen in recent years? This, of course, will tell you whether the church is ingrown or is outgoing. It will also be an indication of whether or not the new pastor is coming into a situation of blessing or to a church in an uphill struggle.
Q19. What contact / opportunities for service do you have in the local area?
This will give you some idea of whether or not church people live in the area and are naturally part of the community, or whether you are taking on a ‘drive-in’ church which has little interaction with local people.
Q20. What is the church’s relationship like with other local churches?
There may be a good network of biblical churches who mutually support one another and where the new pastor might find encouragement. Churches which are isolationist and have nothing to do with other gospel churches are likely to be out of step with God.
No doubt there are many other questions which could be asked. But these are some which might get the ball rolling. Addressing the questions can be beneficial for the prospective pastor, the church and its existing leaders.
