Helping Your Church Discover Its Next Pastor: A Manual for Pastoral Search Committees

By Gregory Tyree

Consisting of original material and adapted material going back as far as 40 years (which I compiled and edited), this book is about the pastoral discovery process. Some call it the pastoral search process, but I prefer the word discovery, because God already has a man for your church; you just need to discover who he is! The discovery of America, the discovery of penicillin, the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls; these all happened by "accident," but God knew about these all along. He also knows who your next pastor is, and has already prepared him for your church! Now that's exciting!This proactive approach is intended to be encouraging, insightful, and intentional! The pastoral discovery process is an exciting task, but it is not an easy endeavor. As you embark on this adventure with God, be prepared to work! Churches are succeeding in discovering, evaluating, calling, and compensating their pastors, but only those churches that have done so intentionally! In the author's opinion, based on twenty-five years of experience as a pastor of four churches in three states, as well as his past role as Associate Director of a regional church association, one of the obstacles facing churches hoping to discover a new pastor in the 21st century is pluralism. There are few colleges, seminaries, and leadership training institutions that prepare pastoral candidates to know what they truly believe. This may seem strange, or even astonishing to some readers, but the truth is theological pluralism is on the rise, and it doesn't seem that it will stop anytime soon. As churches intentionally set out to discover their pastors, they will need to know what they are looking for. What does your church believe? What hills will your church die on? What matters to your church? These are vital questions that must be answered if you are to discover the man God has for your church. God is already at work in your church, and He will not lead someone to you who is not the right "fit" for your church. If the fit is wrong, the process went awry somewhere along the line. This book will help you succeed at discovering the man who "fits" your church.Table of ContentsEditor's NotePreface IntroductionChapter 1- Situation: The Reasons for Pastoral VacanciesChapter 2- Interpretation: Discerning the Church's Pre-Discovery ClimateChapter 3- Anticipation: The Stages of the Pastoral Discovery ProcessChapter 4- Participation: The Exiting Pastor's Role in the Discovery ProcessChapter 5- Organization: How to Organize Your TeamChapter 6- Articulation: Determining the BasicsChapter 7- Communication: How to Secure ProspectsChapter 8- Evaluation: How to Handle R?sum?sChapter 9- Preservation: How to Deal with DifficultiesChapter 10- Determination: How to Determine the Preferred CandidateChapter 11- Presentation: The Candidating ProcessChapter 12- Remuneration: Compiling a Compensation PackageChapter 13- Invitation: Extending the Call to the CandidateChapter 14- Disintegration: Dissolving the Pastoral Discovery TeamChapter 15- Celebration: How to Welcome Your New PastorChapter 16- Installation: Installing Your New PastorConclusion- Implementation: Taking Care of Your New PastorAppendices

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1482333457
• ISBN13: 9781482333459
• Release Date: February 2013
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 156 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.4" x 6.0"