Sunny and warm, today.  I’ll be getting busy outside, shortly.

Steven was satisfied with his introduction to the congregation and their response, yesterday.  Time will tell if this is to be his flock.

I realize today’s writing is very long.  As I thought about his journey I couldn’t help but compare it with our decision making process at the SO.  So, had to write it.

As part of Carla’s order, she had a couple of wood needles ordered.  As she works on her new yarn, with them, she really likes them and finds she could use one more set of the size she ordered.  She is waiting on the second package to come in and then will make a decision as to what else she may want.

We shop locally as much as possible, but there are some things local merchants just don’t carry, so we have resorted to some on-line shopping.

Not that I intend to order anything else in the near future, but I did promise not to order anything – especially barbecue supplies – before she orders AND receives her next selection.

Mathew 20:25-26  But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.

²⁶ But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;

As I am watching the process Steven is going through in his application to be a Pastor of a church, I think back to those days that I hired employees.

As a Christian Police Officer I always considered that being a Police Officer was part my ministry, it was the way I served God; while I made mistakes I always tried to uphold my oath as a Police Officer AND my duty as a Christian.  To me, there was no fine line; my service in the one complimented my service in the other.

As the Sheriff I had the same responsibilities as the deputy in the field, coupled with making sure the deputy in the field had the tools and means to do their job.  Obviously budget constraints hamper the complete fulfilling of that desire, but we did the best we could.

One of the things that helps employees, is to get good employees.  Whether we hired Clerks, Correction Officers or Road deputies we strove to hire men and women who we felt would do the job as we wanted it done.

As with most Police Agencies we had a long process, applications, tests, interview boards, psychological and medical exams, back ground investigations and interviews, but the final decision was mine.

Almost all hiring was done by Gary, our UnderSheriff, and me in partnership on the final interview.  When we hired Corrections Officers I tried including the Corrections Manager – I realized early on that these people had good insights and were vital to making that decision.

While we did have some employees that were less than what we expected, most, especially when I started using these two people, our success rate was much higher.

While I don’t recall verbalizing what kind of employee we wanted, the other two had the same values I had and we seldom disagreed – when we did, I usually yielded to them, I had that much respect for them.

We wanted, at the base, what all Law Enforcement agencies want, people of integrity, people who could be depended upon, people who could make decisions applying both the law and common sense.  There is much more, of course, but those are the kind of people we wanted working with us.

Departments will vary – an officer that is very good in the large Metropolitan areas is not necessarily a good choice for smaller departments. 

An officer for a small police department may not be a good match for a deputy’s position in a rural county.

It was our job to make the selection from those that applied (and sometimes there were none who we wanted on the list so we had to readvertise) for our Office.

While I always considered that each position was important, we also know that there is a hierarchy.  While we didn’t, and still don’t consider ourselves princes, we were the boss and while my philosophy was that I worked WITH these people instead of having them work FOR me, there was still a responsibility of making hard decisions, at time, on my part.

John 13:13-16  Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.

¹⁴ If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.

¹⁵ For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

¹⁶ Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.

Denominations have different means on how they hire their ministers.  All go through a background check to insure they meet the requirements of the denomination before they give them credentials.  But from there on there are differences.

Some denominations’ hierarchies assign the Minister to an individual church as their Pastor.  The local church really has no say in who is their Pastor.  Others assign them and give the local congregation an opportunity to discuss whether or not this person meets their needs – the denominational hierarchy then makes adjustments if they feel they should.

Steven is an Assembly of God minister applying for an Assembly of God congregation.  Their process is, the congregation selects the minister they want as their Pastor.

It is an interesting process, instead of the employer selecting the employees; the employees are selecting the employer (so to speak.)

Each congregation is its own entity.  In order to be a member of the Assemblies of God organizations they must adhere to defined doctrine and beliefs, but they are independently operated.

Usually the local church tells the hierarchy (District) they want a new Pastor.  There is a process where the District will advertise for them.  Sometimes, if there is a vacancy and the local congregation requests it, the District will send an interim Pastor, usually a retired minister or one who currently doesn’t have a congregation, until the selection is made.

In the normal scheme of things, the local governing board, usually the Deacons, will appoint a small group to be the selection committee.  Each church does things differently, but this church does what most do.

The applications are gone through by the committee, who then narrow the list down to those that have the background they are looking for – some churches have a definite ‘type’ in mind, others are more generic.

This church has a definite type in mind.  They made it very clear they are a ‘country’ church.  I am assuming, from what Steven has said, it is because they do not want to adopt the philosophy of the megachurches that are not as individual friendly yet seem to be the current trend.

Therefor their Pastor must share their vision of the church as it is – not to say changes cannot be made and they are not interested in growth, but they want to maintain that country feel in their church.

Interesting.  The Pastor is the most critical positions in the church.  It is that position that guides and directs and is responsible for the spiritual condition and teaching of the congregation.

The Pastor must preach sermons that often are not only challenging but can be upsetting to some people.  Yet, he is God’s messenger for that congregation and being used by the Holy Spirit to share and interpret God’s Word.

Most Pastor’s take their responsibilities AND authority very seriously.  They search their heart and the scriptures; they pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit and insights that will help them preach EACH AND EVERY message.

It is both a time consuming and a heart wrenching process before they even put pen to paper.

He is the Shepard of the flock – and in this case the flock chooses the Shepard.

Now in the real world, we too choose who we wish to work for by who we apply to – yet we also know that it is the boss that makes that decision, not the employees.  Yes, there are employee owned businesses, but even these companies have a hierarchy where one person is the final authority.

This system of the congregation selecting their Pastor, works.  The one thing that churches possess, that secular organizations do not, is the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  When both the congregation and the applicant are submissive to the Spirit then a Shepard, that is applicable to this congregation, is selected.

It is not perfect.  Sometimes one will feel the match is right and the other doesn’t.  Sometimes one will fool the other by being something they really are not.  But more often than not, the decision is a good one and beneficial to both the congregation and their new Pastor.

After the selection committee narrows down the applicants, they interview those that they feel most fit their position.  In Steven’s case he was invited to the church, and sat before the members – both men and women – of the committee and answered and asked questions, the interview lasted over 2.5 hours – a good sign that they are taking their responsibility as a committee very seriously and that he is giving responses that match their criteria.

When we interviewed applicants there were certain questions that we could not ask as a point of law.  However, many of those questions are pertinent to selecting a Pastor and therefore ARE asked.  I just find that interesting.

Because Steven is licensed within the district he has been given a background check by the district and deemed acceptable as a minister, so Committee does not, necessarily, have to do a more thorough background investigation.  He hasn’t heard if they have contacted his references or not – but I would imagine they have done some of that.

I appreciate this congregation’s integrity and desire to ‘get’ the right Shepard.

They did not just jump in; they have taken their time before going to the next step.  They want to be sure they have it right. 

The next to the final process is giving a sermon to the congregation.  For Steven that process was three months after his interview with the committee.

He gave the message yesterday.  The congregation had a couple of people from the youth group handle Children’s Church so that leader could listen to the message.

Obviously a lot rests on this message.  Steven took a great deal of time in preparing and practicing it – as the congregation would expect.  They want to see him at his best and if he didn’t take it seriously enough they would be able to tell that.

After the service they had a soup and sandwich lunch to allow the people an opportunity to meet with him and his family as individuals – allowing them to ask their own questions and to make their own observations.

A lot of churches will then vote, later that day, whether to offer the position or not.  This church did not.

They told him, upfront, they would not decide that day.  They would ask their people to pray about this and take the vote next Saturday.

To me, that shows a sincere desire to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and not make what could be an emotional decision – they are to be given time to process, think over and discuss after the ‘heat’ of the service to make their decision.

Steven and Celinda feel good about the congregation.  But they also know it is up to the congregation to have that same ‘feeling.’  If they elect not to choose Steven he and Celinda will understand, but, of course, they hope they will as they feel that is where they belong at this time.

It is a HUGE responsibility to be responsible for the souls of others, that you guide and direct them, teach them and admonish them leading them always to God.  A Pastor cannot let down on his accountability to those people.

These people get that.  Steven told them that he felt very honored to have gone this far through the process. 

If he is selected it will mean much more to him than just being assigned to a church.  He will have been adopted by the people as both were led by the Holy Spirit.

Later, Art :-)