How do you accurately assess a church that expresses interest in you, particularly if there have been serious problems in its history?
At Titus Task Force, which provides interim pastors for troubled congregations, we suggest four questions to identify congregations likely to break your heart.
DO I KNOW MYSELF?
Even troubled churches frequently have attractive qualities. While most pastors understand their strengths and weaknesses, a desirable location or compensation package can skew that perception. Likewise, disillusionment with a current setting can make the grass look greener almost anywhere. These factors can lead people to minimize obvious problems.
Before interacting with a search committee, list your strengths and weaknesses. Know your cultural preferences so you can identify individuals who share your interests and lifestyle. Without a common perspective, conflicts are inevitable.
Then, determine your non-negotiables. What issues would cause you to walk away? Finally, examine your tolerance for conflict and opposition. Troubled churches require leather-skinned leaders.
Developing this profile before you become emotionally involved will allow you to evaluate realistically your suitability for a ministry.
WHAT DO PREVIOUS PASTORS SAY?
Every church that has fired or forced out a pastor felt the termination was justified. To listen to the search committee’s explanation without contacting the previous pastor is like doing marriage counseling with just one party; you never get the whole story. When Titus Task Force begins work with a church, we interview at least the two most recent pastors.
Ask probing questions. Listen for emotion or insinuation, then ask questions until you get answers. Even when pastors were fired for moral failure, the way in which they were terminated speaks volumes about a congregation’s attitude toward leaders.
Find out who the previous pastor’s friends were, and talk with them. The more you discover about the church’s former pastors, the more you will learn about the church. If the church objects to your investigation, that is a warning sign. So is your unwillingness to investigate.
ARE THERE PROCEDURES FOR CHURCH DISCIPLINE?
Most troubled churches have no procedure for dealing with “sin in the camp” (Josh. 7). Many congregations we encounter are contaminated by the sin of a small but powerful minority. With no process for biblical church discipline, the behavior will continue. There is no renewal without repentance.
A healthy church will have, or want to have, a process for confronting, disciplining, and restoring fractious parties. And it must be spelled out in the constitution to avoid litigation.
ARE PEOPLE RECONCILED WITH THE PAST?
Like jilted lovers, troubled churches are prone to marry on the rebound. Before a church can become healthy, members must face the truth of their past.
Three questions reveal whether a congregation has adequately reflected on the pain it has experienced. When candidating, ask everyone you meet, “What do you want to (1) preserve, (2) avoid, and (3) achieve in this church?”
—George Fraser and Ted PampeyanTitus Task Force InternationalBakersfield, California
1996 Christianity Today/LEADERSHIP Journal
