Editor’s Note: We published J.R. Briggs’s “A Pastoral Rant about Pastoral Recommendations,” which inspired this word from the receiving end. With J.R.’s full blessing, we now publish the counter point of view.
Dear Pastor,
I am grateful for you—the pastoral work you do is some of the most important work on the planet.
As an admissions counselor at a Christian college, though, I read over 3,000 pastoral recommendations, and there are a few things I think you ought to know.
I sympathize with you that there are a lot of bad recommendation forms out there, but after nine years of attempting to craft the perfection recommendation question, our team gave up. We came to the sad conclusion that no matter what we ask—even our most perfectly crafted and theologically astute question—a pastor’s gonna write what a pastor wants to write. Let me give you seven examples:
One-word responses
Nothing makes the hours of crafting the perfect question feel more useless than when a pastor answers a question with, “Yes,” “No,” or even a more positive word like, “Great!” or “Definitely!”
Nothing but check boxes
You’re busy, but to quote Brian Regan, if you only have time to check the boxes without writing a response, “you might wanna loosen up your schedule” or consider passing on writing the recommendation. Even if you check all the boxes marked “High,” it’s not helping.
Vague hints
“Danny struggled a lot last year.” No further explanation, though this comment is usually followed by an assurance he’s better now. Thanks for highlighting a potential problem without context, clarification, or sense of how the problem was addressed in his life.
Have your cake and eat it, too
After writing substantially about Sue’s need to grow in her social maturity and her perpetual struggle to live up to her commitments, you gave her a “Strongly Recommended” mark at the end. Which is it?
Don’t call us—we’ll call you
You’ve said you’d be willing to discuss a candidate further on the phone, but I’ve left you plenty of voicemails that have never been answered.
I couldn’t say no
I have read more than one pastoral recommendation that said, “I don’t know this person but…” Let me stop you right there. If you don’t know the candidate, then both of you will be better served if another person writes the recommendation instead.
Super superlatives!
While I’m glad to know that Kelly is “Awesome!” and “Amazing!” and “The best ever!” and “You have to take her!” what I’d really like to know is why she is so great. How about a one- or two-sentence anecdote that highlights the reason you think Kelly is great?
As you write recommendations, know that we genuinely want to get to know our candidates’ spiritual life and maturity. Since faith is easy to fake in an essay, we rely on your input as someone who actually knows them.
Sincerely,
Johnmark
Johnmark Smith spent nine years working in a Christian college admissions office before making the switch to pastoral work himself. During his admissions years, he led the annual revision process for their recommendation forms. In his spare time now, he also enjoys reading Brandon Sanderson, board games with friends, and playing with his two daughters.
