How congregations go about appointing a successor minister is a question prompted by the popular Rev. Dr. Ted Bush’s recent retirement.
“After 27 years of tremendous leadership, First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach has embarked on the daunting process of finding someone who can fill his big shoes,” says Rob Tanner, head of the pastor nominating committee.
Ron Arflin, chaplain at Abbey Delray South, knows just how daunting a process.
“That used to be my job,” said Arflin. “I worked with congregations in conflict resolution and helping to find new pastors with about 55 congregations in northern Virginia.”
Arflin, co-president of the Delray Beach Interfaith Clergy Association ran down the myriad hurdles: Background checks. Reference checks. Phone calls. Interviews. Hearing the person speak, “so that you get some idea of the skills in that area.” More interviews.
Later, invitations to conduct the Sunday worship service, have a cookout with the youth of the church or “whatever might be a chance for people to meet the person.”
A week or so more to digest, then a decision. Arflin advised requiring a certain percentage of the participants to agree at a church meeting — anywhere from 85 percent to 90 percent — rather than “have people debating whether you ought to be there or not from the very beginning.”
Along the way, particularly following a pastor who was beloved, “Allowing people a chance to move through the grief process,” he said. “To make a healthy decision takes time, and it takes deliberate acts to move to that time.”
Our area churches employ permutations of those steps:
• The Rev. Joanna Gabriel served for five years as an assistant minister at Unity of Delray.
When Unity Light of the World in Miami Gardens lost its minister, she was among the guest speakers for many months before becoming their permanent minister last September.
More typically, she said, “The Association of Unity Churches keeps a database of ministers, with their resumes, and a database of churches,” allowing the association to facilitate mutual contact and, hopefully, matches made in heaven.
• At Boynton Beach Congregational United Church of Christ it took a seven member search commitee fifty-nine meetings and much prayerful consideration over a two-year period to vet the approximately 60 profiles of available ministers provided by the National Conference of Congregational United Church of Christ in Cleveland, Ohio.
After making their decision the individual was brought with her spouse to preach a sermon and learn about the congregation.
“We are pleased that our unanimous choice has been accepted with enthusiasm. We feel the Rev. Georgia Hillesland serves our needs,’’ said June Finke the chair of the search commitee.
• “Every Christian Science church has two Readers,” said Donna Brueggman of the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Delray Beach. “Every year on the second Thursday in February, we hold an election for our First and Second Reader. Those elected begin their term as Reader the first Sunday in April for a year.”
How’s that for democratic process?
At First Presbyterian, said Tanner, “Our church members have recently completed a survey that has developed input for the important church information form.
“The CIF will be our announcement to the Presbyterian world we are searching for a senior pastor and this document defines who we are as a church and what we seek in our next leader. “
With the Presbytery’s approval the committee can place the CIF on the Church Leadership Connection to begin matching applicants to the church’s requirements.
“The role of senior pastor requires strong positive characteristics that are so much more than just having preaching skills or having deep biblical knowledge or having strong relationship skills,” said Tanner.
“Pastors in today’s Christian churches are challenged by social and economic issues that require that special person who will have the dynamic ability to develop with us the future vision to keep and expand our deep tradition as ‘the Community Church by the Sea.’”
C.B. Hanif is a writer and inter-religious affairs consultant. Find him at www.inter
faith21.com.
Comments