Monday, May 21, 2007
a search
The church we attend out here in NC is searching for an associate/youth minister right now. This weekend we had a candidate out for an interview weekend. What a frustrating process! And -- being that I'm not an elder -- I'm not even that involved in the process. The struggle for me is how high do standards need to be? Do I need to be blown away by the candidate, or is "adequate" enough? The problem is, I'm really hoping to be blown away. Honestly, it just reminds me of how I really think that not having full-time/paid/staff ministers is sometimes better. Of course I also realize the bigger the church, the more impractical that is. Our church is tiny, but I also realize that it's important to think with growth in mind...plan for the future. On the other hand, even in a big church is full-time/paid staff really necessary? It does take a restructuring in our whole thinking and framework of church organization, but I think it warrants some thought at least. My basic thoughts are that developing a strong eldership and a strong network of deacons and volunteers could take the place of a full-time minister (more people doing the job of one person makes a light load for everyone). Elders or other gifted teachers could take turns preaching, or a church could pay someone to just preach -- no other duties. Unfortunately, I don't know if the congregation we attend right now is ready for that kind of radical shift in thought.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Amen sister! I like your ideas.
You would need to have different expectations about how the public worship gatherings look, sound, & feel, if it's all done by volunteers. Many churches (esp. bigger ones) do such a "production" with nice printed materials, catchy video, lots of things projected, well-practiced music, full sound/AV team, etc., etc. It would be really difficult for this kind of thing to happen each week with an all-volunteer staff (as it is, it takes tons of volunteers AND several paid staff).
I think the best church models have a core of paid staff who recruit and equip and direct an army of volunteers.
----------------------
Remember that the paid staff people are still human too, with not only strengths, but also inadequacies and deficiencies (I have no idea if those are spelled correctly!). I think you should be aiming high as you search for a minister with certain giftedness, but know that he or she will still have shortcomings. God bless you and your church in your search.
Post a Comment