Happy New Year! We begin the New Year at New Hope celebrating Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord in the first weeks of January. We look ahead to installing a new deacon and elder and giving thanks for the leadership of those rotating off the Diaco-nate board. As we push forward with anticipation and resolve, I wish to respond to questions I’ve received about the Presbyterian Church USA’s search process for clergy.
It is by no means the only kind of process, but it is congruent with our theology and practice and I believe sharing some thoughts about that may be helpful to those of you especially who bring the gifts of other traditions to our church. Some come from tradi-tions that have persons in hierarchical leadership. Examples of this are Episcopalians and Methodists who, like Roman Catholics, have bishops and individuals in leadership who make ‘appointments’ of clergy to congregations. Others of you may come from a congregational model, such as Baptist, in which each congregation is free to hire the pastoral leadership of their choosing. Still others may come from a Spirit tradition such as Pentecostal in which leadership is often selected from within the congregation and there is congregational power to hire and fire clergy.
Presbyterians hold to some different assumptions about human beings and different theological expectations. Like the traditions mentioned above who find leadership in methods congruent with their practices and beliefs, one can learn something of our practices and beliefs by watching the slow, earnest, deliberate process of our pastoral search process.
We believe power is least abused and decisions best made when placed in the hands of the many, rather than the few. Therefore, we trust committees more than we trust persons. We believe that God’s will is best discerned in communion with others and so instead of investing the authority and power of pastoral leadership identification in one person (such as a Bishop) we invest that discernment in bodies such as Presbyter-ies. As a congregation, instead of finding one person to go ‘find a pastor’, you have selected a Pastor Nominating Committee.
Because we believe in a connectional model of church, our polity creates a bond among congregations. No congregation stands independently, we are all in relation-ship organized by Presbyteries, Synods, and the National General Assembly.
Presbyterian churches are connected to one another; none of us are out in the world on our own. When one congregation is in need, others join to provide for those needs. An example of this was Rev. Grogg coming to preach on a Sunday I was not available. Deeper examples of this are of our cooperative ministry with other congregations in mission to Guatemala, or the Presbytery wide youth connection that makes youth re-treats available to children in congregations like ours where children are fewer in number. We firmly believe we can do more together than we can do alone.
If you study the flow chart in the narthex about the search process, you will see that the cumbersome initial work has been completed. The mission study document created from your six months of exploration and study is one of the finest I’ve seen. And I have received reports from 3 independent sources, all of whom have worked with at least 3 congregations and one many more who each and all claimed it was the strongest document they have seen. This is one of the tools you have that will assist the PNC in finding a faithful and joyful match in your next installed Pastor.
Presbytery is involved in approving the match your PNC believes is correct. They often have information from other Presby-teries that may not be available to the PNC initially. They have a high value of this congregation, it’s health, and it’s importance to the Presbytery. Their presence is intended to be an encouragement and support.
These layers slow down the process. Some of you are ready to get on with finding the new pastor and move forward. Others wonder why this is taking so long. I hope this gives you at least some context for the way we move forward in calling an installed Pastor.
You will see “Committee on Ministry (COM)” on the flow chart. This is the committee of Presbytery responsible to support and nurture clergy and congregations. They will be examining the new pastor with an ear to the sense of call that person brings, and to the sense of call this congregation feels to working with this new pastor.
This process has worked well for New Hope church in the past, bringing long- term joyful pastorates each time. I am confident the same will be true this time.
Now I wish to speak personally to the very affirming, touching, and encouraging requests many of you have made for me to consider putting my name in to the Pastor Nominating Committee for the position of your new installed pastor. Until recent times, this would not be possible. The way has been made clear in the Book of Order of our Constitution. And I have honestly shared that I am prayerfully considering whether I feel called to do so. Serving with you brings me abundant delight and pleasure. I enjoy the ways in which my skills and experiences fit nicely with your needs at this time.
I believe firmly that God is infusing this search process with grace and that there are unexpected gifts awaiting the PNC, ministers, you and me during this process.
While I am prayerfully considering your acclamation of our ministry together, I choose in this moment to focus on our work together now; the ministry of transition and the blessing of opportunities to look at a particular moment of time and discover what God might do with us in the coming months.
In my own prayer and meditation I feel encouraged to dwell in this work at present, to prayer earnestly for the search process, which in itself will enrich your ministry more than you can imagine as you wait so patiently for movement to the new pastor. You enrich my life and ministry at a depth I did not imagine possible. I will trust in this process and God’s guidance to all of us and I will trust in the right timing for these decisions.
I hope to see you in worship as we continue together to see Jesus growing up, beginning ministry, and learning from his call to be church.
In Christ with profound gratitude,
Caroline
It is by no means the only kind of process, but it is congruent with our theology and practice and I believe sharing some thoughts about that may be helpful to those of you especially who bring the gifts of other traditions to our church. Some come from tradi-tions that have persons in hierarchical leadership. Examples of this are Episcopalians and Methodists who, like Roman Catholics, have bishops and individuals in leadership who make ‘appointments’ of clergy to congregations. Others of you may come from a congregational model, such as Baptist, in which each congregation is free to hire the pastoral leadership of their choosing. Still others may come from a Spirit tradition such as Pentecostal in which leadership is often selected from within the congregation and there is congregational power to hire and fire clergy.
Presbyterians hold to some different assumptions about human beings and different theological expectations. Like the traditions mentioned above who find leadership in methods congruent with their practices and beliefs, one can learn something of our practices and beliefs by watching the slow, earnest, deliberate process of our pastoral search process.
We believe power is least abused and decisions best made when placed in the hands of the many, rather than the few. Therefore, we trust committees more than we trust persons. We believe that God’s will is best discerned in communion with others and so instead of investing the authority and power of pastoral leadership identification in one person (such as a Bishop) we invest that discernment in bodies such as Presbyter-ies. As a congregation, instead of finding one person to go ‘find a pastor’, you have selected a Pastor Nominating Committee.
Because we believe in a connectional model of church, our polity creates a bond among congregations. No congregation stands independently, we are all in relation-ship organized by Presbyteries, Synods, and the National General Assembly.
Presbyterian churches are connected to one another; none of us are out in the world on our own. When one congregation is in need, others join to provide for those needs. An example of this was Rev. Grogg coming to preach on a Sunday I was not available. Deeper examples of this are of our cooperative ministry with other congregations in mission to Guatemala, or the Presbytery wide youth connection that makes youth re-treats available to children in congregations like ours where children are fewer in number. We firmly believe we can do more together than we can do alone.
If you study the flow chart in the narthex about the search process, you will see that the cumbersome initial work has been completed. The mission study document created from your six months of exploration and study is one of the finest I’ve seen. And I have received reports from 3 independent sources, all of whom have worked with at least 3 congregations and one many more who each and all claimed it was the strongest document they have seen. This is one of the tools you have that will assist the PNC in finding a faithful and joyful match in your next installed Pastor.
Presbytery is involved in approving the match your PNC believes is correct. They often have information from other Presby-teries that may not be available to the PNC initially. They have a high value of this congregation, it’s health, and it’s importance to the Presbytery. Their presence is intended to be an encouragement and support.
These layers slow down the process. Some of you are ready to get on with finding the new pastor and move forward. Others wonder why this is taking so long. I hope this gives you at least some context for the way we move forward in calling an installed Pastor.
You will see “Committee on Ministry (COM)” on the flow chart. This is the committee of Presbytery responsible to support and nurture clergy and congregations. They will be examining the new pastor with an ear to the sense of call that person brings, and to the sense of call this congregation feels to working with this new pastor.
This process has worked well for New Hope church in the past, bringing long- term joyful pastorates each time. I am confident the same will be true this time.
Now I wish to speak personally to the very affirming, touching, and encouraging requests many of you have made for me to consider putting my name in to the Pastor Nominating Committee for the position of your new installed pastor. Until recent times, this would not be possible. The way has been made clear in the Book of Order of our Constitution. And I have honestly shared that I am prayerfully considering whether I feel called to do so. Serving with you brings me abundant delight and pleasure. I enjoy the ways in which my skills and experiences fit nicely with your needs at this time.
I believe firmly that God is infusing this search process with grace and that there are unexpected gifts awaiting the PNC, ministers, you and me during this process.
While I am prayerfully considering your acclamation of our ministry together, I choose in this moment to focus on our work together now; the ministry of transition and the blessing of opportunities to look at a particular moment of time and discover what God might do with us in the coming months.
In my own prayer and meditation I feel encouraged to dwell in this work at present, to prayer earnestly for the search process, which in itself will enrich your ministry more than you can imagine as you wait so patiently for movement to the new pastor. You enrich my life and ministry at a depth I did not imagine possible. I will trust in this process and God’s guidance to all of us and I will trust in the right timing for these decisions.
I hope to see you in worship as we continue together to see Jesus growing up, beginning ministry, and learning from his call to be church.
In Christ with profound gratitude,
Caroline
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