What is a pastoral search committee?

Answer  
  

A pastoral search committee (or pulpit nominating committee) is a group of local church members whose responsibility is to screen candidates for senior pastor in order to fill a vacancy in that position. In their search for a new pastor, the committee contacts various individuals, conducts interviews, and prayerfully makes recommendations to the congregation regarding pastoral candidates. The process of forming a pastoral search committee is usually implemented in churches with a congregational\-rule or elder\-rule form of government.  
  

There is no verse in the Bible that specifically spells out how to hire a new pastor. There are passages that describe [what we should look for in a pastor](qualifications-elders-deacons.html), and a pastoral search committee should make sure the candidates they approve conform to the Bible’s standard (1 Timothy 3:1–7; Titus 1:6–9\). But the process of how we are to find a pastor is not specified in Scripture. The absence of a clear biblical directive gives churches freedom in choosing how they select and call a pastor; a pastoral search committee is a biblical option.  
  

The Bible promotes the value of teamwork and counsel from others. Proverbs 11:14 says, “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety” (ESV). The strength of a pastoral search committee is the convergence of various perspectives, skills, and experiences. In a pastoral search committee, one member may be able to spot problems that are hidden from the rest of the members; another brings a solution that the others have not thought of; and others have unique perspectives that prompt them to ask the right questions at the right time.  
  

Individuals who form a pastoral search committee should all be mature, discerning Christians who are committed to their local church and to the will of God. The ultimate goal in finding a new pastor is not to discover the best potential candidate for the position; it is to discover whom God has chosen. When it came time for Jesus’ disciples to pick a replacement for Judas, the selection was not made in isolation. In fact, there were about 120 people involved in the decision (Acts 1:12–26\). They all prayed and collaborated on who they felt would be God’s choice, and they agreed on two people—“they nominated two men” (verse 23\)—Joseph and [Matthias](Matthias-in-the-Bible.html). The “committee” then brought those two names to God and let God speak from there. The disciples’ action illustrates the most important element in the search for a new spiritual leader—God’s will. The primary function of a pastoral search committee is to work together to discern that will.  
  

