Author Archives: Jay F Guin

23. What does the search committee reveal about the church? Why were these people selected? For their spirituality? For their cash contributions? For their family connections? For their submission to the elders? For their wisdom? Don’t read more into the … Continue reading →

15. Talk to your wife. Don’t go for even the first interview unless your wife is sold on the move. If this isn’t obvious to you, you’re going to have serious problems in your marriage. If she doesn’t want to … Continue reading →

6. Talk to the elders at length. I’d think you’d need at least four hours talking with the elders to really come to understand them. Maybe more. If they won’t give you that much time, look elsewhere. Ask them about … Continue reading →

I’ve never been in fulltime ministry. For that matter, I’ve not searched for a job since, well, ever. I practice for a law firm that’s a successor to a firm I clerked for while in law school. So I’m hardly … Continue reading →

22. Don’t shut down; don’t try to do too much. You can’t install a new church vision during a preacher search. You really shouldn’t ordain new elders during a search. After all, the new preacher will want to have met … Continue reading →

20. The search committee. I have mixed feelings about search committees. I’ve had good and bad luck with and without one. I’ve been on search committees, and I’ve been part of an eldership that hired without one. I’ve had great … Continue reading →

16. Check references. It’s a pain and often complicated. If the preacher has a job, he will be reluctant for you to talk to his current elders. However, we’ve sometimes had preachers offer to let us call a particular elder … Continue reading →

10. Don’t prepare a job description so much as a person description. Job descriptions are canned, boring, and unhelpful, in my experience. You aren’t hiring someone to do a job. You’re hiring someone to be in close, long-term relationship with … Continue reading →