How Can an Evangelical Church Get the Best Possible Pastor?
I am not a pastor. I have never been a pastor. But I’ve been in evangelical churches for more than 30 years. Churches of many sizes and in various locations. I’ve served in leadership positions, working directly with the pastor (or pastors) and I’ve been on different ministry teams.
I say all of that to let you know, I’ve been in the evangelical church world a long time and worked with a lot of people. Some churches have amazing pastors, and some churches have pastors who are doing their best to just keep things going from week to week.
What (Almost) Every Evangelical Church Wants in a Pastor
Feel free to disagree, but what it seems most evangelical churches want in a pastor someone who is:
· Dynamic
· Well-spoken
· Engaging
· Available
· Approachable
· Above reproach
· Non-controversial (except where it aligns with the congregation’s perspective)
· Supportive of the church’s theology
· Not unattractive
· Focused on saving the lost
If you’d feel better about it, you can rearrange the list. Some churches value certain traits above others.
Now, don’t give me that look. You think I’m wrong on any of those points? Let’s say you move to a new place and start checking out churches. You walk into one and the pastor is a horribly ugly, terribly boring, clearly arrogant person. Are you going back? No. To be frank, even if the only strike against the pastor is he or she is dead boring, but everything else is good, you’re probably still not going to return.
We all want a likeable pastor. And there is nothing wrong with anything on the above list. None of those characteristics is a bad thing in a pastor. But the list as a whole is problematic. And truthfully, except for two points, it’s the wrong list. We need a better list.
What Every Evangelical Church NEEDS in a Pastor
· Someone who loves God above everyone and everything else.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
-Matthew 22:36-40 NIV
· Someone who cares about their relationship with Jesus more than caring about the church.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
-Matthew 6:33 ESV
· Someone who cares about godly personal characteristics before caring about the church.
This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be a church leader, he desires an honorable position.” So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church? A church leader must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall. Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.
-1 Timothy 3: 1-7 NLT
· Someone who cares about lost people more than the petty issues in the church.
Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
-Luke 15:7 ESV
· Someone who delegates well by equipping the church people to do ministry.
He gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. His purpose was to equip God’s people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ.
-Ephesians 4:11-12 CEB
The Main Problem
Here is the big issue. Somehow, we’ve gotten the idea that doing the work of the church is primarily the pastor’s job. That is so very backward. The work of the church is to be done by the people of the church. Remember that the church is not a building.
Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
- Matthew 16:16-18 ESV
“On this rock I will build my church.” The church Jesus is talking about, the one being built on the clear understanding of Peter and others like him, is not a building. No, it’s a people filled with the Holy Spirit of the living God!
The work of the church is done by the people of God in the power of the Holy Spirit. You see, every pastor is just one man or one woman. That individual is limited in their amount of work by the time and strength allotted to one person by God. Yes, I know that with God time and strength are malleable, but still, God did not intend one person to do all the work of the church. If He had, then Jesus would not have had an inner circle of three, a small group of 12, and a larger group of 70 or more to help do His work.
The pastor’s primary role is to care about lost people and equip those who follow Jesus to do the ministry of Jesus. It’s all about being an example and teaching the people about fulfilling the Great Commission. Everything else is ALWAYS less important.
Let me make this very simple. And recall, I am not a pastor, so I have no personal stake in this.
How Should the Church Care for Our Pastor?
Some churches are doing well here. But many churches, especially smaller churches, are making a major error in this. For most it’s not on purpose, but more of a situation where they’ve never really been shown what is best for the church as a whole. So, what IS best for the church as a whole? Having a pastor who can focus on the list above. And how can we, as members of the congregation, make that as easy as possible? Just two simple things in relation to the pastor (or pastors).
1) Lower our expectations.
2) Pay them well.
That’s it. Let’s talk about each one.
Pastoral Expectations
Ok y’all, this is about to get real. Unless the pastor is the only person in the church, then the pastor should not also be expected to be the church janitor. In fact, the pastor should not be expected to hold ANY role except caring for lost people and equipping the saints. Now, if she or he volunteers like anyone else in the congregation, then they can hold other roles. But that is outside their expected pastoral duties.
Ok, what about other pastors such as youth pastors, small group pastors, worship pastors, etc.? The same standard applies. Each of those positions is still about reaching the lost and or equipping the saints. Even children’s pastors are working to reach lost children and train up the next generation of saints in the church!
We, the people who are not pastors, should be volunteering to fill in all the other positions required to keep the church running. Now, if the church budget allows for it and the pastor(s) and other leaders say it’s good stewardship, then some work may be done by paid staff. There’s nothing wrong with that. But first opportunity should be given to allow the saints to volunteer our service to God by working for His mission through the church.
Pastoral Pay
Ohhhhh, this is a big one. So, misunderstood.
Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
-1 Corinthians 9:13-14
Ok, before I go further, anyone who knows the rest of that section of scripture will recall that Paul said he did not use those rights. Paul was a volunteer, however he did receive support. But Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote, “the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.”
Not that they should receive a pittance. Not that they should receive money some weeks, but nothing other weeks. No. They should “receive their living from the gospel.”
Every Jesus follower who attends a church should be tithing and giving offerings. The tithe supports the operational expenses of the church, the FIRST of which should be the salary of the senior pastor. Let me give you some simple math. Let’s say there are 20 families in a small church. According to the US Census, the mean US household income in 2021 was just over $70,000 per year. Let’s be conservative and say that in this church the average household income pre-tax (and tithe should be paid pre-tax) is $50,000. That works out to about $960 per week per family in income. So, $960 times 20 families is $19,200 per week. Ten percent of that (the absolute minimum for the tithe) is $1,920 (of course, as I said, simple math 😊). So, the church is bringing in a tithe of about $100,000 per year. With most churches the income from tithes should be more.
The first and greatest portion of that income should be pastoral salary. BEFORE buying or leasing a building. The church can grow without a permanent building. It cannot grow, at least in a healthy way, without a strong, God-loving shepherd. The pastor gets paid before the cost of any other ministry. Remember, we should all be filling in the gaps as volunteers, so labor costs can be minimized. Any operational expenses which restrict us from paying the senior pastor a FULL-TIME salary should either be cut or covered by offerings beyond the basic tithe. Y’all, we need to step up!
When all of the Jesus followers are joyfully returning the tithe in thanksgiving to God and the church is properly allocating the funds, most churches can pay a senior pastor a very reasonable salary.
A Quick Aside
I’m going to briefly make a few folks uncomfortable or upset. So be it, I can’t hold back this truth. A Jesus follower tithes to the local church. Someone attending a church and not tithing is not truly a Jesus follower.
The issue with not tithing is that it’s an act of disobedience. Jesus validated the practice of tithing and calls us to be generous. Not tithing also shows a lack of trust in God. Everything comes from God, it’s all His to begin with. If we trust Him with our eternal souls to give us Heaven, why would we not trust Him in so little a matter as money, which is very temporary?
Let’s not hobble the fulfillment of the Great Commission by disobeying God in the area of money. And let’s not force the pastor to divide his or her time by us failing to do God’s will and put a good salary investment into the leader God has for us.
The Final Word
Remember the original question? How can an evangelical church get the best possible pastor? Here is the answer:
1) Pray and seek the Lord in finding and hiring the right individual.
2) Minimize pastoral responsibilities to caring about lost people and equipping the Jesus followers to do ministry.
3) Pay the pastor enough so they can do number 2 without fear of lack of money to support themselves and their families.
Oh, one other point. Find ways to help your pastor grow in both their relationship to God and as a godly leader. Get them additional education. Send them to conferences. Give them the budget to buy books. Make sure they have time for their own weekly sabbath…and Sunday DOES NOT COUNT. Allow them to use paid church time to study. Send them on regular sabbaticals. Also, you don’t want to take your work home with you. Don’t expect the pastor to do so either. Finally, make SURE the pastor has a loving small group they can be part of WITHOUT having to be the pastor!
Love you Jesus followers!
-Troy
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