Pastoral candidate questions?

[ChristianTrader]

Hello,
My church has been without a Senior Minister for a few months. A pulpit committee was formed and it seems that they have found a suitable candidate to present to the church. The candidate will visit early next month.

My question is what/which sort of questions should be asked of him during the visit to gain a good insight into the suitability of him become my church's new Senior Minister?

 

[Jack K]

Asuming he's doctrinally sound, you want to see if he's spiritually sound. So ask for a recent example of something in his life he's repented of. How he answers (and how he reacts to having to field such a question) may tell you a lot about his heart, his life with God, and his confidence in the blood of Christ as his sole source of approval.

 

[SolaScriptura]

Asuming he's doctrinally sound, you want to see if he's spiritually sound. So ask for a recent example of something in his life he's repented of. How he answers (and how he reacts to having to field such a question) may tell you a lot about his heart, his life with God, and his confidence in the blood of Christ as his sole source of approval.

You know... that seems like it would be a good question, but I'd discourage it. We may SAY that we want authenticity, but the sad truth is that people often cannot handle the truth. There's no way he's going to stand up and say "I had to repent of looking at a hottie in the grocery store last week." He'd immediately be dismissed by all the ladies (and all the guys who hypocritically think that a minister should never struggle with things mere mortal men struggle with).

Mark my words - if you ask a question like that you'll get some minor, relatively inoffensive (to our sensibilities!) sin. Something like, "Oh, I have to repent of my work-aholic tendencies, because I put so much into my work and ministry that I can forget balance."

 

[R. Scott Clark]

So You’re About to Begin a Pastoral Search « Heidelblog

Candid Comments for Candidates (1) « Heidelblog

Candid Comments for Candidates (2) « Heidelblog

 

[Phil D.]

"What are the last 5 books (besides the Bible) that you you've read?"

 

[Mushroom]

"Do you take any exceptions to the WCF?"

That'll start a nice conversation.

 

[Phil D.]

"What about them Tarheels?"

 

[goodnews]

Asuming he's doctrinally sound, you want to see if he's spiritually sound. So ask for a recent example of something in his life he's repented of. How he answers (and how he reacts to having to field such a question) may tell you a lot about his heart, his life with God, and his confidence in the blood of Christ as his sole source of approval.

I'll disagree with my brother below and very much agree with this statement. This type of maturity and soundness isn't taken as seriously as it should be. To be sure it's easier to ascertain a minister's knowledge of Scripture and theological soundness, which, of course, is very important. But, you're looking for a reaction and/or attitude as much as anything here. If he has trouble thinking of an answer it might be b/c he's not practiced in the discipline of repentance. And then he's just one of those egg-head, Pharisaical Christians who'll be at a loss when someone needs a genuine pastor.

 

[fredtgreco]

Asuming he's doctrinally sound, you want to see if he's spiritually sound. So ask for a recent example of something in his life he's repented of. How he answers (and how he reacts to having to field such a question) may tell you a lot about his heart, his life with God, and his confidence in the blood of Christ as his sole source of approval.

I'll disagree with my brother below and very much agree with this statement. This type of maturity and soundness isn't taken as seriously as it should be. To be sure it's easier to ascertain a minister's knowledge of Scripture and theological soundness, which, of course, is very important. But, you're looking for a reaction and/or attitude as much as anything here. If he has trouble thinking of an answer it might be b/c he's not practiced in the discipline of repentance. And then he's just one of those egg-head, Pharisaical Christians who'll be at a loss when someone needs a genuine pastor.

I agree with Ben. This is not a type of question to ask in the context of complete strangers. How would you respond if he answered "that's a good question. What would be the area of your life that is most unbiblical? Where would I find my greatest challenge pastoring you?"

 

[goodnews]

Asuming he's doctrinally sound, you want to see if he's spiritually sound. So ask for a recent example of something in his life he's repented of. How he answers (and how he reacts to having to field such a question) may tell you a lot about his heart, his life with God, and his confidence in the blood of Christ as his sole source of approval.

I'll disagree with my brother below and very much agree with this statement. This type of maturity and soundness isn't taken as seriously as it should be. To be sure it's easier to ascertain a minister's knowledge of Scripture and theological soundness, which, of course, is very important. But, you're looking for a reaction and/or attitude as much as anything here. If he has trouble thinking of an answer it might be b/c he's not practiced in the discipline of repentance. And then he's just one of those egg-head, Pharisaical Christians who'll be at a loss when someone needs a genuine pastor.

I agree with Ben. This is not a type of question to ask in the context of complete strangers. How would you respond if he answered "that's a good question. What would be the area of your life that is most unbiblical? Where would I find my greatest challenge pastoring you?"

I see what you're saying. But, shouldn't we know something about the man we're going to call as our spiritual leader and teacher? We're not speaking of hiring a kid to bus tables, or even a CEO of a fortune 500 company. We're talking about the leader of a Church of Jesus Christ. I don't recall our Savior being shy about discussing the important issues of life (e.g. the Woman at the Well).

Also, how can we properly discover whether a man fulfills the requirements of Timothy and Titus unless we know something of the man personally? You'll notice from the list of requirements in those epistles the descriptive adjectives have much more concern with piety and lifestyle than with ones doctrinal soundness (although both are important).

Also, I think it's important to be honest with ones pastor regarding your weaknesses. How else will he know how to pray for you and teach you?

 

[SolaScriptura]

Asuming he's doctrinally sound, you want to see if he's spiritually sound. So ask for a recent example of something in his life he's repented of. How he answers (and how he reacts to having to field such a question) may tell you a lot about his heart, his life with God, and his confidence in the blood of Christ as his sole source of approval.

I'll disagree with my brother below and very much agree with this statement. This type of maturity and soundness isn't taken as seriously as it should be. To be sure it's easier to ascertain a minister's knowledge of Scripture and theological soundness, which, of course, is very important. But, you're looking for a reaction and/or attitude as much as anything here. If he has trouble thinking of an answer it might be b/c he's not practiced in the discipline of repentance. And then he's just one of those egg-head, Pharisaical Christians who'll be at a loss when someone needs a genuine pastor.

I agree with Ben. This is not a type of question to ask in the context of complete strangers. How would you respond if he answered "that's a good question. What would be the area of your life that is most unbiblical? Where would I find my greatest challenge pastoring you?"

I see what you're saying. But, shouldn't we know something about the man we're going to call as our spiritual leader and teacher? We're not speaking of hiring a kid to bus tables, or even a CEO of a fortune 500 company. We're talking about the leader of a Church of Jesus Christ. I don't recall our Savior being shy about discussing the important issues of life (e.g. the Woman at the Well).

Also, how can we properly discover whether a man fulfills the requirements of Timothy and Titus unless we know something of the man personally? You'll notice from the list of requirements in those epistles the descriptive adjectives have much more concern with piety and lifestyle than with ones doctrinal soundness (although both are important).

Also, I think it's important to be honest with ones pastor regarding your weaknesses. How else will he know how to pray for you and teach you?

Jeff - Obviously it is important to try to ascertain the would-be pastor's piety. But a better place for the "deep colonoscopy" type questions would be behind closed doors with the Session.

 

[Don Kistler]

I've often wondered how far the prophet Isaiah would have gotten in an interview with a church with his admission that he had a dirty mouth.

"Mr. Isaiah, is there anything about you that's not on your obviously impressive resume? Anything else we should know about you?"

"Well, I am a man of unclean lips. I have a dirty mouth."

"NEXT CANDIDATE!!!"

 

[goodnews]

Asuming he's doctrinally sound, you want to see if he's spiritually sound. So ask for a recent example of something in his life he's repented of. How he answers (and how he reacts to having to field such a question) may tell you a lot about his heart, his life with God, and his confidence in the blood of Christ as his sole source of approval.

I'll disagree with my brother below and very much agree with this statement. This type of maturity and soundness isn't taken as seriously as it should be. To be sure it's easier to ascertain a minister's knowledge of Scripture and theological soundness, which, of course, is very important. But, you're looking for a reaction and/or attitude as much as anything here. If he has trouble thinking of an answer it might be b/c he's not practiced in the discipline of repentance. And then he's just one of those egg-head, Pharisaical Christians who'll be at a loss when someone needs a genuine pastor.

I agree with Ben. This is not a type of question to ask in the context of complete strangers. How would you respond if he answered "that's a good question. What would be the area of your life that is most unbiblical? Where would I find my greatest challenge pastoring you?"

I see what you're saying. But, shouldn't we know something about the man we're going to call as our spiritual leader and teacher? We're not speaking of hiring a kid to bus tables, or even a CEO of a fortune 500 company. We're talking about the leader of a Church of Jesus Christ. I don't recall our Savior being shy about discussing the important issues of life (e.g. the Woman at the Well).

Also, how can we properly discover whether a man fulfills the requirements of Timothy and Titus unless we know something of the man personally? You'll notice from the list of requirements in those epistles the descriptive adjectives have much more concern with piety and lifestyle than with ones doctrinal soundness (although both are important).

Also, I think it's important to be honest with ones pastor regarding your weaknesses. How else will he know how to pray for you and teach you?

Jeff - Obviously it is important to try to ascertain the would-be pastor's piety. But a better place for the "deep colonoscopy" type questions would be behind closed doors with the Session.

True, but here are my concerns with that Ben. How many pastoral search committee's have the theological savvy to thoroughly ascertain a minister's doctrinal soundness? Theological breadth and depth should be left to the Session, not the committee. Shouldn't they have the leeway to know something about the man they're interviewing for pastor? Maybe not to the extent of a "deep colonoscopy," but at least to a superficial depth (as Jack suggested in his post). I'm not sure how asking a minister to describe something he's recently repented of qualifies as "deep."

 

[Edward]

Asuming he's doctrinally sound,

I don't know that I'd assume that.

what/which sort of questions should be asked of him during the visit to gain a good insight into the suitability of him become my church's new Senior Minister?

Are you going to know the basics - where he went to school, where he interned, who recommended him to the committee, what his statement of faith is?

I like the question above - what exceptions does he take to the Confession. Also, what is his philosophy of ministry? Is he seeker sensitive? What size does he see the congregation being in 5 years? - 10 years? Looking at your order of worship, does he see anything that needs to immediately change? Anything that should be looked at?

 

[Jack K]

Asuming he's doctrinally sound, you want to see if he's spiritually sound. So ask for a recent example of something in his life he's repented of. How he answers (and how he reacts to having to field such a question) may tell you a lot about his heart, his life with God, and his confidence in the blood of Christ as his sole source of approval.

I'll disagree with my brother below and very much agree with this statement. This type of maturity and soundness isn't taken as seriously as it should be. To be sure it's easier to ascertain a minister's knowledge of Scripture and theological soundness, which, of course, is very important. But, you're looking for a reaction and/or attitude as much as anything here. If he has trouble thinking of an answer it might be b/c he's not practiced in the discipline of repentance. And then he's just one of those egg-head, Pharisaical Christians who'll be at a loss when someone needs a genuine pastor.

I agree with Ben. This is not a type of question to ask in the context of complete strangers. How would you respond if he answered "that's a good question. What would be the area of your life that is most unbiblical? Where would I find my greatest challenge pastoring you?"

I wasn't suggesting anyone ask him to reveal his deepest sins or his most personal struggles. That would be inappropriate. But if repentance is a big, ongoing part of his life, he should be very aware of where he's repenting and able to speak about some part of it which is appropriate to share. If he can't do this, how is he going to be able to model repentance before his congregation?

Daily repentance is a critical practice of the Christian life. If the church's top leader is not practiced enough in repenting, and in modeling/sharing his experiences in that area, it's a safe bet the church is not going to be a very repentant sort of church, nor a safe place for people to confess their sin and delight in their forgiveness.

 

[Wayne]

I have to say that Ben's right (Ugh! That hurts! ).

"What are the last five books you've read?" is actually quite a good question, and can be quite revealing.

 

[ChristianTrader]

Asuming he's doctrinally sound, you want to see if he's spiritually sound. So ask for a recent example of something in his life he's repented of. How he answers (and how he reacts to having to field such a question) may tell you a lot about his heart, his life with God, and his confidence in the blood of Christ as his sole source of approval.

I'll disagree with my brother below and very much agree with this statement. This type of maturity and soundness isn't taken as seriously as it should be. To be sure it's easier to ascertain a minister's knowledge of Scripture and theological soundness, which, of course, is very important. But, you're looking for a reaction and/or attitude as much as anything here. If he has trouble thinking of an answer it might be b/c he's not practiced in the discipline of repentance. And then he's just one of those egg-head, Pharisaical Christians who'll be at a loss when someone needs a genuine pastor.

I agree with Ben. This is not a type of question to ask in the context of complete strangers. How would you respond if he answered "that's a good question. What would be the area of your life that is most unbiblical? Where would I find my greatest challenge pastoring you?"

I see what you're saying. But, shouldn't we know something about the man we're going to call as our spiritual leader and teacher? We're not speaking of hiring a kid to bus tables, or even a CEO of a fortune 500 company. We're talking about the leader of a Church of Jesus Christ. I don't recall our Savior being shy about discussing the important issues of life (e.g. the Woman at the Well).

Also, how can we properly discover whether a man fulfills the requirements of Timothy and Titus unless we know something of the man personally? You'll notice from the list of requirements in those epistles the descriptive adjectives have much more concern with piety and lifestyle than with ones doctrinal soundness (although both are important).

Also, I think it's important to be honest with ones pastor regarding your weaknesses. How else will he know how to pray for you and teach you?

Jeff - Obviously it is important to try to ascertain the would-be pastor's piety. But a better place for the "deep colonoscopy" type questions would be behind closed doors with the Session.

But since the up or down vote is by the church body at large, how would this info be transferred out so that an informed decision can be made?

CT

 

[SolaScriptura]

I have to say that Ben's right (Ugh! That hurts! ).

Was it really all that painful?

 

[Jack K]

If the pastor and/or church are not comfortable discussing personal repentance (which is sad but, yes, it does happen) then at least ask him to talk about his prayer life or his conversion or anything that has to do with his personal life with God. Too often these interviews are only about the man's life with the church. Or, in doctrinally oriented churches, they're only about a man's academic learning or his compliance with pet theological stances held by influential members. So you can get a guy who's "gifted" and "sound," but not really spiritual. "Gifted for ministry" without spiritual life leads to church-ianity. "Doctrinally sound" without spiritual life leads to dead orthodoxy. You want to avoid both.

 

[goodnews]

Asuming he's doctrinally sound, you want to see if he's spiritually sound. So ask for a recent example of something in his life he's repented of. How he answers (and how he reacts to having to field such a question) may tell you a lot about his heart, his life with God, and his confidence in the blood of Christ as his sole source of approval.

I'll disagree with my brother below and very much agree with this statement. This type of maturity and soundness isn't taken as seriously as it should be. To be sure it's easier to ascertain a minister's knowledge of Scripture and theological soundness, which, of course, is very important. But, you're looking for a reaction and/or attitude as much as anything here. If he has trouble thinking of an answer it might be b/c he's not practiced in the discipline of repentance. And then he's just one of those egg-head, Pharisaical Christians who'll be at a loss when someone needs a genuine pastor.

I agree with Ben. This is not a type of question to ask in the context of complete strangers. How would you respond if he answered "that's a good question. What would be the area of your life that is most unbiblical? Where would I find my greatest challenge pastoring you?"

I see what you're saying. But, shouldn't we know something about the man we're going to call as our spiritual leader and teacher? We're not speaking of hiring a kid to bus tables, or even a CEO of a fortune 500 company. We're talking about the leader of a Church of Jesus Christ. I don't recall our Savior being shy about discussing the important issues of life (e.g. the Woman at the Well).

Also, how can we properly discover whether a man fulfills the requirements of Timothy and Titus unless we know something of the man personally? You'll notice from the list of requirements in those epistles the descriptive adjectives have much more concern with piety and lifestyle than with ones doctrinal soundness (although both are important).

Also, I think it's important to be honest with ones pastor regarding your weaknesses. How else will he know how to pray for you and teach you?

Jeff - Obviously it is important to try to ascertain the would-be pastor's piety. But a better place for the "deep colonoscopy" type questions would be behind closed doors with the Session.

But since the up or down vote is by the church body at large, how would this info be transferred out so that an informed decision can be made?

CT

And that's really the point that's being overlooked CT. The notion that the Session leads in the "vetting" of the candidate is false. At least according to the ARP FOG. I'm sure there may be some differences among the various Presbyterian denominations, but I doubt it's that much of a difference. The ARP FOG states that the Session shall call a congregational meeting to elect a nominating committee, representative of the whole congregation. Then, that nominating committee (which should contain both church officers and laymen) reports back to the congregation with a report on the candidates qualifications and a vote is taken. If this is so shouldn't that committee know something of their candidate beyond their doctrinal qualifications?

To be sure the Session should also spend time with the candidate. But, it's the committee, and the congregation at large, that makes the decision. I think the mistake by our brothers has been made b/c under our representational gov't the Session normally makes decisions on its own. Not in this case. So, Jack's advice is good advice and in good standing with the FOG.

 

[Pergamum]

I would ask relational / people type questions, since some men can be doctrinally sound with all the personality of a cactus; a dogmatic set of doctrines often accompanying a rigid and impossible personality.

Ask about past work history and reasons for moving or termination or quitting. If he continually shifts blames to others or hyper-spiritualizes what might be personality conflict, then I would beware.

Ask about past teamwork and collaborations that he has been on. How did those go and what role did he play.

Ask about what he would like to see change about your church now that he sees it. This may alert you to any agendas or hobby horses.

 

[Austin]

Having served as Clerk of the Ministerial Committee of the EPC Presbytery of the Central South, I have a list of questions we used to provide both to churches interviewing ministers as well as questions we provided the Presbytery as worthwhile questions. If you'd like them, I can e-mail them to you. Just let me know.

Shalom,

 

[Curt]

I would ask what his devotional time with his wife looks like.

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

I think some behavioral interview questions are appropriate. These are interviews where questions are posed as scenarios and the candidate is asked to relate from personal experience how he handled these situations in the past.

Think about some past scenarios in your church, e.g., personality conflicts, decision-making, etc., and create these types of questions from them for the candidate.

Ditto the above noted question seeking to know if the candidate takes any exceptions to the Westminster Standards, too. Absolutely essential.

AMR