Questions to Ask the Church Search Committee

Really, you should read the whole excellent blog post that inspired this (by Bruce Reyes-Chow) - but I'll whet your appetite with my personal top ten (or so) from his list of twenty-five. These are in no particular order

• What has been the most imaginative thing that the church has done in the past year?
• Are there any topics, issues, situations that have been treated, intentionally or unintentionally, as “off-limits” and if so, what are they and why do you think they have been avoided?
• What have been the congregation’s behavior patterns when dealing with conflict?
• Where in the church do you see the most life and energy and where has the church become a little stuck or calcified?
• If the church closed its doors tomorrow, would the community miss its presence and if so, how?
• Over the past 10 years how have most people found this church and if they have visited, why have they chosen to stay or not?
• How does the congregation approach the use of technology and social media in the life of the church: communication, pastoral care, evangelism, administration and/or worship?
• What are your expectations, spoken and unspoken, about how your next pastor will balance church and family time and energy?
• With what church tasks and activities is there is agreement that the pastor should NOT be involved?
• What about my gifts, experience and perspectives have lead you to think that there may be a call between you and I?

Bruce closes with this wonderful quote from Frederick Buechner:

“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

article found courtesy of churchjobs.tv