Who supports pastors?

by T. C. Pinckney                                                                                Vol. XV, No. 8, September 2002

Recently someone sent me anonymously a copy of a letter from a pastor to the members of his church. The letter was written entirely from the liberal perspective, and as you will readily understand, I disagree strongly with what was said. But that is not what I want to address here.

In his appended note, the sender wrote, “I don’t see how the SBC can support pastors that write letters such as this.” Please note that the Southern Baptist Convention does not “support” pastors, indeed, has nothing to say about who pastors a local church.

In Southern Baptist life it is the members of the local church and only those members who select and support their pastor. The Southern Baptist Convention has nothing to do with those decisions.

In the life of a church there is no more important question than who is called as pastor. When considering a potential pastor, search committees and ordinary church members should ask specific questions and insist on specific answers. Never allow a candidate to tap dance around an issue and give you verbal fluff in place of a meaningful answer. Keep addressing the same point until he answers straightforwardly and substantively. Likewise, when the candidate pastor asks questions, answer him fully and honestly. Openness and frankness are the only foundations for a successful pastor-church relationship.