I hate elections. People vote for people or things for all kinds of reasons. At the end of the day, when we "vote" on calling our next pastor, every member of the church who is not under discipline gets to vote, regardless of where they are in their spiritual walk, how involved they are in the church, their motives, agendas or anything else. Perhaps I'm the only one who fears that, at least on the surface, the process looks too much like a popularity contest and an "election." (I'm sure I bring a lot of baggage into this discussion by being a preacher's kid.)


So, how can I have confidence in our ability, as a church, to "vote in" the "right man" to lead us as pastor?


Honestly, there is a part of me that says we'd all be alot better off if we could just follow the process outlined in Acts chapter 1, when the disciples chose a "12th apostle" to replace Judas. They proposed two men, Joseph called Barsabbas and Matthias. "Then they prayed, 'Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over the apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.' Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles" (Acts 1: 23-26).


Casting lots. It's an interesting way of ascertaining God's will. The practice was used in the Old Testament and the "theology" behind it is found in Proverbs 16:33:


"The lot is cast into the lap,
but its every decision is from the LORD."


The beauty of the practice was that people didn't get in the way. No agendas. No manipulation. They trusted the Lord to reveal his will through the casting of lots, and as far as I know, no one ever suggested that they should go "two out of three" when the first one didn't go the way that they wanted.


There is no indication, however, that the practice was ever used by the early church after Pentecost. Once the Holy Spirit came and indwelt the church, the belief was that the practice was no longer necessary or appropriate.


So, given that we have to trust the decision on our next lead pastor to men and women who will "vote," how can we be confident that God's will, rather than the desires of one person or group, will carry the day? I think that the short answer lies in the process that was created for the church calling a pastor.


The process for Cool Community Church calling a pastor was established at a time when the question could be considered apart from any urgent need to call one, and that process is filled with a series of "checks" which not only provide a means for finding the right man, but are designed to help us to avoid calling the wrong man.


The process is set out in Article VII, Section B.1 of the church's Constitution and By-Laws, our "governing" document, and its pretty straight forward:


1. When the need for a "Lead Pastor" arises, the Elder Board is to form a "Pastoral Search Committee;"


2. The Pastoral Search Committee is to investigate the needs of the church and possible candidates, and make a recommendation of a candidate to the "Church Board" (which is functionally the Elder Board, since there is no Lead Pastor);


3. The Church Board is to invite the candidate recommended by the Search Committee to preach, lead worship, or do whatever else they think is appropriate. If possible, the candidate is to remain in the community for several days, and then meet with the Church Board;


4. If, and only if, each and every member of the Elder Board approves, a special business meeting is noticed and called to consider the candidate, who will only be called if he receives a minimum affirmative vote of 75% of the members present at that meeting.


O.K. So why should we be confident in this process? First, the Search Committee is not "selected at random" from the membership of the church. Those appointed to this committee have been carefully considered, prayed over, and selected unanimously by the elders. They represent a cross-section of our church body, coming from a variety of backgrounds and bringing a variety of perspectives. They are "the" group that the Elder Board thought best suited from among the membership of the church to evaluate the needs of the church, screen candidates and make a recommendation to the church of the individual they, as a group, think the Lord is calling to be the next Pastor at Cool Community Church. This is the first check in the process.


But the process doesn't end there. Next, the individual recommended by the Search Committee is invited to preach and spend time with the church body. This is designed not only to give the church the opportunity to hear the "candidate" preach, but to get to know him to some degree. (This also gives the candidate the opportunity to get to know us, as well. )

But the church still isn't given the opportunity to vote on him. Not yet. First, each member of the elder board must approve of the candidate being presented to the church membership for a vote. Thus, if one single elder believes this candidate should not be considered by the church, he simply can't be considered by membership. The requirement here for absolute unity is not an accident. No one has the "right" to be considered by the church as a whole. The decision is simply considered to be too important to allow consideration of the candidate where even one member is in doubt. In the event there is not unanimity, the Search Committee will resume its search and in time will recommend another candidate, who will be put through the same process. This is the second check.


Finally, only after the Search Committee has recommeded a candidate, he has preached and interacted with the body, and after the Elder Board has unanimously recommeded the candidate for consideration by the membership, does the membership get to vote. If, and only if the candidate receives an affirmative vote of 75% of the members present can he be called. A simple majority doesn't cut it. If he gets 74%, the process restarts, and the Search Committee goes back to work. This is the third check in the process.


But that's still not the end. The candidate still has to say "yes." Don't assume that a potential pastor will say "yes," just because he expressed an interest in serving as our pastor, has met with the search committee, preached, met with the church body, met with the elders and allowed the membership to vote. Many men have convictions regarding the minimum affirmative vote they are willing to accept, and have turned down pastoral positions even though they received more than the minimum vote required by the church that was "calling" them. Others have simply felt, at the end of the process, that they were not being "called" to pastor the church. This is the final check.


This process is designed not only to bring us the "right" man, but to prevent us from calling the "wrong" man, by not trusting the decision to any one person or even any group of persons.


As someone, who hates "voting," I believe and trust that if we faithfully follow this process the Lord will not only reveal to us, but bring us the man that he has called to be our next shepherd. That may mean that in the end some of us might not get what we wanted, but in the long run (or maybe even the short run) that could be best. Remember, that when facing the prospect of having to fight for the land of Caanan, the Israelites were ready to stone Moses and Aaron, and to choose a new leader to take them back to Egypt (Num. 14). The Israelites were just as sure that they wanted and needed a king (1 Sam.8) - that is, until after God gave them one(1 Sam 12:19).

~ Bob Bylsma