Well, it's official. By an overwhelming vote (over 99%), my church has called Bruce Chesser to be its new pastor. Yes, most people knew that last week, but I did not want to put it on my blog until Bruce had the opportunity to share it with his church.

I shared this message July 5th at my church (weekly audio is here). This was the week before the church considered a new pastor. (He preached on Sunday and I will share his name in a few days.)

My focus was helping the church to consider both the qualifications and call of a pastor. That certainly could take weeks, but I wanted to share an overview that I hoped would be helpful at this crucial time in the church's life.

Here is the video:

What's a Pastor to Do? from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Here are my notes:

This week, the pastor search committee of my church announced that they have a candidate. Assuming that goes ahead, I will be finishing up as "interim Teaching Pastor" there in early August. It is a great church and I will miss delivering my messages there. But, I am, after all, an "interim" and eventually that comes to an end.

Here are some pics of the church from a recent blog post (see that post here).

So, that leaves me one message before the new pastor comes "in view of a call."

I should probably explain what "in view of a call" means. It is a common expression in low church evangelical circles where churches vote on the man who may serve as their pastor. For some of you, this will make you a little nervous. You want some elders to make that appointment-- after all, they know better.

Well, let me explain how it works in low church evangelicalism.

First, before the church really starts looking for a pastor they establish a Pastor Search Committee. (At this church it is called a "Pastor Selection Committee," a term that makes it a little confusing since they don't actually "select" but rather "nominate.") The Pastor Search Committee is elected by the church and does the hard work of finding a pastoral candidate whose gifts and personality will best serve the body.

Second, the PSC starts working by consulting other leaders and pastors, listening to on-line messages, listening to the church family through surveys and listening sessions, visiting churches, and contacting potential pastors. In a church like ours (with about 8000 members) that takes a while. For example, the PSC had over 50 listening sessions with church members.

Third, the PSC prays a lot and seeks to discern whom to ask to be considered. Once they are in agreement they approach that person.

Fourth, that person, after much prayer and examining the church, eventually agrees to be nominated by the PSC to the church (which happened this week).

Fifth, If the church votes "yes," the pastor then comes "in view of a call." In other words, they come to preach with the intent ("in view of") being called as the pastor.

But, for you non-congregationalists out there (who need Bibles, grin), the church actually votes to call the pastor. After the vote (which usually has to be 75%) the candidate is then informed of the results and agrees to come (or not). Then, the nominee is no longer a nominee and informs his church that he is leaving to pastor another church.

Then, the interim packs up his books and gets out of the way. ;-)

That will leave me with three or four messages after he accepts that call but before he comes and starts as pastor. I need time to pack up those books, after all. ;-)

So, my question for you is this: what should I preach on for this Sunday and then for the next several? Any suggestions? I can work through a text or share a series of texts, but I am very open to suggestions and believe that in many counselors there is wisdom.

First, what should I speak on NEXT week, July 5-- the week before he comes in view of a call. (I am out on July 12th and my friend and co-author Philip Nation is speaking that day.)

Second, what should I preach on after (and assuming) the church calls and he accepts on July 19th. The congregation votes that evening and, assuming the vote is positive, he is then to start his transition and i will bring several more messages. So, what can I preach on pointing to the new pastor.

Jump into the comments and share your thoughts.

Today, something personal.

This post is the product of a conversation I recently had with Bill Kinnon, uber blogger and provocateur, about the importance of the local church, and the questions I often get while preaching and teaching across the country. Questions like, "Ed, why are you currently serving at an established church?" (being a denominational leader and, formerly, a church planter).

The simple answer is I do not believe I can talk about the church without being a part of a church.

But let me unpack this a bit.

In the past I have worked for Southern Seminary and the North American Mission Board, and I currently serve Lifeway, the International Mission Board, Southeastern Seminary, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Whatever you call them, they are not the church, but serve along side it. However, my experience has been that in many cases they are staffed by people who were formerly pastors. And, in some cases, it seems that moving into a role like this leads many to a diminished connection to a local church. Some of that is a function of the role change, but in most of the places I have served, we have sat down together and lamented the disconnect we felt with the local church. Some worked hard to overcome it. Some did not.

This is not a criticism of others. The point is that I found the temptation in my own life. You see, I teach pastors and church leaders. I tell them they should be biblical, missional, and spiritual (see chapter one of Comeback Churches). I have a high standard of church, and, to be blunt, it seems that no church meets that standard (except maybe the churches I plant, which points to a pride issue).

So, here is what I am trying to avoid in my own life: too many church consultants, speakers, leaders, professors, and denominational leaders (like me) see themselves as voices to the church and not a part of the church.

I have often heard people say (and have said myself) the church is, in many ways, broken and in need of some change. However, it is exceedingly dangerous to become a critic of the church while you are not a part of one. I love the church, and therefore feel compelled to point out our challenges with the hope of seeing transformation. I guess this makes me a critic of the church, but it should also makes me a critic of myself.

I currently serve as interim pastor. For those of you not in our autonomous church tradition, I am basically the "fill in" preacher until they find a new pastor. The role allows me to be a part of the church here and help them during the transition. It is not a perfect situation and I know I need deeper connections, but it is how I am connected at this time.

This brings me back to the question I am sometimes asked, "why are you currently serving at an established church?"

For me, doing an "interim" helps me be a little more faithful in several ways.

First, it keeps me home on weekends and in community. It is a temptation to be on the road every weekend. A lot of great churches will invite you to speak - but as interim I can't do that. This keeps me in my church and home with my family.

Second, it keeps me preparing messages. In the past, I have "re-preached" many of my sermons. Having done 7 or 8 interims, you can basically re-preach the same messages in each church. But, my former co-pastor (Philip Nation) challenged me to bring a "fresh word" at church every week. So, that is what I try to do at church and that keeps me preparing. When I look in a pastor's eyes, and that pastor is tired from sermon prep work, I know what that means. (I finished my message at 12:30a.m. this morning.)

Third, it reminds me of what real ministry work is. It's all too possible for me to fly in and out for pastor's conferences and start to believe my own P.R. (Being a mere D-list celebrity doesn't dissuade one from believing his own press releases).

At church, I am not the normal pastor (being an interim), but I still have the privilege of opening the word of God and sharing it with God's people. It is not the same as being the congregations shepherd, but it keeps me in real world life and ministry. People still complain to me, there is still that opinionated guy who keeps coming up after the service to question my Bible teaching, and I get an occasional piece of hate mail. If I were a "real" pastor there would be more, but since the church has over 3,000 Sunday morning attendees, there are always some percent of people who are unhappy enough to tell me - and it reminds me that real world ministry does not look like a TV show - it is messy because it involves people. And, that is also what makes it real life ministry.

Lastly, by serving as interim in a local church, a simple and very important truth is reinforced in my life; God has chosen the church, not denominations and parachurch organizations to make known his manifold wisdom (Eph 3:10). This fights against some of the triumphalism in my denomination and elsewhere. They may come and go, but it is the church that will prevail against the gates of hades.

Let's be honest, there are more verses in the Bible that justify you having a concubine than us forming a denomination (much less a Lifeway). Yet, I stay in what is basically a church support (rather than a full-time local church) role. Why? Well, it is for the same reason we have a denomination. We can do more together than we do apart. For example, I value church partnerships like denominations as it means I can help resource 5,000 missionaries around the world through organizations like the IMB. I believe in partnerships (of which denominations are one expression) because I believe we can do more together than we can do individually-- and, although the Great Commission is given to the church, each local church can not (by itself) effectively evangelize the world.

The reason I do not become a full-time pastor is that for now I am called to help pastors and church leaders. However, I will always remain a pastor and will always be a part of a church.

Is it a lot of work sometimes? Yes. Do I regret doing it sometimes? Honestly, I do. It would be easier to be a "prophet" to the church and not be a part of the church. But that seems pretty hypocritical to me.

The bad thing about being an interim is that eventually you have to leave. What then?

Well, I am leaning against doing another interim. This one is great - the church is 3 miles from my home and we know many people in the community. It is a great church with a passion for the Bible and has a heart and desire to be missional. However, teaching every week has been a bit too much and I have not been able to connect in some other ways. After my interim, I hope to serve in a church role where I do occasional teaching (weekly has been wearing me out!) and serving in a church's ministry and leadership teams.

All that being said - I know that many who read this are frustrated by the church. Most of the denominational leaders I know are. I am. Yet, I love the church. It is that love that makes me want to provoke the church "to love and good deeds" (Hebrews 10:24).

The church is filled with people who know Jesus, love one another, and are (or at least want to be) on-mission. It is the family of God. It is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It is the sent people of Jesus Christ. I am convinced that the good God wants to accomplish in the world, and in me, will happen in and through the church.

Now that I am out of the pulpit, I must confess the whole "call to preach" thing is a bit confusing to me. I am not sure that there is a "call" to preaching-- although I both value preaching and see it as essential.

Instead, I see a call to the office of pastor / elder which often involves preaching.

Don Whitney almost persuades me that there is a "call to preach."

But, there are few places in scripture where there is a clear "call to preach" that is not either:
1) a general call to all believers involving evangelism, or
2) a part of the "setting apart" to a biblical office.

Now that I am no longer a teaching pastor/elder at Lake Ridge Church, I miss preaching. And, it has only been three weeks.

That is not a good sign for future marital bliss-- since Mrs. Stetzer wants to find a church to attend and join as soon as possible!

But, simply put. I already miss pastoring. It just seems right to be in fellowship with other believers and to serve by using your spiritual gifts in the context of community.

Thankfully, I will have the opportunity to share in some churches in the coming weeks. My friend and, until he went the way of all flesh, co-worker at LifeWay, Mark Marshall, has invited me to come preach at his church (Clearview Baptist Church) (near Nashville) this Sunday.

Then, I will have the honor to preach at Ridgecrest Baptist (August 12th) in Jackson, MS and then at First Baptist of Norfolk (August 26th).

I will preach on "doubt" at Clearview (following Thomas in John 14:1-5; John 20:19-31) and on missional issues at Ridgecrest and First Baptist Norfolk (both messages from Acts).