It's that season again: Nominating Committee

This really doesn't answer your questions, but your dilemma triggered a memory from years ago.

Our young pastor proposed a revolutionary step to the Nominating Committee.

He noted that the traditional way is to determine what positions are needed, then seek out people to fill those slots.

Instead, why not determine those who are willing to serve, determine their spiritual gifts, and create jobs to fit the gifts? The pre-supposition is that the Holy Spirit has provided the needed spiritual gifts in every congregation to make it function well, and we ought to organize accordingly.

Well, we never did get around to completely implementing that idea, mainly because we had willing people for every slot.

It sounds good conceptually, but will it work? Don't know, because I don't know of any church that's ever tried it.

Would you like to be the first, USN2?

 

Oh, I failed to mention that this same pastor took a survey among our members. He asked them to list their spiritual gift(s).

We found out that a lot of people never gave much thought to whether they had a spiritual gift or what it was.

Some mixed gifts, talents and abilities in their answers.

For instance, is the willingness to drive the church van the result of a spiritual gift?

At any rate, it was a useful exercise, because we had to focus on the spiritual aspect of our service to the church. And we actually identified some folks whose gifts would be useful.

 

Heh, heh, heh! Good one, USN. I heard that poem many years ago, and had forgotten it.

I'll wager a lot of folks can identify with it.

 

Just wondering aloud here, but what does this particular position entail? It has always been my experience that a SS director doesn't actually do much of anything except order the curriculum material each quarter (if it is used, and even then that duty might fall to the church secretary) and tally the SS attendance each week. Each time I taught a SS class I reported to the senior pastor, not the director. The directors didn't actually direct, at least as far as I was concerned.

Might people avoid the gig because it represents nothing more than collecting and tallying the SS attendance records? Might it be the reverse, that it involves a ton of responsibility (not sure what that might be) with little control over or input into teacher selection, curriculum, etc?

 

I've often wondered why in Southern Baptist Churches we think it so important to completely go through the whole nominating process annually.

Why not just treat each position in the church like most SBC Churches treat the Pastoral Office?

If someone is voted on to take an office let them keep it until they resign or the congregation removes them.

 

Because that's the way it was always done, and because sometimes people will get overworked to the point of burnout if left in a position too long. Others need to be encouraged to share the load.