Multiple staff church

As concerns a pastor:

Hiring: The Pulpit Search Committee as assembled by the Moderator according to the By-laws does the work. They present their candidates to the congregation, who votes to call or not to call.

Firing: The Board of Deacons.

For any other staff, the pastor with approval of the Board of Deacons concerning the person, and the Board of Trustees concerning the money.

 

No wonder some pastors are in a power struggle with the deacons.

 

Pastor - Pulpit Committee recommends to church and church votes in. Church fires pastor with a 2/3 majority.

Associates - Pastor hires and fires. Church approves money.

 

Pastor- Pulpit committe recommends and church votes. A 3/4 majority is required to call and the same majority is required to fire.

Associates - pastor and search committee recommends and church votes. A majority is required to hire or fire.

 

Traditionally, Baptists have been congregation ruled. Most Pastors are decided on democratically with the search commity mearly bringing in the candidate. But would somebody show me the democratic, or congregational gov. in the scriptures(other than acts 6, which is not clear on how the men were chosen.) It's been something bugging me for some time. Most of these rules are tradition. They work, but they are still tradition.

 

We have a personnel committee that does evaluations, reccomends salary adjustments, and, should the occasion demand, firings. Ministerial staff, however, they have to make a reccomendation to the church and then the church would take the final action.

 

The way my former church was set up was that the pastor chose his staff, and the congregation established his salary. Worse-case secenario is that if the congregation doesn't approve of the pastor's choice, he doesn't get a salary!

Practically speaking, I had been an active member of the congregation 5 years presvious to assuming the Associate Pastor role, and it was the congregation/deacons that really prompted the pastor to make his choice- he didn't feel he needed a second man!

I'm not sure this is the best way, but it was the situation that he inherited in the constitution. I do believe that the pastor should have a prominent role in the selection of pastoral staff, though, whether something like this or "veto power." The relationship needs to be compatible, and the pastor will be the best judge of that.

 

Pastor, as with all church officers, are chosen at the 1st regular conference of each year by a simple majority vote of the church body.

It takes the same simple majority vote, at any conference, to 'fire' the Pastor or any other officers. We have only had to do this once, but it doesn't really count because his health was bad at the time, he lived out of town, and he couldn't fulfil his duties. He was given a nice letter of dismissal plus a little bonus in gratitude for his work. All of the rest of our Pastors have resigned by their own accord.

We have no formal 'preaching committee' to search for possible pastors. If a member feels that we should approach a certain Elder about taking the pastorate, then that member makes a motion in conference to ask him.