How do Pastors "test" a call to another Church?

[Seb]

How should/do pastors "figure out" whether or not they should accept a call to another Church?

Is it praying and looking for practical "signs" from God? A Holy Spirit given gut feeling? Choosing a path and staying on it until they sense resistance?

It seems like a much more weighty and difficult decision than just changing jobs.

I've been asked to pray for a Pastor friend who is considering a call to relocate to another Church. Does anyone have any good advice for me?

 

[BJClark]

Seb,

This is a VERY good question and one I've wondered as well, or even the other side to this about when they no longer feel called to continue at the church they are presently in.

 

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

 

[AVT]

We don't need to hear "thunder and lightning to confirm God's call" if a Pastor want to move on to another church or start a new one.

We have a very good ,faithful Pastor who helped our church grow for 18 years. Our church just started from a small group that met for a Bible study in one of the rooms in a funeral home(because we didn't have space and money to start with)and then moved on to a classroom. Now we have a nice building , a spacious land and a school nearby for the kids. (the school before was just a small trailer). God and His people are very generous .

Our pastor has 7 kids ,is unquestionable in his family life and conduct and handled God's Word excellently. However, he wants to move on (even though our church is very stable
financially) and is rapidly growing.

He researched areas in the U.S. where there is less Christian presence and without Reformed Churches. Montana is one state that meets the criteria and he decided to move there with his family to plant another PCA church. But this didn't happen overnight, he prayed for several years ,visited and revisited the place and ask God to confirm if it is his will. During their visits, the family and the kids like it there and the church affirmed that because God has now prospered us so tremendously, it is time to
bless another place with the presence of our wonderful pastor.

People were very supportive in prayers and in supporting him financially. He wasn't sure about his support but money came from all directions more than we ever expected. Now that our pastor is pioneering and starting a humble soup kitchen and inviting people, a loving, thoughtful church is behind him. He and his family has full support even though a church is not formed yet.

Many times, God is pleased when we simply try to meet a need...and He directs through His Word and circumstances. He also confirms it through His body the Church and Presbyteries, (for us Presbyterians).

God also provided another pastor and an Assistant pastor from other states with high calibre
to help our Church. We gave birth to 3 PCA churches and we are exploding in number. Our parking lot is so full and people are now "wall to wall", no more extra chairs in our Sunday school. We are just packed to the brim.

He and us have PEACE and JOY.

 

[Southern Presbyterian]

We should be very careful about "putting out fleeces". If we filter our options through the Word and bathe our desires and decisions in prayer we will stand on much firmer ground. And AVT makes an excellent point, "Where God leads He supplies". Often in ways we cannot imagine.

 

[Seb]

This confirms what I was thinking:

God gives us the desire and then provides the way -- so get going.

I think my friend may be over-complicating things and stuck on waiting for a sign ("thunder and lightning") of some sort.

 

[Wannabee]

There is much missing from this. Why would he leave his current church? Is his work done there? Is he wanting "something better?" Is he seeking a "promotion?" Would his current church be sending him? Would the shepherd be switching flocks? Would he abandon this flock without providing a true shepherd to watch over it? It can a tough way to ask the questions, but "pastors" these days too often see their calling as a job, with opportunities for advancement, promotion and greener pastures elsewhere. Jesus makes it clear that there is a distinct difference between a hireling and a true shepherd.

I recently had a young pastor in our area ask me what I thought of a couple of opportunties he had elsewhere. His church is small, and apathy is very apparent in the flock. I asked him if he'd taught them what the church was about; has he equipped them for ministering to one another; had he brought them as far as he is able to take them? I posed the questions above. In the end he saw that he hadn't fulfilled his calling here and was looking for "greener pastures."

I'm not reading into the question, just offering this because of the absence of clarity in the way it is posted. Take it for what it's worth.

 

[Seb]

I'm not reading into the question, just offering this because of the absence of clarity in the way it is posted. Take it for what it's worth.

Thanks, these are all good questions, and I can see a theme developed in them.

I hope you can appreciate why I left the details unclear on purpose.

 

[PastorSBC]

I asked him if he'd taught them what the church was about; has he equipped them for ministering to one another; had he brought them as far as he is able to take them?

Good questions.

How do you determine the answers though? How do you really know if you have taken a church as far as you can?

 

[Wannabee]

Dear Steve,

No problem. I just wanted to be careful to note that I didn't necessarily think anything in particular. There is so much more in the white of what you've written that commenting on the black part can be like throwing darts while blindfolded. May your friend be a true shepherd.

For Jesus,

 

[Barnpreacher]

There is much missing from this. Why would he leave his current church? Is his work done there? Is he wanting "something better?" Is he seeking a "promotion?" Would his current church be sending him? Would the shepherd be switching flocks? Would he abandon this flock without providing a true shepherd to watch over it? It can a tough way to ask the questions, but "pastors" these days too often see their calling as a job, with opportunities for advancement, promotion and greener pastures elsewhere. Jesus makes it clear that there is a distinct difference between a hireling and a true shepherd.

I recently had a young pastor in our area ask me what I thought of a couple of opportunties he had elsewhere. His church is small, and apathy is very apparent in the flock. I asked him if he'd taught them what the church was about; has he equipped them for ministering to one another; had he brought them as far as he is able to take them? I posed the questions above. In the end he saw that he hadn't fulfilled his calling here and was looking for "greener pastures."

Great points! I especially like the truth of the second paragraph. I think a true God ordained minister will wrestle with these issues before he ever thinks about leaving his current flock. I would think his integrity would be called into question if he didn't, and that gets right into what the first paragraph states. Does he want to be a businessman/hireling or a true undershepherd?