CompassDynamics

Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water. Genesis 24:10-11 NIV

When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. Then he asked, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?" Genesis 24:22-23 NIV

       When Abraham’s servant went in search of a bride for Isaac he had a logistical plan; he planned what he took, he planned what he said, and he planned how he would respond to the words and actions of others.

Many pastors and churches have firm policies about not performing wedding ceremonies without thorough premarital counseling. Yet, many of these same pastors and churches enter into a pastoral relationship after spending only three for four hours together. It is little wonder that the divorce rate between pastors and churches comes close to the divorce rates among couples who do not participate in premarital counseling.

While the typical pastoral search process, on the candidate's end, does not have the luxury of six months of the equivalent of premarital counseling, the candidate can nevertheless be deliberate about the interviewing scenario and the search committee can do its best to ensure that the process is both thoughtful and expeditious.

Planning the interview process requires not only attention to the dynamics of meetings and discussions, but also to practical logistics which can affect the quality of the interaction between candidate and church. Let’s explore some of those logistics.

When the Candidate Lives in Proximity to the Church

If the candidate lives in driving proximity to the church, then the interview process may look different than if extensive travel is required. Close proximity means that multiple face-to-face discussions are possible without undue hardship on the candidate and spouse. While the agendas of these meetings should be thought-out and have clear objectives, the parties know that if an issue requires more time to explore that they can schedule additional time together. I recommend that three hours be allotted for an evening interview, and that either a half-day or full-day be scheduled for a Saturday. It is helpful to take breaks during all extended interviews to permit folks to both refresh themselves and to reflect on the discussion.

Search committees should avoid interviewing more than one candidate per evening since interviews require both emotional energy and clarity of thought, and also since it can be difficult to gauge the length of time a particular interview may demand. On Saturdays the committee might want to schedule one interview at 8:30 or 9:00 AM, another after lunch, and perhaps another in the evening. Since multiple interviewing is demanding and fatiguing it is important that the search team give itself disconnect time between candidates so that the team can decompress and create mental and emotional space between the candidates. 

When Travel is Required

When a candidate must travel out of his region to visit a church the candidate’s time with the search committee should be maximized. While there ought to be allowance for breaks from structured discussion that include relaxed interaction (examples are a driving tour of the area and meals) there is much to be accomplished on such trips and both the candidate and search committee should be prepared to cover as much ground as possible.  

        For an interview that requires long distance travel it is customary that the church pay for travel expenses, this includes air fare and lodging. If significant driving is involved it is appropriate that the church reimburse the candidate for mileage. It is important that both the candidate and church are clear about travel and lodging expenses, including the process for reimbursement – mutual understanding is the best guard against misunderstanding. Should a church not raise the issue of travel expense, it is appropriate for the candidate to do so without apology. This is a wonderful opportunity for the church to demonstrate its consideration for its future pastor or associate minister and to set itself apart from other churches the candidate may be considering.

        Often when a church is hosting a candidate from out-of-town it will invite the candidate to lodge with a family within the congregation. There are pros and cons to this. It will provide the candidate with close interaction with church members, which will result in additional perspective on the church, and it will give the church a greater sense of the candidate through his interaction with the family.

On the other hand, the candidate will have no real downtime on his trip and, if the candidate is married and his spouse is accompanying him, they will have no private time to process their experience. Furthermore, if a candidate’s spouse is uncomfortable staying in a stranger’s home then unintended pressure is placed on both candidate and spouse.

It is best for the church to arrange for the candidate to lodge at a hotel or bed and breakfast. This gives the candidate reflection time and space and also allows him to maintain his personal regimen without concern of disturbing his host family.

An interview that requires travel requires an agenda surrounding the interview, not simply within the interview.  A of tour the church facility and time to tour the geographic area with a committee member or two will be helpful to the candidate. Time in a social setting, such as a meal, is important.  Both church and candidate will want to maximize the candidate’s exposure to the church and its immediate area during the visit. 

        If you are meeting on a Saturday, see if you can arrange for one meeting in the morning and one in the afternoon or one in the afternoon and one in the evening.  This will allow both candidate and committee to process the first meeting and have follow-up discussions in the second. While this is not an issue when a church is within close driving proximity, because you can always schedule subsequent meetings, it is an issue when extended travel is involved; again you want to maximize your time.

        If the candidate is going to attend church on Sunday, then a discussion after church can be valuable in terms of reflecting on Saturday’s discussions and also reflecting on the worship service.

        Should a Candidate Attend the Church Service?

        There is a line of thought that candidates should not attend services at a prospective church unless they have been asked to preach. When a candidate lives in close proximity to the church I believe that this is the best line of thinking. This avoids any possible influence or impression, positive or negative, the candidate may inadvertently make on parishioners, which in turn may result in difficulty for the search committee by complicating its decision-making process.

        Should the candidate attend church if he has traveled a significant distance and is visiting over the weekend?  This question does not have a simple answer. While the concern about inadvertent influence remains, the practical issue of the candidate acquiring as much knowledge on his trip as possible deserves consideration. In this scenario I think that it is generally good if the candidate attends the worship service.

        If the church doesn’t want the candidate who has traveled a long distance to attend worship it will be helpful if the church explains its reasons.  

        I once declined a long-distance candidating trip with a church that did not want me to attend Sunday worship; I would not necessarily make that decision in every instance.  My decision in this case was based upon information gleaned in my discussions with the liaison and two other committee members that led me to believe that I needed broader exposure to the church during the planned visit.  Since this church consisted of around 400 members and the search committee consisted of only three members, and since the committee did not have any interactions with other church members planned for our trip, I felt that attending Sunday morning worship was critical.  Had the case in point been a local church, or a church within a day’s travel, I would not have declined the interview.  However, this interview required a four-day trip, with my wife taking time-off from her employment, and I was not going to invest four days without maximizing our information gathering.

As Abraham’s servant knew, logistical planning is critical for interviews and trips. Thorough planning sets the stage for fruitful discussions. Abraham’s servant knew something else as well; he knew that all of his planning meant nothing without prayer:

Then he prayed, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, `Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, `Drink, and I'll water your camels too'--let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master." Genesis 24:12-14 NIV

Copyright © 2009 Robert L. Withers, all rights reserved