I am not talking associate pastors. I am talking head pastors in churches that control hiring. The Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and Catholic churches are usually controlled by a board or regional/district director that moves pastors. But Baptist and non-denominational are independent and the church can hire and fire who they want. The pastors in those type churches usually do not stay very long at smaller churches. Many of them are lucky to keep a pastor who has an education for more than a year at the small churches. They end up getting uneducated pastors or they swap them rapidly because someone with a masters cannot afford to stay at a small church. Most pastors of small to medium size churches are not paid what school teachers with equal degrees get paid.
I can relate as a pastor because every time I or most of my friends have moved churches we come in with the mindset of growing a church and making things new. But churches are not very open to change and the only way to grow is to change. If you do the same things, with a new pastor, you get the same results. The only way to get different results is through change and the only people who don't mind change are in the cemetery. All other age people struggle with change.
I've identified myself as Jewish on this board. But I attended a Presbyterian church for nineteen years on a regular basis. I married the daughter of a pastor with five uncles and two grandfathers who were pastors. My kids were raised Christian. To quote my grandmother, "Oh vey!" We were regulars through my son's (the youngest) confirmation. I'm still doing fundraising for the church and Interfaith organization projects even though I've moved away.
From being active in the church I learned how much control the inner circle has as opposed to the pastors. The church lost both pastors to better opportunities within a short period of time. When there's an interim pastor the inner circle is 100% in charge. They rejected every interviewee for a year and a half to maintain 100% control. They didn't care the interim was duller than dirt and people were looking at other churches. It was all about control.
The inner circle publicly trashed the head pastor for leaving for a better opportunity. Aside from a large salary he had been given an interest free loan by the church for a home. Once he got his PhD in family counseling he wanted to do more counseling and less preaching. He left town for a large church with five pastors.
The associate was straight out of Princeton divinity school. She was southern and evangelical. The members voted for her. I was shocked a stoic, stick up their butts, northeast inner circle would even nominate a southern evangelical for associate. She was so good and so bright she quickly got her own church in Southern Virginia. I found it interesting to have intellectual and evangelical in alternate weeks.
Imagine the embarrassment when one inner circle person unknowingly nominated me to be usher. I had to point out my (now ex) wife was the member and not me. The person got so upset they were adament I never taught Sunday school classes with my wife again. After all, I might corrupt first graders who color, do shoe box projects and have stories read to them.
I've never cared what people believe or don't believe. It's what you get out of it not what you're born into. You probably have those who only show up on Christmas and Easter. I ultimately became a High Holiday Jew. A cousin, a rabbi jokingly checks the date on his watch when he sees me walk in.
reconciled 80%
