Seeking a New Pastor

Our local church (that is believers not building) is looking for a new pastor. This is no easy task even in the normal run of things but when you are following in the footsteps of a Dr Steve Taylor, it becomes even more difficult.

So what type of person should we be looking for? Perhaps first we need to look over Steve's time here, what kind of pastor was he? Steve was a pioneer, a starter, an ideas person but able to give traction to those ideas. He had the ability to move a people into the new without them really feeling that they were leaving anything behind. To give him a label one might call him a 'missional' pastor; he cared for the mobility of the gospel and the relevancy of the message to today's generation and within the definition of 'missional' he saw the gospel moving out to the community. Steve was also free to empower people to do 'ministry' and not try and do everything himself. He moved our church from a dying introverted critical Conservative institution into the beginnings of a missional, loving community and creative movement. Well maybe he still had a way to go but at least we had started.

Areas where we need to still grow; would be not only missional within our local community but with a world perspective too. People need to be encouraged to deepen their understanding of the Bible but not try and apply it like a book of rules. We don't need just a people with a 'sound' theological basis but a people of faith immersed in the Word of God. Applying the great Truths of scripture to our living.

Do we duplicate Steve, go for consolidation or do a 'u-turn'?


It does makes sense going for consolidation; build on what has been started, go for depth and maturity. People can get burnt out starting new enterprises.

However this runs the risk of causing stagnation within the church; we could redevelop into an institution instead of a movement. Theorizers instead of practitioners. People have been attracted to Opawa because of what has been happening, what we look like and what we are saying. This has been in a large part through the initiative of Steve but enabled by the people who make up this church. If we put a hold or stop on this I fear we will loose the momentum and loose what we have gained. We need to be a prophetic missional people characterised by Faith, love and hope.

I would also like to add that we should look within our own ranks before looking outside our community and I like the idea of a part-time pastor. The 'eldership' or 'Board' needs to exercise strong spiritual leadership beyond the present 'paid' Senior Pastor.

Below is a list attributes I would love Opawa to be known for:
(JR Woodward at Dream Awakener).

•Not simply how many people come to our church services, but how many people our church serves.
•Not simply how many people attend our ministry, but how many people have we equipped for ministry.
•Not simply how many people minister inside the church, but how many minister outside the church.
•Not simply helping people become more whole themselves, but helping people bring more wholeness to their world. (i.e. justice, healing, relief)
•Not simply how many ministries we start, but how many ministries we help.
•Not simply how many unbelievers we bring into the community of faith, but how many ‘believers' we help experience healthy community.
•Not simply working through our past hurts, but working alongside the Spirit toward wholeness.
•Not simply counting the resources that God gives us to steward, but counting how many good stewards are we developing for the sake of the world.
•Not simply how we are connecting with our culture but how we are engaging our culture.
•Not simply how much peace we bring to individuals, but how much peace we bring to our world.
•Not simply how effective we are with our mission, but how faithful we are to our God.
•Not simply how unified our local church is, but how unified is "the church" in our neighborhood, city and world?
•Not simply how much we immerse ourselves in the text, but how faithfully we live in the story of God.
•Not simply being concerned about how our country is doing, but being concern for the welfare of other countries.
•Not simply how many people we bring into the kingdom, but how much of the kingdom we bring to the earth.