Editors note: This is the first of two articles on this subject.
What is the average pastoral tenure among BMA Baptists? What is the benefit of a long-term pastorate for a church? What is the benefit to the pastor? Should a long-term pastorate be the goal?
Several years ago, a young pastor who was experiencing some church difficulties approached the late I.V. Hight, former Director of Arkansas State Missions, concerning the younger man’s circumstance. After hearing him out, Bro. Hight said, “I always served with the idea that I would stay at a church for no less than five years.” While Bro. Hight was certainly not trying to usurp the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of this young pastor, he was trying to tell him that not every difficulty was worth resigning over. That young man went on to complete nearly 10 years of ministry at that church.
Some general observations about BMA pastors: older pastors tend to stay longer at a particular church; long-term pastorates are, more often than not, at medium to large churches; and churches that have long-term pastors are often more stable. While there is no empirical evidence to support these conclusions, they are simply observations based on observing and serving BMA churches for over 40 years.
So, what are some possible benefits of a long-term pastorate?
• Credibility — To repeat the opening line to an article in the Jan. 19, 2022 Baptist Trumpet titled, Landon’s Story, “There comes a time in life in which circumstances force you to decide if you really believe everything you’ve heard and everything you’ve told others about Jesus.” In essence, a long-term pastorate affords God’s man the opportunity to navigate life’s challenges and obstacles in full view of the congregation. They can draw their own conclusions about whether the pastor really believes (thus practices) everything he has said about walking with Jesus.
A long-term pastorate forces the leader to practice what he preaches or lose credibility with the congregation. God’s man can claim great things about God, but when the people see him actually living those things out, those truths seem a bit more real.
Once credibility is earned, the long-term pastor can speak to difficult things and the congregation understands his heart. After years of integrity lived out before them, he can say “I need you to trust me on this matter.”
• Spiritual Growth — Another of the benefits of a long-term pastorate is that the leader is challenged to study and grow to remain fresh. He is forced to move beyond his favorite sermons, hobby horses and “sugar sticks” in order to preach sermons that are both biblical and relevant. A growing pastor will take his congregation deeper into the Word of God as he goes deeper with the Lord himself.
Once a pastor starts “mailing in” his sermons, his effectiveness diminishes. The average churchgoer knows when the preacher is preaching the same sermon he preached two or three years ago. They are not fooled by a simple title change. When a congregation can recite the pastor’s stories as effectively as the pastor, a fresh moving of God is desperately needed.
The late Dr. Jesse Thomas, during a homiletics class at Central Baptist College, told about a visit he made to a church while on vacation. He noted that the pastor announced his sermon title, read his sermon text and began the morning message. He also noticed that a couple of people redirected their attention to the bulletin or to read another portion of Scripture. Bro. Thomas’ challenge to his class was to never let the congregation do that because they’d already heard that sermon before.
• Stability — A third benefit of long-term pastorates is stability for the church, the pastor’s family and the community. When a church experiences a series of short-term pastorates, they sometimes become reserved toward the church leader. After several cycles of calling, getting to know and then losing a pastor, some church members choose to limit their openness toward God’s man. Their attitude becomes, “Why bother, he’ll be gone in a couple of years or so.” Candidly, veteran pastors tell us that their best years of ministry begin about year six or seven. A church becomes stable with stable leadership.
The pastor’s family benefits from the long-term pastorate. In the past, preacher’s kids and military brats shared a common trait, they moved about every three years or so. They were always the new kid and endured many first-day-of-school experiences. A long-term pastorate allows the kids to have a “hometown” and the pastor’s wife to have deeper friendships with other women.
For the pastor himself, the trust built during a long-term pastorate allows the leader to make mistakes and have the confidence of a stable relationship with the church.
Long-term pastorates do not guarantee a church will be stable and grow. However short-term pastorates essentially guarantee that it won’t.
— Allan began his 12th year as pastor at Celebration Baptist Church and hopes to finish his public ministry there.
