I imagine the average church member is about as interested in procedures of pastoral placement as they are parliamentary procedures of the United States Senate. The topic sounds about as interesting as watching grass grow

Yet what if I told you that one of the many factors contributing to the challenges facing American Evangelical Christianity is the way pastors are placed into local churches and held accountable after installation?

My denominational roots are from the Fundamentalist/Evangelical Baptist realm. While I have not strayed far from that tradition, I do think there are some practices in that community in particular that can be improved by making them more biblical.

The negative consequences of a low threshold for pastoral and pulpit ministry cannot be overstated. I will not seek to drag Evangelical leaders’ names through the mud here, but the abuse of leadership positions in American ministries cannot be questioned. Scandals line the newsfeeds on social media with regularity and even documentaries have been produced about pastoral abuse and excess.

Why do we see such failure on a regular basis? At least two reasons come to mind. First, the hearts of human beings are sinful, desperately wicked, and depraved. Even after conversion, the struggles with the flesh are real as Paul laid out in Romans 7. A second reason is a lack of accountability and a lack of maturity in elders. One question we hardly ever ask is how old should a man be before he becomes a pastor/elder? While the Bible is silent on the specific age of an elder, it speaks volumes about his need of maturity. That is what the term “elder” means. One who is spiritually mature.

One of the many problems with our Evangelical culture is that it models American culture in so many ways. We live in a culture that is enamored with youth, instant success, and big results. Although God gives men ministerial gifts like preaching, teaching, and administration, that man may not be ready and mature enough for the task. God in His grace can use premature ministry installation to produce maturity in a man, but it is obviously the exception and not the rule.

As in all discussions as Bible believers, we must ask, “What does the Bible say?” The Word presents two requirements for “pastoral installation,” for want of a better term. One is the inward calling to eldership. The closest “call to ministry” we get in Scripture is the desire to be in it in 1 Timothy 3:1.

However, the subjective desire to be in ministry, the calling if you will, is not enough. There is a second requirement: elder vetting and approval based on objective criteria, followed by mutual accountability based on character. You see Paul throughout the book of Acts appointing elders who had sound gospel doctrine and godly character to lead local churches. (Character qualifications for elders can be found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.) These men were to in turn appoint other elders that fit the same criteria and they remained accountable to one another in that local church. This is an absolute necessity for the protection of the gospel. Young men with a heart for gospel ministry and the church need older men to disciple them. This is essential for healthy churches to grow in grace.

Unfortunately, all too often in a traditional Baptist church in particular, all a man has to do to become a preacher/pastor is simply say that he is one. Yet a man in ministry who is either self-appointed or operating without an accountability system is a disaster waiting to happen, as borne out by the scandal-ridden history of evangelicalism over the last 50 years.

In a recent interview, Tim Keller remarked if a man desires to go into ministry in a Presbyterian, Anglican, or Lutheran context he will be told go to seminary for six or seven years, and then we will talk about going into ministry. While I believe Keller’s remark was tongue-in-cheek, there is no question that in some circles there is a more robust vetting process than is often seen in Baptist, Non-Denominational, and/or Charismatic contexts.

In short, both a vetting process and accountability system after installation in ministry are necessary for the protection of the gospel and the church of God.

Again: this discussion may seem uninteresting to some. Yet the longer congregations and their members remain apathetic about how pastors are installed and kept in ministry, the longer the church will struggle with self-appointed, immature pastors.

The pastorate and the office of elder are too critical to a resilient, Christ-centered church for trial and error. We need healthy processes for installing pastors and elders if we want healthy churches. 

While much, much more could certainly be said about pastoral selection and accountability, my plea is for patience, thoughtfulness, and gospel consistency based on the two biblical requirements identified here. Soli Deo Gloria!