April 27, 2023

April 27, 2023

Your Pastor Search Committee (“PSC”) is indebted to all who are praying fervently for the work that is set before us as a church.  As promised, the PSC will periodically advise of our goals and progress.

On April 2, 2023, the church created the PSC.  We met the following evening and have done so every week thereafter.  We plan to continue meeting on a weekly basis until the church calls its next Pastor.  We have leaned heavily on the experiences of those, within and beyond Redland, who have traveled this path before.  Much of our work has been to obtain guidance and literature from near and far about the best practices to employ.

While there is a great deal of written material at our disposal, no one source will dictate our direction.  Many of our sister state conventions of Baptists have employed guidebooks for this process, some more recent and relevant than others.  The Pastor Search Committee Handbook, published by LifeWay Press in 2002, and revised in 2007, provides a template that many of the more recent guidebooks are based on.  A copy of this handbook will be placed in the church library for your review.

A frequent refrain that is prominently made in the materials reviewed is the need for confidentiality regarding the work of the PSC.  This is necessary for the process of the search and the health of the church.  The PSC will be entrusted with a great deal of privileged information about candidates and from candidates.  Inappropriate disclosures of information can cause great harm to the body of Christ, to the people involved and to their families.  So please do not be offended when a member of the PSC does not share the particulars of the work being done.  At our next meeting, we have agreed to sign the final version of a covenant before God to protect these confidential deliberations.

In 1996, Redland formed a search committee that eventually led to the selection of Mark Adams as our Pastor.  At that time, the PSC made known the expected process.  Set forth below are some relevant points that are still applicable:

• Study Phase: Here we answer the question, “What are we looking for in a new Senior Pastor?”  The committee will conduct a survey of RBC members through a questionnaire that helps us establish a profile and selection criteria for a new Pastor.

• Search Phase: The committee calls for the candidate recommendations and then narrows the list to one person that all agree should be presented to the church.  During this phase, we will ask for names of candidates from our church members, our state convention, other state conventions, Baptist seminaries, and other sources.  After the list is narrowed, we will conduct personal interviews and visit with a select few until a single candidate is selected.

• Presentation and Call: The PSC will provide the name and all relevant information to the church on the Pastor candidate they unanimously recommend.  The candidate will be brought to Redland (with his wife, if married) to meet the church and lead several worship services.  The church will then vote “yes” or “no” to call that person as its new Senior Pastor.

• Timing: It is best to plan for at least a year before a new Pastor arrives, and it could be considerably longer.

Your PSC is presently focused on identifying an Interim Pastor who will lead our worship services.  When identified, the church will then vote “yes” or “no” to call that person as our Interim Pastor.

All members of the PSC have accepted this responsibility as a priority in our lives.  We have committed to pray for each other, for the process and for our church.  We covet your prayers and trust that you will do the same.  We have a long road ahead, but we intend to walk this road as led by the Holy Spirit.

CC Day
Chair, Pastor Search Committee
April 18, 2023