By Tommy Riggins, Pastor Search Committee member
Bridging the Gap: Why Prayer is Essential in the Lead Pastor Search
God has given each of us on the pastor search committee an easy task, yet a difficult job. What do I mean? It is easy because God already has a man set aside as our lead pastor. Even now He is working in his heart and beginning to stir him for another assignment.
In Jeremiah 1:5, God says to the prophet: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
When God called Josh to Prince Avenue, He did not abandon us. He knows who the next man is. The Lord had a plan and still has a plan for MacArthur Blvd; however, we as a committee also have a difficult job—finding out just who that man is.
So how do we “bridge the gap” between the two? Prayer. We must be in communion with God through prayer and in the study of His word. Only then will we be able to discern the Lord’s will. Sometimes in life and even in ministry, we have a tendency to bypass prayer and just want to get the show on the road. We want to do the work, yet neglect the instructions on how to do it properly. In our first pastor search meeting, the pastors and staff met with us for the purpose of prayer as we began the process. I will never forget one of the prayers over me that day: “Lord, Don’t let Satan trick us as a committee into thinking that just because we are doing a good work for God that we do not have to spend time with God.” Prayer is essential. Without it, we will fail miserably in the task set before us.
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