Pastor’s Thoughts – Spring 2025

Dear friends,

On behalf of Gustavo and myself, I would like to thank you for all your messages of support with regard to our change in plans. This has been a difficult decision for Gustavo and Marcela and I know that they have wanted to honour the Church’s commitment to them. Please continue to pray for them and for Davi and Isabella.

The question that you may be asking is: what do we do now?

Well the Baptist Union has a system for matching churches seeking new ministers and ministers looking to find new churches. That sounds a bit like a dating app – the Elders deciding whether to swipe left or right – I assure you that that is not the process. What we will all be doing together is seeking to discern what God’s will is for us and asking the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. I could be wrong, but I don’t think that anyone here has more experience of this process than I do, so perhaps it would be helpful for me to explain what it is like.

I have been through the system on two occasions, in 1990 when I left college and in 1998-99 when I felt it was time to move on from Potters Bar. I believed that the time had come to move because the Lord put on my heart a burden for leading in a new direction. I had I tried it out there, but I came to realise that I could not see out that vision at that church. What followed was 18 months of prayer and seeking.

I began by putting together a document that was a bit like an expanded CV. In it I described my journey to faith and how the Lord had been leading me. I explained many of my beliefs and the kind of leadership that I believed I had to offer. That document went to the Regional Ministers who met monthly to compare profiles and see if any fitted with churches in their areas looking for ministers. Each month I would receive details of churches to which my name and profile had been sent. Church leaderships would look at my profile and if they felt there might be a connection, they would contact me. It is normal to only consider one candidate at a time. We are not comparing people to find the best candidate; we are seeking God to show us the right candidate. I had also received their profiles and I would decide if I wanted to meet them.

Initially I would meet with leaders and we would interview each other for a couple of hours. We would each pray about what happened and decide if we wanted to explore further. If so, I may have been invited to go and preach and see if we wanted to explore further. If it went very well, the leaders might decide that they wanted me to preach with a view – in other words with a view to being called as their next minister.

In those 18 months I must have looked at the profiles of dozens of churches. I visited many and preached at a few. When I met the Leadership here at David Hurley’s house, I experienced a meeting of minds and spirits that I had not felt anywhere else. I was invited to preach with a view. On that Sunday I preached at both services and had an afternoon tea at which I had an opportunity to meet with the congregation and then was grilled thoroughly! I had a very strong feeling that this was where I belonged. The procedure then was for the leadership to meet on the Monday night to agree whether to recommend me to the Church members. There was a Special Church Meeting on the next Thursday. A minister must be called at a Special Church Meeting and must receive a minimum of 80% of the vote. They then have to decide whether to accept the call. They will need to give notice to their present church which will be at least 3 months.

That was over 25 years ago, so some of the ways that the system works have been tweaked, but that gives you an idea of what is involved.

So here is what you can do:

1. Pray for the Leadership

They have to put together a profile of the Church to accurately reflect our theology, our culture and how we are carrying out our mission. They will have to sift through candidates and discern what the Lord is telling them. They will meet some of them too. Every meeting with a church leadership team during this process taught me or taught them something about how God was calling us.

2. Pray about the qualities you see as necessary in a new Senior Minister.

Don’t pray for a replica of me because whoever comes next will be different. Pray about what the Church needs to be effective in fulfilling our vision here.

3. Pray for the person that God is going to call.

They are out there right now in a church somewhere thinking about moving on. It’s a difficult time so pray that they will be listening for God’s guidance.

4. Pray for each other.

You are the Church, not me. When I go, the Church carries on. There may be new responsibilities that others have to take on. There may be new opportunities. What we all need to remember is that this is a process that must be led by the Holy Spirit.

Whoever the Lord calls to be here will be truly blessed. I know that I have been. Greater days lie ahead for this Church, God has greater plans for us, and what an incredible adventure that will be.

Wishing you every blessing,

John