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associate pastors

Associate Pastor

Finding the associate pastor you need

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The role of the associate pastor or minister is one that many churches think they cannot afford. In reality, the are a variety of ministry callings that do not involve staffing a full-time pastor or minister. In many cases, the associate pastor or minister can be found in their church.

As church budgets get tighter congregations struggle to use lay people to meet the needs of church goers. This model can be effective but there are particular situations where a church needs an associate pastor. The typical indicator of the need for staffing another minister is when the worship or membership begins to approach the hundred mark: 200, 300, and so on.

Typically, the larger the church the more likely that a church can fund a full-time associate pastor. For those churches that hover around the 150-200 membership range, they should make a plan for staffing an associate pastor. Not every pastor or ministry on staff needs to be seminary trained.

I use the term associate pastor/minister interchangeably. In the free church tradition, every member is a minister. Depending on your tradition, the tile of pastor may carry a different meaning. Regardless, most denominational polity allows for a church to empower a person with a specific ministry as “minister of ….”. Your church would benefit from utilizing people in your own congregation for the work of an associate pastor/minister. Here are some ways to staff such a position:

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Associate Pastor

5 things associate pastors need to survive

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The work of an associate pastor often does not receive the high praise or support compared to their senior pastor. Associate pastors have the challenging task of supporting the mission and vision of the church under the leadership of their senior pastor. Often, in the course of this supportive role, associates experience disagreements and their frustration can undermine staff synergy.

Church leadership and senior pastors need to realize the unique nature of associate pastor ministry. In my book, The Work of the Associate Pastor“,  I write about how many fail to see one thing: the power dynamic in the analogy of “second chair” is fundamentally flawed. Associates often are forgotten in the work of the church. There are several key support mechanisms that need to be in place for associate pastors:

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Associate Pastor

Don’t forget about associate pastors

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Last week I spoke to a group of associate pastors at a continuing education program with the  American Baptist Churches of New Jersey. This group of associates was very diverse demographically, but they all shared the same challenges.

I started speaking on the topics of identity, calling, and role of the associate pastor. Then, several folks brought up other associates books, “Leading from the Second Chair” or “Second Chair, Not Second Best”. Though I’m pretty enamored with “The Work of the Associate Pastor“,  I spoke about how those other books fail to see one thing: the power dynamic in the analogy of “second chair” is fundamentally flawed.

As I shared with this group of associate pastors that the power dynamics of #1 verse #2 pastor is not helpful. Ordering pastors with numbers frustrate associates into seeing themselves as lesser instead of seeing themselves into a different calling than their senior pastors. The relationship between the senior and associate pastor should be one of mutuality. Obviously, there is a supervisory role that the senior pastor must take, but that doesn’t mean that pastors cannot treat one another as equals.

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FREE Book Giveaways – 6 Ways to Win!

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I’m giving three great books this week! You can win and all you have to do is respond below using the giveaway form below. Here are the books I’m giving away (be sure to go to the bottom of the post to enter to win!):

The Work of the Associate Pastor
Alan R. Rudnick

A new vocational volume in the best-selling “Work of the Church” series!

Having spent more than ten years in pastoral staff ministry, Alan R. Rudnick brings a wealth of research and experience to the often undervalued ministry of the associate pastor. Inviting readers to understand associate ministry as more than training ground for a senior pastorate, Rudnick explores the diverse roles and responsibilities that fall under the associate umbrella. From life-stage ministries with children and youth, singles and seniors, to specialized ministry areas such as music, education, pastoral care, and counseling, this volume acknowledges the challenges and opportunities offered to associate pastors in their distinctive ministries. The book’s appendix offers practical resources for churches:

  • How to plan for an associate
  • Sample job descriptions
  • Compensation guidelines

Associate ministers also will find a personal assessment, helpful in discerning when to stay and when to leave their associate position. Overall, this is an ideal resource for graduating seminarians seeking associate opportunities, as well as church leaders looking to establish an associate position.

An American Gospel: On Family, History, and the Kingdom of God
Erik Reece

At the age of thirty-three, Erik Reece’s father, a Baptist minister, took his own life, leaving Erik in the care of his grandmother and his grandfather-also a fundamentalist Baptist preacher, and a pillar of his rural Virginia community. While Erik grew up with a conflicted relationship with Christianity, he unexpectedly found comfort in the Jefferson Bible. Inspired by the text, he undertook what would become a spiritual and literary quest to identify an “American gospel” coursing through the work of both great and forgotten American geniuses, from William Byrd to Walt Whitman to William James to Lynn Margulis. The result of Reece’s journey is a deeply intimate, stirring book about personal, political, and historical demons-and the geniuses we must call upon to combat them. Publisher description

Weird: Because normal isn’t working
Craig Groeschel – author of Christian Atheist

Normal people are stressed, overwhelmed, and exhausted. Many of their relationships are, at best, strained and, in most cases, just surviving. Even though we live in one of the most prosperous places on earth, normal is still living paycheck to paycheck and never getting ahead. In our oversexed world, lust, premarital sex, guilt, and shame are far more common than purity, virginity, and a healthy married sex life. And when it comes to God, the majority believe in him, but the teachings of scripture rarely make it into their everyday lives.

Simply put, normal isn’t working.

Groeschel’s WEIRD views will help you break free from the norm to lead a radically abnormal (and endlessly more fulfilling) life. Publisher description

 

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Associate Pastor, the work of the associate Pastor

Associate pastors are not second chairs

2chairIn an informal interview for an associate pastor position, I was once told by a senior pastor, “Being an associate pastor is about paying the rent.”

“What’s paying the rent have to do with ministry?” I asked. I thought the church might be tight on cash! The senior pastor explained that paying the rent was about doing all the aspects of ministry that most pastors do not like to do, like working with youth groups. As I heard these words, I knew that there was something very wrong with this philosophy of ministry.

The senior pastor finished his thought with, “It’s about playing second chair to the senior pastor.”

In the relatively small market for books on associate pastors, a common image is portrayed: associates are like second chairs. In an orchestra setting, the second chair plays behind or next to the first chair, who is usually more talented or more skilled.  The associate as a second chair is an analogy that is fundamentally flawed in its approach.

In my book, The Work of the Associate Pastor I explain why associate pastor ministry is a calling, not a step on the vocational ladder of ministry. Accepting a ministry position as an associate pastor should come out of a sense that God desires you to use your gifts in a particular way. The second chair approach to associate-senior pastor relationship is more often about power and authority. Senior pastors might be tempted to employ the use of this relationship, but it will leave associates feeling micromanaged and frustrated.

If the second chair approach to associates is not a fruitful one, then how should churches and pastors articulate the relationship of associates and seniors?

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