Friday, February 23, 2018
Hey Fletch … 21 years ago God gave me the privilege of leading a team to plant our church. Thank you for your ministry to XPs around the world. We are looking for our first Executive Pastor. To this point I have largely played both roles since I have some XP-like gifting, as a result, I think I have held the church back, and am ready to focus purely on being the Senior Pastor. With your vast experience, would love your wisdom on how best to go about this, and weigh the factors you are very aware of—internal hire vs. external; someone I know and trust vs. highly skilled person I do not know. Do we use a search firm? Feel free to direct me to resources on your robust website.
DRF—There is plenty to unpack in your questions. They are deep and have so many implications. You have been flying at tree top level for many years. Tactics are great but you need to be at the strategic and visionary level 99% of the time. You will need someone that you completely trust to run the organization. Letting go of tactics will be a challenge as it is part of your wiring. But, you know that you need to focus on preaching, leadership and vision. Trust is going to be the key ingredient between you and your XP. Second will be your ability to disengage from important issues and focus on only the vital. Your biggest “enemies” will be yourself and the tyranny of the urgent.
I would be pleased to talk with you. The first call is no charge, if you need help after that, we can work on a consulting arrangement. Check out this popular article on our Key Articles page, Three Kinds of Executive Pastors. It has helped many churches evaluate the kind of XP that they need. I’m looking forward to talking with you!
