Senior Pastor Search

Finalized Process to Establish a Pulpit Committee

At the Stated Meeting of February 25, 2025, Session approved a recommendation to the Congregation for the establishment of a Pulpit Committee. This was approved, with amendments, by the Congregation on March 7, 2025. The amendments are included.

That the Congregation approve the process (Book of Church Order 20-2) and the structure for a pastoral search process for a Senior Minister, including guidelines for the establishment of a Pulpit Committee to search for a Senior Minister.

Note: Session has consulted with PCA churches, a pastoral search consulting firm, and the PCA general office to affirm the procedures presented are in compliance with the Book of Church Order (BCO).

Establishing the Pulpit Committee

List of Nominating Committee Members

[Editor’s note: The members of the nominating committee have changed since the congregational meeting in which this procedure was approved. Find the current list of Nominating Committee Members here.]

  • Russell Pfeifer, chair (ruling elder)
  • Lisa Gerard (deaconess)
  • Jonathan Talamini (deacon)
  • Susan Fletcher (congregation)
  • Ralph Bremerman (congregation)
  • Alex Lin (congregation)
  • Linda Schmucker (congregation)
  • Kyle Sollie (congregation)
  • Rev. Enrique Leal, ex officio

Purpose of the Nominating Committee in this process

To receive nominations from the Congregation and to select fourteen nominees for the seven “Member-at-Large” slots (see III. B. below) to be voted on by the Congregation,

With the announcement of Dr. Liam Goligher’s resignation last December, the church is in need of a new Senior Minister.

BCO 20-2 Every church should be under the pastoral oversight of a minister, and when a church has not pastor it should seek to secure one without delay. A church shall proceed to elect a pulpit committee which may be composed of members from the congregation at large or the Session, as designated by the congregation (see BCO 25). The pulpit committee shall, after consultation and deliberation, recommend to the congregation a pastoral candidate who, in its judgment, fulfils the Constitutional requirements of that office (e.g., BCO 8, 12-6, and 21) and is most suited to be profitable to the spiritual interests of the congregation (cf. BCO 20-6).

Nomination Process

As discussed below, the Congregation shall select seven of the twelve members of the Pulpit Committee. These seven members are referred to as the “Members-at-Large.” A member may nominate another member of the church to serve as a Member-at-Large by emailing a member of the Nominating Committee directly to nomcom@tenth.org. Any communicant member of Tenth—including a ruling elder, deacon, or deaconess not currently serving on those boards—may be nominated as a Member-at-Large. Any nominee must have regularly attended Tenth worship services over the past 12 months.

Given the importance of the Pulpit Committee’s task, it is necessary that careful consideration be given to those who may serve on it. Session encourages members to nominate individuals whose lives evidence the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and who have leadership experience. Additionally, the church welcomes nominees who possess the following qualities:

  1. Prayerfulness…. Because the task of considering the church’s future solely by human wisdom is impossible.
  2. Christ-centeredness… because the church doesn’t ultimately belong to its elders, other leaders, or its members. Rather, it belongs to Christ, the Head. Therefore, the most important consideration is what Christ has spoken in his Word concerning his gospel, his Church, and those who would serve under him as shepherds of his flock
  3. Teachability… because this will be an unfamiliar process for most or all of the committee members, and there will be much to learn.
  4. Servanthood… because a committee member must be more concerned about the overall good of the entire church than about his or her particular preferences.
  5. Peacemaking spirit… because unity (though not necessarily unanimity) must be sought in the midst of the differences of opinion that will arise during the process. Note that peacemaking is not avoiding differences of opinions or restraining one’s own opinions. Rather, it is the commitment to work through differences in a manner that honors the Lord.
  6. Wisdom and discernment… because, among other things, many factors must be weighed, preconceived notions must be challenged, and initial impressions must be scrutinized.
  7. Trustworthiness and discretion… because the work of the committee will often involve confidential information.
  8. Ability to think on a strategic, “big-picture” level… because we will be dealing with issues such as church vision and strategy, the church budget, and so on. The committee member does not need to be immediately familiar with all these issues, but the ability to interact and give constructive input on these matters is essential.
  9. Availability… because the work of the committee will require significant time commitment. We estimate this role will be at least a 12-18 month commitment including committee meetings and additional time spent planning and executing search process activities such as outreach, reviewing applications, listening to sermons, visiting churches, reading books authored by candidates and conducting interviews (on the average of 2-3 hours a week).

Responsibilities of the Pulpit Committee

The Pulpit Committee is charged to present the Congregation with a proposed Senior Minister for its approval.

Responsibilities Include

  1. Advertising and invitations;
  2. Screening and prioritizing applications;
  3. Setting up and conducting interviews;
  4. Checking references, including a diligent effort to personally meet with and speak to individuals who can attest to the candidate’s character based upon personal experience, including those who have worked under or with the applicant in a ministry context;
  5. Listening to sermons and reading written work products; thoughtfully critiquing the candidate’s work;
  6. Considering Session’s input on the Senior Minister job description, education and ministry experience qualifications, personal character traits, ministry philosophy and alignment with Tenth’s vision, mission, and values, etc;
  7. Submitting status reports to Session at least on a regular basis;
  8. Providing regular updates to the Congregation on the progress and status of the pastoral search;
  9. After consultation and deliberation, recommending to the Congregation a pastoral candidate who, in its judgment, best fits the requirements of the office.

Structure of the Committee

  • Two ruling elders, nominated by Session
  • One deacon and one deaconess, nominated by the Diaconal Board
  • One teaching elder (ex officio) nominated by Session [The Teaching Elder member of the Pulpit Committee will be a non-voting member and must be a member of Tenth or the Philadelphia Presbytery of the PCA]
  • Seven Members-at-Large elected at a Congregational Meeting, discussed below.

As discussed below, provided there are sufficient nominees, the seven Members-at-Large must include at least two women.

Once appointed and elected, these eleven voting members of the Pulpit Committee shall pick the chair of the committee. A majority of the eleven voting members of this committee must be present to constitute a quorum for all routine business, and routine business will be determined by majority vote. All twelve members of the committee must be present to vote on the final selection of the Senior Minister, and that vote must be carried by a two-thirds majority.

Selection Process for Members-at-Large

We desire a Pulpit Committee composition that reflects the diversity of our Congregation (Romans 12:1-8).

  1. We will open up for nominations after the March 7, 2025 congregational meeting and close nominations on March 31, 2025.
  2. Each nominee for a Member-at-Large slot on the Pulpit Committee must receive two independent nominations from members of the Congregation who are not related to the nominee and who have regularly attended Tenth during the last twelve months.
  3. Nominations may be emailed to a member of the Nominating Committee or sent to the Nominating Committee at nomcom@tenth.org.
  4. In making a nomination, a member must succinctly write, in one to two paragraphs, why he or she believes the nominee would be a good member of the Pulpit Committee, with reference to the criteria above.
  5. Upon receipt of a nomination, the Nominating Committee will issue a questionnaire to the nominee.
  6. The Nominating Committee shall screen the Congregation’s nominees for eligibility to serve (i.e., must have received two independent nominations, are a member of tenth in good standing with regular attendance for at least the last 12 months, are willing to serve on the Pulpit Committee and have sufficient time to do so, and affirm the responsibilities of the Pulpit Committee outlined in Section III.A.).
  7. The questionnaire will then be used as a basis for an interview with the Nominating Committee.
  8. If after that screening, there are more than fourteen qualified nominees, the Nominating Committee shall select from those nominees a group of fourteen nominees who best meet the criteria outlined above. In making that selection, if there are three or more qualified women nominees, the Nominating Committee must select at least three women. Likewise, if there are three or more qualified male nominees, the Nominating Committee must select at least three men.
  9. In making that selection, if there are qualified nominees from three or more parishes, the fourteen members selected by the Nominating Committee should include members from at least three parishes. If there are insufficient qualified nominees to achieve this precise balance, the Nominating Committee shall use its prayerful judgment to select as many qualified nominees, not to exceed fourteen, to approximate the diversity envisioned by this paragraph.

At a called Congregational Meeting, the Congregation shall elect seven Members-at-Large from among the group of fourteen qualified nominees selected by the Nominating Committee and affirm the other five Pulpit Committee nominees (from the Session and Diaconate).

  1. The election ballot for the Pulpit Committee shall be provided by the Nominating Committee to the Congregation at least two weeks before this Congregational Meeting. The information given to the Congregation two weeks before this vote may also contain information about each of the nominees, such as their testimony and a summary of their service for the church. Nominees shall have the option of including their contact information on the ballot in case members want to speak with them before the vote. Any objections by any member of the church to the qualifications of a nominee selected by the Nominating Committee must be raised to the Nominating Committee at least 3 days before the Congregational Meeting. Session will decide on any such objection before the meeting begins.
  2. The called meeting shall consist of prayer, singing, and voting, and shall not include any statements or speeches regarding any nominee. Each member present at the meeting shall vote for as many or as few Members-at-Large up to fourteen as their conscience allows.
  3. The voting shall be counted by a voting referee appointed by the moderator as follows: The referee shall create a list of nominees, ranked by the number of votes each has received. The top two vote getters who are women shall be elected to the committee. Likewise, the top two vote-getters who are men shall be elected to the committee. The slots that remain shall be filled by the remaining nominees who receive the greatest number of votes, regardless of sex, and those nominees shall be elected to the Committee. Each of the two ruling elder nominees, two diaconal nominees, and teaching elder nominee shall be elected to the committee if he or she receives a majority of the votes cast at the congregational meeting. If any of the nominees from these categories is not elected, the moderator may call a recess of the meeting, allow the relevant board to caucus and nominate a replacement candidate, and another vote will be held with regard to that replacement nominee. That replacement nomination and vote may happen at the same Congregational Meeting as the original vote. This process may continue until the requisite number of member or members of that board are elected. In the event of a tie for the seventh spot on the Pulpit Committee there would be a runoff vote to determine its members. In the event of a tie for the males or females that would also be determined by a runoff vote to determine its members.

Announcement of Committee

The moderator of the meeting shall announce the result of the vote once all ballots have been tallied, and the committee and its duly appointed and elected members shall be announced. The resultant committee and its duly appointed and elected members shall be announced. The resultant committee shall be a twelve member committee with eleven voting members.

Vacancies

In the case of a vacancy on the committee, the vacancy shall be filled as follows:

  • A vacancy among the elder appointees shall be appointed by Session
  • A vacancy in the deacon appointee shall be appointed by that board
  • A vacancy in the teaching elder appointee shall be appointed by Session
  • A vacancy in the deaconess appointee shall be appointed by that board;
  • A vacancy among the Members-at-Large shall be filled by the nominee in the process described in III. C. who was not elected but received the next greatest number of votes.

Estimated Key Dates/Timeline

  • February 25, 2025: Session approved a process to recommend to the Congregation
  • March 7, 2025: Congregation voted to approve the process
  • March 31, 2025: Nominations for Pulpit Committee submitted to the Nominating Committee closes
  • April 1 to May 9, 2025: Nominating Committee reviews Member-at-Large nominees for eligibility and selects 14 nominees to be voted on
  • May 9, 2025: Email ballot with list of all nominees (elders, deacon/esses, and Members-at-Large) to the Congregation