This afternoon, I got a telephone call from another minister. She had heard from a mutual minister friend that I was a good person to ask about going into search for a new congregation. I told her that it was sadly true, I do indeed know a great deal about searching for a new congregation because I spent three years in search, made lots of mistakes, got lots of practice, and finally wound up in a great congregation. I gave her some advice, and just for fun I’m listing six pieces of that advice here — for the amusement of other ministers, Search Committees, and those interested laypeople who would like an insider’s view of the current search process in the Unitarian Universalist Association.
1. Sell yourself.
The settlement process for Unitarian Universalist ministers is now totally open and transparent. That’s a polite way of saying that the settlement process is basically a open marketplace. In a marketplace, you have to sell yourself. That doesn’t mean you have to use high-pressure, dishonest sales tactics — when I worked in sales, I found low-key relationship-building to be my best sales tool — but I don’t care how good a minister you are, if you don’t sell yourself, these days you’re unlikely to get a good job.
Everything else I say follows from this first premise.
2. Check out the congregations that other ministers are ignoring.
This year, as is true every year, there will be a few congregations that are considered desirable by lots of ministers in search. If it’s considered a “prominent” congregation, i.e., medium-big or large with a substantial salary package near a desirable metropolitan area, you’ll be competing with thirty or forty other ministers for the vacant position. But remember that many of these “prominent” congregations are more dysfunctional and soul-destroying than the less “prominent” congregations. When I was in sales, I looked for the markets other salespeople were ignoring — they snickered at me, but I wound up being top gross and top net in my department. Go thou and do likewise. Check your ego at the door and look for a less “prominent” congregation where you can do some good ministry. The brass ring is not a “prominent” congregation, it’s a congregation where you will grow and thrive and have a good time.
3. Look at congregations in the Midwest.
The Midwest is one of those markets the others are ignoring. Yet from personal experience, I can tell you that ministers are not respected and religion is culturally unimportant on the West Coast, and in the Northeast people often take their churches and ministers for granted — whereas in the Midwest ministers are held in relatively high respect in the surrounding culture. Sure, there are anti-clerical and dysfunctional congregations in the Midwest, but on average people just care about churches and ministers in the Midwest in a way that never happens in New England or California. (I am told this is also true for the Southern United States.)
4. The materials you produce at each stage of the search process function as different kinds of sales tools.
Of course you should always be scrupulously honest about yourself and your goals for your ministry. Having said that, here’s my take on how to sell yourself at different stages of the search process:
- The ministerial record that you put up on the Unitarian Universalist Association Web site is really a sales brochure that should be designed to invite congregations to exchange packets with you.
- Your printed packet is an in-depth sales tool that should be designed to attract “live prospects” while filtering out casual inquiries.
- The telephone interview should help you build relationships and develop trust, to the end that…
- …you can ask tough questions and bare your soul (as needed) during the face-to-face pre-candidating interview.
5. Create a good Web site as your add-on sales tool.
When they check you out, Search Committees will search for your name on one or more of the major Web search engines. Thus your own Web site can be a secret add-on sales tool for you. Make yourself a Web site containing a selection of your best sermons and other written work. Get someone who knows how to create a clean, simple design for you. Find out how search engines find and rank Web sites [link]. (By the way, your own domain name and a year’s worth of Web hosting will cost about $55 — I use this service.) In a competitive market, you need all the sales tools you can get — go create that Web site now.
6. Set goals for each stage of the search process by working backwards.
The best salespeople are heavily goal-oriented. Your ultimate goal is to find the best possible congregation for your skills and talents as a minister. So let’s work backwards from that. Ideally, then, you want to have at least two job offers so you have a choice. So you should aim for three “pre-candidating weekends” (face-to-face, weekend-long interviews). That means you want at least five or six telephone interviews. That means you should exchange packets with eight to ten congregations. And that means you should identify fifteen congregations on the ministerial settlement Web site that you will click on to ask them to review your online ministerial record.
There you have it — six pieces of advice for minister who are in search this year. Just remember that this is free advice, and therefore worth exactly what you paid for it.
Fantastic advice Dan, and field-tested too! As someone who spent nearly a decade technically “in search” (albeit with a pretty profound geographic restriction) I’ll second everything you say, and add a few insights of my own.
When I started out, I spent a lot of time trying to make my materials look different from everyone else’s, on the theory that would make them stand out. Eventually, I discovered it was more effective to make my materials look exactly like everyone else’s, only better — which made ME appear outstanding.
Even while you are “in transition,” don’t pass up opportunities to build your resume…and your reputation. Do the supply preaching and the outside weddings…as many as you can schedule. Consult with small churches. Network with other ministers to offer Adult RE classes to their congregations (trust me, they’ll love you for it). Don’t worry so much about getting paid at first…do it for love, and the money will follow. I earned a PhD while technically in search, and helped half-a-dozen different small congregations settle full or part-time ministers and/or build or buy new buildings. Not such a bad track record for someone who was a full time grad student looking for a full-time job…and good for the movement too.
Ministry is both a calling and a career. The issue is not which takes priority, but rather how best to keep them in alignment. I know a lot of colleagues who seem to feel that the real mission of the church is to provide them with a paycheck. It’s not, so get over it. The question congregations will be asking you is What can you do for us to make our SPIRITUAL lives more satisfying? All of the business about growing the church by increasing membership, attendance and the amount of the average pledge means a whole lot less to them than it does to us. If you really want to know what people are looking for in a pastor, check out this report from Duke. Plenty to chew on there, not all of it too appetizing
http://www.pulpitandpew.duke.edu/PastorSearch.pdf
Finally (at least for now) don’t try to hide from your mistakes or hide them from Search Committees. Rather, look at them closely, figure out what you learned from them, and turn that “lesson” into a positive selling point. Let’s face facts: ministry isn’t that a difficult a job, but it is an impossible one. None of us will EVER do it perfectly, meet every expectation, land on our feet every time. Ministry is the kind of work that will take everything we have to offer without it ever really being enough, and yet somehow we manage to do it anyway. Likewise, Search Committees are generally a lot less interested in what you can do than in who you are. Character, candor, compassion, integrity, authenticity and real spiritual “depth” — these are the things that churches truly want and need from their Religious Leader. So don’t try to fake it: FIND IT!
Oops! Ended up writing a lot more there than I’d planned. Good luck in New Bedford Dan. I look forward to meeting you.
hi guy,
glad she called you – and hope the advice pays off. But really, dude, “religion is culturally unimportant on the west coast?”
church going for religious liberals may be unimportant in some areas of this coast – but, man, don’t diss the whole coast, and all the religious people out here. There are great congregations, paying well that get little interest from clergy on this coast – and let’s face it, despite the so-called GLUT of ministers out there, we’ve got STUDENTS serving as interims, now. Spread the love…don’t be a hater…
I think, relatively speaking (no pun intended) there *is* a vast difference between the attitude toward church on the coasts and here in the flyover zone…er, midwest. It’s central here, woven into the fabric of life — for faiths of all stripes, liberal and evangelical.
Weirdly enough, there’s also more tolerance here of difference between congregations. Despite what the media might present. We’re not all mean-spirited religious righties. And a lot of very conservative faiths here are populated with generous, curious, welcoming people. Kinda fun.
Meanwhile — thanks for the job hunt tips. May come in handy…someday!
Hi ms. m — Sorry to hear that there is no longer a glut of ministers on the Left Coast. But when I was in search, the congregations within fifty miles of the Pacific were getting at least twice as many applications as Midwestern churches. I should have also clarified that when I say “Coast,” I mean coast. Congregations in the Central Valley of California and Nevada are neglected by prospective ministers just as much as Midwestern churches.
But I also have to say the Pacific states have the lowest percentage of church-goers of any region in the United States. So I stand by my statement that religion is culturally unimportant out there — at least, compared to the Midwest it is. I’m not trying to trash California — I personally found it a satisfying place to do ministry — but there is a distinct cultural difference.
I think the talk of the glut has been a dangerous thing – since before I started seminary, I heard there were more ministers out there than churches…And indeed, that may still be true. But I’m sorta shocked and sad that I’ve heard little to know rumbling about this situation where congregations that have done the work to prepare to call clergy are coming up empty handed…the reality of so many delicate interim opprtunities are now going to the novices may be a brilliant opportunity – but it seems like a congregation in transition served by someone studying for the MFC still is more likely an opportunity for some important congregational work to not happen…and we know where that revolving door leads…
I wish I had your historical research skills (well sorta) cuz I have some recollection that I once read that part of the problem with the post-Quillen Shinn Universalism in those days was that there were no clergy prepared to go and help all those congregations that got started…in the growth “world” of UU’s, I’m wondering about sustainability, or is it actually the return to the lay-led fellowship that is our future?…not that clergy is the be all and end all, but golly…
So, I do hereby call off the GLUT talk….on any coast. The same 20 people applying to the top 20 size/package congregations doesn’t mean we have too many people searching – or too many even in the pool. We just have 20 attractive (for what ever reason) ministries…and shouldn’t the Lord’s work ALL be attractive? (sez I, who won’t move from the west coast water, even for the Lord…)
ps. come visit! george and walt and I miss you and Carol.