FollowBy Interim Pastor Steve McCoy
Our church is poised for a great experience. Our pastoral search team is hard at work, praying, poring over scores of resumes, making calls, and asking questions. It takes time—lots of it.
They are very aware that searching for a leader is a faith-filled, time-tested adventure. At the right time, they and the elders will bring you as a congregation into the mix as we explore together God’s choice for Elim.
Meanwhile we can relax, because the “Evangelical Free Church at Ephesus” had to go through a similar assessment process.
Acts 18:24–26 reads, “Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.”
As a quality leader, Apollos had multiple positives going for him:
- He was educated—“a learned man” (v. 24).
- He was biblically savvy—“instructed in the way of the Lord” (v. 25a).
- He was a gifted communicator—“spoke with great fervor” (v. 25b). (Interestingly enough, great fervor is an idiom that literally means “to boil in the spirit.” He was eager, enthusiastic, and passionate about ministry.)
- He was doctrinally astute—“taught about Jesus accurately” (v. 25c).
- He spoke “boldly” (v. 26a) about Jesus in a religiously hostile context.
But there was one negative regarding Apollos—he was deficient in his understanding of Jesus (v. 25) and the “way of God” (v. 26). With a teachable spirit, he humbly submitted to the tutelage of Priscilla and Aquila and was brought up to speed.
In due time, Elim will look at a pastor’s character and his ministerial competency. In addition, we will assess if he has the right chemistry to serve at our church. There will be all kinds of pluses, but there may be a negative or two. That’s what you will have to weigh as you consider the prospective pastor.
Meanwhile, Elim is on a time-tested, faith-filled adventure in finding your next pastor.
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