University Baptist Church and the Search for Leadership

Abstract

Among the congregations there were “givens” that tended to go unquestioned, such as the primacy or importance of evangelism or the salience of generational differences; these arose in many interviews and conversations. One of the givens stood out as particularly pertinent to the future and present life of the congregations: the need for a full-time, seminary-trained pastor. University Baptist Church (UBC) illustrated this commitment particularly dramatically as they were without a permanent pastor throughout the 18 months of my fieldwork. Their Pastoral Search Committee met sporadically, guest preachers came through regularly in a sort of “audition” process, and the discussions, prayers, and debates about who and what sort of leader the congregation should have were a constant refrain in everything the church did. Indeed, every congregation struggled, either during my project or historically, with the problems and needs of finding and retaining effective, suitable, seminary-trained clergy, but for UBC it unfolded right in front of me.