This is a timely question! The challenges and costs of shuffling pastors from one pulpit to another reappear most often when our denomination experiences pastoral shortages. It is a present problem but not a new one. According to Bill Edgar’s History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church 1920–1980, Synod created a procedure in 1948 in which pastors tendered their resignations every five years, and the congregation voted to retain or release the minister by secret ballot (p. 147). As a result, “most pastors in the 1950s moved voluntarily after seven to ten years in response to a call from another congregation. Shortened pastorates gave empty congregations good prospects of se-curing a pastor” (p. 165). In the 1960s and ’70s, Synod began noting the dearth of men entering and remaining in the pastorate, a trend found throughout the American church (p. 249, 277). Shuffling pastors did not keep up with the shortfall.

Similarly, some congregations today often go a long time without an installed minister, and ruling elders exhaust themselves trying to fill their pulpit. Yes, congregations can call an installed pastor (Constitution, D-18), but if congregations decide to pursue such a man for their ministry, they should keep several things in mind.

Congregations who want to call an installed pastor should prayerfully keep in mind the providential process. First, seek the will of the Spirit. Fast and pray. Discuss needs and opportunities to gather a sense of direction: who are we and what does God want us to be doing here? Get a clear sense of your situation.

Second, get connected to the larger church. Don’t attempt this process solo; tap into the network of preachers found at meetings of presbyteries and Synod.

Third, involve the larger church. Congregations aren’t supposed to make this decision alone. Presbytery should give counsel to congregations without installed pastors (D-22). Presbytery should review calls, assessing the strength of the total signatures on the call, the suitability of the finances, and the wisdom of the relationship (D-19 and D-20). This process of fasting, praying, networking, talking, counseling, and finally calling can seem overly complicated or prolonged, but keep in mind that these are normal steps in discerning God’s call regardless of the vocation. Everyone depends on the humility and wisdom of a providential process like this to discern how to make a good decision. This is how God works out His will in human lives.

Congregations who want to call an installed pastor should also prayerfully keep in mind the many participants in the process. As already suggested, this potential change affects far more than the called pastor and the calling church. The pastor’s current congregation and community consist of relationships that have been years in the making. To call an installed pastor is to make a serious re-quest. A man must uproot his family, tearing them from friendships, doctors, teachers, elders, and deacons who have served them and alongside them. Mobility has a cost, and not just to the pastor and his family.

Last, congregations who want to call an installed pastor should prayerfully keep in mind that they are asserting that the Holy Spirit might want that man to leave his current church for a new one. Considering an installed pastor is not a beauty pageant, and taking a new call is not a hunt for a more prestigious post with a better paycheck. A call from a congregation is a job offer and, like all job offers, it is an invitation to consider if King Jesus is commanding His servant to change places. Pastors are men under authority who need to “go,” “come,” and “stay” according to the will of the King and Head of the Church (Luke 7:8). His will is discovered in the ordinary and providential experience of wise counsel, close friendship, and circumstantial opportunity.

A ruling elder who has spent a decade seeking a minister for his congregation recently reviewed currently installed teaching elders across our denomination. He found that only 13 RP pastors have served more than 5 years but fewer than 30 years in their current congregation. A massive changing of pulpits began five years ago. We can move men from pulpit to pulpit, hopefully with the blessing of God’s Spirit; but to fill them, we need to pray to the Lord of the harvest for more laborers (Matt. 9:38).