EVERYTHING WE NEED: The Pulpit Committee

      A pulpit committee consists of a few people whose responsibility is to find, screen and recommend candidates to fill a pastoral vacancy in their church. I do not know how many churches still do that. I do know some churches ask for resumes instead. Either way should be a matter of prayer and seeking the Lord’s will.

      I have never had any dealings with a pulpit committee except when we lived in Prescott over 50 years ago. It was a humorous account that will be remembered for a lifetime.

      It was a Sunday morning in April, several years after we had moved to Prescott. I was in the choir, and we had just finished the last song. About the time Tom was getting ready to preach, three men walked through the church doors. I had heard that pulpit committeemen would be well-dressed and avoid sitting together so as not to arouse suspicions about why they were there. My heart dropped as these men came in. Dressed in nice suits, one went to the right, and two went to the left. I thought this was a pulpit committee. My friend sitting next to me must have thought the same thing as she looked at me and mouthed the words, “Who are they?” In my mind, I was praying, “No, Lord, please. I am not ready to leave Prescott. We love the town, the church and the friends we have. Our kids, and even our pets, are happy. We just cannot leave now!”

      I usually consider verses like “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6,7 NIV1984). Or even the verse that says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding: in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Prov. 3:5-6). However, I was so unprepared to see those men come in that I did not even think of those verses or hear one word of Tom’s sermon.

      After the message, Tom called on one of those men to dismiss in prayer. I guess he did not realize who they were. I did not know he even knew them.

      I walked home downhearted. As Tom came up the driveway, he looked happy and was even whistling. When he walked in the door, I looked at him and asked, “How could you?”

         “How could I do what?” he asked.

      “How could you call on one of those men from the Pulpit Committee to pray?”

      He answered, “Those men weren’ta part of a pulpit committee. They were on their way to the national association in Michigan!” I was surprised, to say the least. Tom started laughing, too much so, but he knows how I think. While I was relieved, I was a little embarrassed by my overreaction. The Lord left us in Prescott for 22 years. He never intended for us to leave so soon.

      When the time came years later, and the Lord led us here to Little Rock, I was willing and ready. He always knows what is best for us and needs no help from me.

      This incident is incredibly funny when I look back. I hope it made you smile, but mostly, I hope you know that God always works on behalf of His children.