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10 Webinar Discussions 1.Hiring—David Lyons. April 22 2.Hiring, part 2—Dr. Bill Egner. April 29 3.Compensation—Sutton Turner. May 6 4.Compensation—May 8 (9 am) & May 13 5.Reviews—Dr. Paul Utnage. May 20

Today’s Class Part 1—Introduction, 10 min. Part 2—Interactive Lecture with Dr. Bill Egner, 40 min. Part 3—Q & A, 30 min.

Staffing, Class 2: Hiring What are the various hiring methods “out there?” How do some of the largest churches in the US hire their staff and what can we all learn from them? This session will also examine accurate and helpful job descriptions. For the Q&A time, bring issues from your current hiring practice and what your hiring practice should look like.

Reading  Required Reading  Hiring For Right Fit by Dr. Bill Enger  Hiring 101: How the “Great” Ones Do It by Bill Egner  How to Hire: The In-Person Interview by Dr. David Fletcher  Suggested Reading  Combining Biblical Principles and Best Business Practices for Hiring “Right Fit” Pastors by Bill Egner. Doctor of Ministry dissertation at Dallas Theological Seminary. Available from Dr. Egner at  Checking References by Dr. David Fletcher

Assistant Professors Dr. Bill Egner Dr. Brad McKerly

Dr. Bill Egner Dr. Bill Egner is the Executive Pastor of Christ Chapel Bible Church of Fort Worth, Texas. Bill worked in jet propulsion (a rocket scientist!) before entering ministry. Bill wrote his Doctor of Ministry dissertation at Dallas Seminary on the hiring practices of Willow Creek Community and Fellowship Bible of Little Rock. He describes his job of Executive Pastor as similar to being a CEO of a large corporation—he directs long-range vision planning, personally shepherds the pastoral staff and cabinet, gives guidance to countless committees and ministries, keeps the inner workings of the church streamlined and efficient, and occasionally preaches.

“Right Fit” Pastoral Hiring Combining Biblical Principles and Best Business Practices for Hiring “Right Fit” Pastors

Today’s Agenda  Do a brief, high level summary of my research on hiring for “right fit”  Share four “Monday morning” practical lessons I learned (handouts)  Share some of the positive results we’ve experienced since 2006 when I first started implementing some of the findings  Might want to download the handouts now if you haven’t yet

Brief Research Overview  Derived hiring principles from the Scriptures  Studied marketplace “best practices” on hiring  Synthesized an “idealized” 4-part biblical hiring philosophy/process supplemented by best practices from the marketplace  Qualitatively compared my idealized process to how Fellowship Bible Church, Little Rock and Willow Creek hire pastoral staff (handout)

Favorable Comparisons To The Model

Monday Morning Lesson 1  Churches that hire well have a well-defined hiring process that they execute rigorously  They’ve realized that the lack of investment on the part of the direct supervisor, fudging, taking short cuts, allowing discouragement to result in “almost,” etc. all will reduce the eventual fit  They’ve developed a conviction that the eventual “fit” of the hire is directly proportional to the strength of the commitment to the hiring process  Leave it open rather than fill it with “almost”

Monday Morning Lesson 2  Churches that hire well have pre-defined what they’re looking for in at least the four areas of character, calling, competence and chemistry  Aren’t using traditional job descriptions, but are instead using something like a Success Profile  Wrestled through what the target they’re aiming at – and its bull’s eye – looks like in “hard” factors (e.g. expected 12-month results) as well as “soft” (e.g. behavioral, interpersonal) factors  (Success Profile handout)

Success Profile  Mission statement and role requirements  Required competencies  Character  Calling  Competence  Chemistry  Expected 12-month outcomes

Monday Morning Lesson 3  Churches that hire well only interview candidates that meet or exceed their pre-defined threshold of fit  They’ve identified some way they trust (e.g. a telephone call, 5 key questions, an application, etc.) to screen “below” and “above” threshold applicants (like rings around the bull’s eye)  They focus their available time on the candidates who seem to have the highest potential to succeed in their environment

Monday Morning Lesson 4  Churches that hire well interview relationally, objectively and thoroughly before declaring a match for the team  They use interviews as data-gathering rather than decision-making tools  They do multiple in-person interviews (marriage)  They focus as much as possible on track record  They use reference checks as additional interviews  (interview questions handout)

“Right Fit” Interview Checklist "Right Fit" Factor Questions (Get a concrete story whenever possible. For example, "Tell me about a time when…") Scale YesUnsureNo Use a "1" only once per row to indicate your selection Character 1) From 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1 is he living in an “above reproach” manner especially with regard to moral, relational, financial and sexual integrity? 2) Does he have a track record of being trustworthy with others? 3) Does he have a track record of persistence in the face of difficulty? 4) Can you confirm there's little human “wreckage” behind him from poor interpersonal relationships on his part? 5) Can you confirm he's not arrogant, volatile or angry? 6) Can you confirm that he's not aloof, detached, insensitive, dismissive of others or unteachable? 7) Has he previously failed to achieve agreed upon results with excuses not reasons? In other words can you confirm he's not an "excuse maker?" 8) In your opinion, is he an overall humble person? Calling 1) Will this role inspire his God-given passion? 2) Will this role require him to depend more on God? 3) Is this role in line with his God-given SHAPE and track record? 4) Is he able to articulate some sense of the Lord’s calling to Christ Chapel? Competence 1) Is his education sufficient for the needs of this role? 2) Does his track record affirm his stated spiritual gift(s), skills and passions? 3) Is there evidence of his ability to be self-managed? 4) Is there evidence regarding his effectiveness at interpersonal relationships? 5) Is there evidence regarding his ability for forethought, planning and execution? 6) Is there evidence of his dependability? 7) Is there evidence regarding his resourcefulness (turning lemons into lemonade)? 8) Is there some evidence regarding his ability to learn, adapt and flex? 9) Does he have a strategic mindset? 10) Does he seem to be disciplined in his ministry preparation? 11) Does he have a commitment to action? 12) Is he courageous in the face of difficulty? Chemistry 1) Does he love the Lord’s Church? Is he a "churchman" over a para-church guy? 2) Is he loyal? 3) Is he energetic? 4) Is he innovative? 5) Is he humble and gracious? 6) Will he fit and even thrive within our staff culture? 7) Will he fit and even thrive within our church culture? Total (possible of 31)000 0%

Four Key Resolutions 1.Churches that hire well have a well-defined hiring process that they execute rigorously 2.Churches that hire well have pre-defined what they’re looking for in at least the four areas of character, calling, competence and chemistry 3.Churches that hire well only interview candidates that meet or exceed their minimum level of fit 4.Churches that hire well interview relationally, objectively and thoroughly before declaring a match for the team

Benefits We’ve Experienced  This model prioritizes what the Scriptures prioritize (prayer, character, calling, spiritual gifts, relational abilities and specialization)  This model requires a great deal more prayer, dependence, intentionality, effort and training  Using this model, we’ve improved our five-year retention ratio from about 55% (est.) to about 90% since 2006

Contact Information Dr. Bill Egner  Executive Pastor Christ Chapel Bible Church   (817)

Q & A Send Questions via Chat to Tami Bring issues from your current hiring practice and what your hiring practice should look like