Lead Pastor Call Committee - FAQs

The Call Committee is excited and grateful to share that we are recommending a finalist for Good Shepherd’s lead pastor call! The next step in the ELCA call process is a Candidacy Weekend concluding in a congregational vote. Good Shepherd cannot call a pastor without the congregation voting to support the call.

Join us for Candidacy Weekend where Good Shepherd members will have an opportunity to meet our finalist and vote to extend our lead pastor call.  Candidacy Weekend events include:

Through surveys and listening sessions, the Transition Task Force developed our Ministry Site Profile (MSP). The MSP reflects who we are as a congregation and hopes we have for the future of Good Shepherd. The Call Committee relies heavily on this document when considering candidates. Additionally, members of the call committee come from broad backgrounds and experiences within Good Shepherd. The Call Committee relies on these diverse member experiences and backgrounds in discussing a candidates fit for Good Shepherd. 

Calling a new Lead Pastor is a very important undertaking. Through conducting mock interviews and meeting with current rostered pastors across the Synod, we have learned that for many churches, the call process typically takes two to three years. We are currently about 15 months into our Lead Pastor search. Our next Lead Pastor will have a critical role in the future of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. The time we are taking is appropriate for the importance of this task.

Candidates are screened by the bishop’s office to make sure they are in good standing and suitable for Good Shepherd. Our Bishop coordinates with other Bishops across the US to find and refer pastoral candidates. The bishop also supports our Call Committee; we can call for help and advice throughout the call process.

We are well into the process for calling a lead pastor and are just starting to explore the Verona site lead pastor role. However, by starting the Verona site lead process now, we will have the groundwork laid out for the call, rather than asking a new lead to help start the process from scratch.

No, candidates will not preach for the congregation before we take a vote. The ELCA is a very “small world” where many pastors, relatives of pastors, and staff members know, or at least know of, each other. Because we do not want to put candidates’ relationships with their current congregations at risk, it’s important that we maintain the utmost confidentiality until we have discerned that we’ve found the right pastor for our call. The Call Committee is deeply honored by the trust the congregation of Good Shepherd has placed in us to discern this call, and we ask for your continued prayers as we seek the right pastor to put forward for your vote. Please be assured that members of the Call Committee will hear each finalist preach, along with a multi-faceted consideration of each finalist's God-given gifts as they relate to our call.

It is a big step for a pastor to interview as a candidate, and if they feel that Good Shepherd is not maintaining strict confidentiality, we risk candidates dropping out of consideration. Confidentiality protects our candidates from the kinds of hardship that can arise when a beloved pastor seeks a call to a new congregation. The Call Committee takes candidate confidentiality very seriously and will work hard to balance this priority with the importance of providing updates to the congregation on the overall process.