I promise I am not trying to brag with the info I'm about to share but it's something that I don't read about much so thought this might help Student Ministers. This is somewhat of a hush hush subject so I thought I would talk about it. This week was an odd week in that I received 4 job offers from churches, 2 in Arkansas, 1 in Tennessee, and 1 in Louisiana. All were student ministry related and one was to be a Student Pastor for 2-3 years and transition into the Senior Pastor position. I get calls ever so often but never 4 in one week. If you're a Student Minister, at some point you will most likely get a call from another church asking you to consider their opening. So what do you do when that happens, how do you decide if God is leading you away or not? Here is how I handle it.
1. I commit to it to prayer. No matter what the position is I always pray through it. Even if my first reaction is "There's no Way I'm going there" I still seek God to see what His plan is. Sometimes it may take me a day to hear from the Lord sometimes it takes longer.
2. I don't draw it out. If you feel God is leading you there then continue the process but if you know God is saying "no" then let the church know. Don't lead them on and cause them to spend money to fly you out if you know it's not going to happen. Don't waste their time or money.
3. I ask tons of questions. You can never ask too many questions. No question is a bad question. The worse thing that can happen is for you to move there and find out it wasn't what you expected. There's no turning back at that point. Get firm solid answers, get stuff in writing as much as possible too. Talk to the previous Student Pastor, Talk to other Student Pastors in that town. Talk to the Associational office. Dig, Dig, and Dig some more. Moving is a big deal make sure you know what you are moving into.
4. I try to decipher between Physical and Spiritual. One of my hardest battles of temptation comes in these situations because I am often tempted to look at the position from a physical standpoint instead of spiritual. These are still important elements but cannot be the deciding factors. Things that are important to me are facilities, paid staff I will be leading, salary, number or students, youth budget, and the city and area of the church. These are all important but can never be the deciding factors. Don't get blinded by all these. Seek the Lord, He may want you to go into a smaller church, He may want you to get paid less, He may want you move to a town with a population of 2. Don't fall into the trap of bigger and better and more, Follow the Lord wherever He leads you. He will take care of you.
5. I ask myself what is best for The Kingdom of God. Are you going to leave your current position in shambles when you leave or will they continue on without you. Success is not that everything falls apart because you aren't there. Success is that you worked hard to leave things better than when you came and that ministry continues to grow after you leave. It may sound good to hear, "Things just aren't as good as when you were here." but really in looking at it through God's eyes you should be hearing "Since you left things have grown more and more, things are going great." You laid the foundation celebrate with them that God is still moving.
6. I seek the advice of those who know me best. I talk with my wife, my parents, my close friends.
7. I negotiate. If you feel that this is where God is leading you and there are gaps in the ministry, negotiate changes while you're in the process. Ask for A, B, and C. If they say no then you have to decide if you can live without those things. Some churches will say "Yea we'll get that in the future" be careful with those promises. You can accomplish a lot during the interview process.
8. I ask if God has released me from where I am. Is God done with you where you are? Maybe you're in a tough situation and just want to get out. But is he going to do something remarkable if you stay. If you have only been there a year or a year and a half, you should probably stay unless God has made it very clear to leave. You can't really accompish much in that amount of time. Some Student Pastors can grow a group pretty well in that time but it dies fast too. You'll will likely have a honeymoon period from 1-6 months, perhaps a trying time between 6 months and a year and a half, then after a year and a half, relationships are deeper, you've gained trust and you can really accomplish a lot. The average Student Minister only lasts 18 months in a church we have to break that statistic.
9. I ask if there's potential. If you go to check out the place, see if there is potential. If you don't see any potential and if you don't see opportunity, then you're not the guy for the job. Maybe someone else will see it if you don't.
10. Lastly is it God's will. This sums up everything. This is the ultimate question. Ask God to make it very clear to you and I believe He will. You should only leave if you feel that it is definitely God's will. Life outside of God's will is miserable. Follow His will no matter what and He will bless you tremendously.
I pray for those in the process. I pray that God will make this decision clear to you. God bless you as you make an impact on Students.
Pastor Fred Luter will be preaching at our church on Wednesday, Jan. 28th at 6:30 p.m. Fred Luter is a passionate and dynamic pastor at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans. If you are in the Tampa area on the 28th come out and here him. We're at 216 N. Parsons Ave. Brandon, FL.
Tony Dungy has officially retired. Over the past 3 years it has seemed to be a difficult decision for him but this year he actually isn't coming back. What an amazing man Tony Dungy is. His book "Quiet Strength" is one of my favorites. He is an amazing Leader, Coach, and Christian. Always faithful to God and His family, he has been an amazing witness to millions of lives. He's moving back here to Tampa so hopefully he and I will get to hang out more. Just Kidding!
What a game!! I am not a Gators fan but I love watching Tim Tebow. He is an amazing player, he has an incredible will to win, and most importantly is passionate about Jesus Christ. 
