Pastoral Performance Evaluation: Checks & Balances

In last month's ENewsletter (January 2009) I encouraged you to listen to Mark Driscoll's Sydney address given in September 2008.   There was also a summary of his message entitled:  "18 Obstacles to Effective Evangelism."  Among other things Driscoll said:  "Men can't be demoted or thrown out of ministry for more than stealing money or falling sexually. Just because you're doing ministry long-term doesn't mean you should be guaranteed of a job. You all know that some churches are being led by men who are not the best men for the job."   In my blog I asked the question:  "How many of us are willing to be evaluated on the basis of our fruitfulness in ministry?"

I like to take that question one step further this month.  In my travels this past month I visited a pastor who is committed to doing the best job possible in the church he is currently serving.  We talked about the importance  of annual pastoral performance evaluations.   One of the present day realities in our churches is that pastors are staying longer.  And longer tenures are not a bad thing.  In fact, effective ministry in a church, on average, does not begin until after your seventh year.  This has been my experience.  Some years ago I followed some wise advice from a pastor who eventually served his church for 22 years until his retirement in 2002.  To this day he continues in ministry and serves with distinction.  He is running his race with perserverance and is finishing strong.  This seasoned pastor stressed the importance of annual pastoral performance evaluatons.  In the past 20 years I have insisted on them myself.  These evaluations have helped me as a pastor grow in Christian character, godly conviction, and ministry competence.  In March I am due for annual evaluation by the Ministry Formation Workgroup.  I know that this evaluation will help me do the best job possible in my role as Ministry Training Coordinator.

In the Training Resource section you will find a couple of documents which will help you do annual pastoral performance evaluations with your church leaders.  The one document describes the "how" and "why" of doing these evaluations.  The other document is the evaluation itself which you can copy and distribute to those doing the evaluations.

I am really interested in finding out what other pastors are doing, or not doing?  Do you insist on being evaluated annually?  And if not, why not?  If so, what did you use?  How were these evaluations conducted?  Did you find them helpful?  If so, in what way?  What did you learn about yourself?  About ministry?  I am interested in what works and what doesn't work.  Post your comments!