A growing number of Southern Baptist churches are no longer hiring or calling staff from outside their respective churches. Years ago it was customary for churches to appoint search committees to scour the denominational universe, to find, and to recommend outside candidates to fill vacant staff positions. At that time, Southern Baptists had a more homogeneous culture and the level of trust they awarded members of sister churches was much higher. Now the various churches that are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention reflect the entire spectrum of values manifest in the larger world of evangelicalism. When you call a staff member from the large and diverse pool of Southern Baptist ministers, you might get someone who identifies more with Rick Warren, or Paige Patterson, or John MacArthur, or Tim Keller, or Erwin McManus. Calling someone who is a bad fit, even if he or she has a great track record, could create cultural dissonance within the church. Many church don’t want to risk this.
There are advantages to calling outsiders to fill staff positions. Often churches benefit from the fresh perspective that is brought by an outsider. Also, the culture dissonance that is created by an outsider can be a healthy thing if it is handled with wisdom and grace. Further, churches that desire to increase their diversity for the sake of Christ’s Kingdom can gain substantial momentum by recruiting leaders who come from a different cultural background. Even a bad experience with an imported staff member can be valuable if it helps the church clarify her mission and values.
Because we all have blind spots, it helps to have our worlds rocked by outsiders on occasion. Otherwise we can become victims of cultural inbreeding, where, “Everyone we know thinks just like we do.” Thus healthy churches raise up leaders from within and also are secure enough to risk calling leaders from without.
