The last task for the committee was to supervise the installation service of the new pastor. Baptist churches generally undersell the ceremonial occasions. But just like families, churches need to acknowledge significant times of transitions in their lives. Brother Rick’s arrival was big and we needed a corresponding celebration. So the committee shifted our focus from calling to preparing an important service.
We wanted to involve as many in the church as possible. So one of the first things we decided is that we would engage certain committees (like the special events committee) to plan a meal for the church following the Sunday morning installation service. We also involved the men’s and women’s ministries to provide for the pastoral family a pounding. Poundings are more common in small rural churches (I’ve received a few of them in the past myself). Traditionally, poundings are when the various church members would each bring a pound of food (flour, canned goods, lard, etc) to the new pastor and his family. (It was at one pounding that I received a can of “Potted Meat Food Product”. It still sits on a shelf in my library lo, these 14 years later).
We altered the idea a bit to include more than just the provision of foodstuffs. We divided the various Sunday school classes according to areas of responsibility. Thus the children’s classes took up money for a gift card to various toy stores in the area for the Pastor’s kids. Other classes took up money for a gift certificate to a local clothiers for new pastoral duds. The senior adults gathered food supplies while another class got together a card from a local home improvement store. Some classes took up money for a gift card to a boutique store (whatever that is) for the pastor’s wife. The church took the idea and ran with it.
The committee turned its attention to the installation service itself. (And yes, we endured numerous jokes like “Doesn’t the new pastor come preinstalled?”) We divided the service into two parts, one focusing on the responsibilities of the church and another focusing on the responsibilities of the pastor. We planned to have two “servotionals,” one for each portion of the service. We wanted to get Brother Rick’s mentor to deliver a charge to the pastor and then get our Associational missionary to deliver a charge to the church. Unfortunately due to a denominational meeting that same weekend, we could get neither. We considered getting our interim to be involved in this process, but he (and I) felt that he needed to be scarce on this special day.
The committee decided that our lone staff member would deliver the charge to the congregation and that I would give the charge to the pastor. Not ideal, but it still allowed us to explicitly state the purpose of the service.
So we shared scripture and sang hymns that touched upon both pastor and church throughout the service. We also wanted to emphasize how special the occasion was and so we secured letters of greeting from many officials. We read letters of welcome from: a few previous pastors at Lakeview, our state convention president, and from Dr. Frank Page (President of the SBC). We also read letters of welcome from a city councilman, from our city’s mayor, from our Congressional Representative and from each of our state’s Senators. (I found politicians quite eager to court the electorate).
All in all an exciting day of celebration.
All in all an exciting day of celebration.
2 comments:
Excellent thoughts, Taran.
You've brought back to your congregation two of the important service opportunities that have all but disappeared. Having grown up in a pastor's home only to become a pastor myself, I've missed some of this.
First of all, the installation service. I cannot remember a church ever "installing" my father. The assumption was that since he was ordained, had been in service a number of years, and had been called by the congregation, he was in. Neither have I ever been "installed" in a formal service. It is significant in a church when a new pastor comes to serve, and ought to be celebrated. Such a service also allows both church and new pastor to hear and note what is expected of them, preferably from sources outside the church (as would have been with your original plan).
On the other hand, I have been (via my father and many of the congregations he served when I was still living in his home) recipient of many a pounding. This practice, too has all but fallen away from the practice of the local church. Granted many churches still offer means of showing their appreciation for the pastor--as my own church did for me only last Sunday with a potluck in my honor and a shower of appreciation cards (many filled with monetary tokens of their affection)--but the gesture of a pounding seems to have vanished. I believe that a pounding is one of the best ways to welcome a new minister and his family to a church field. Your creative twist to the old theme was very thoughtful indeed. This kind of gesture does so much more than provide victuals for the new pastor and his family, it makes his family part of your family.
Kudos to your church and your committee for your positive response to your new undershepherd. May the Lord bless you with many years of Kingdom-focused service together.
Blessings,
Benj.
Benjie,
Thank you so much for the kind words. I appreciate your perspective throughout this series from the pastor’s side of the table. I think you've added a lot and filled in some gaps I've omitted. May God continue to bless you in your ministry.
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