Job Overview

A Quest for Vigorous Pastoral Leadership

The Bible provides a road map for pastoral leadership. We desire a senior pastor that actively listens to God and delivers strong teaching with a practical application. The preaching and teaching must be solidly grounded in scripture. The candidate should be well-versed in biblical literacy and possess a reputable theological understanding. A focus on the gospel is essential. Our desire is that the senior pastor would respect and adhere to the orthodox and reformed tradition of the historic Presbyterian Church.

A senior pastor should highly value the congregants, genuinely showing interest in getting to know them and their stories on a personal level. The senior pastor should be intentional in connecting people and their stories to others, thus creating a community of support. This involves weaving connections between members and Christ, and between our congregation and other Christian churches locally, across the state, the nation, and the world. The senior pastor should always be seeking strategies for connecting us vertically to God, internally to ourselves, horizontally to one another, and spiritually to the larger community of faith. It's this sense of connectedness that helps First Church Tulsa feel intimate, in spite of our being a large urban church. Our church must become more intentional about maintaining and strengthening this sense of connection, and our senior pastor should be a unifying force, bringing together our diverse congregation and culture.

The senior pastor needs to understand both formal and informal roles within the staff and congregation. The new pastor needs to respect and highly value the roles of other pastors and the active participation of staff, lay leaders, elders, and those who help equip the church in becoming inwardly strong and outwardly focused.

We would like our senior pastor to lead by example, and delegate with authority. A senior pastor should be someone who highly values teamwork, especially with the other pastors. It is important for a senior pastor not to be overly burdened with administration but allowed to focus on preaching, teaching and pastoral care.

We envision our senior pastor playing a leadership role in the community. We would like to see the new pastor engage meaningfully with youth, the next generation and the children's ministry. The youth themselves have expressed what a gift it is to be able to interact with the church's pastors. While each may engage with the senior pastor in different ways, they share positive past experiences attributed to prior pastors' wisdom, faithfulness, confidence, openness, curiosity, affability and humor.

Job Description

ACCOUNTABILITIES: I. Personal Spiritual Development 1. Cultivate a passionate relationship with Christ that drives all other aspects of life. 2. Maintain an active prayer/devotional/study life. 3. Protect time for family life and maintain personal health and well-being. 4. Exemplify what it means to "keep the Sabbath". 5. Conduct regular study beyond that of sermon and teaching preparation. 6. Evaluate the preaching of assistant pastors and seek regular evaluation of his/her own preaching. 7. Attend a conference or seminar each year to develop professional and/or theological skills.

II. Preaching, Teaching, and Worship 1. Preach and teach the Word of God and administer the Sacraments to the congregation. 2. Plan and lead worship, drawing upon the gifts of other pastors, the choirmaster and organist, the contemporary worship leader, and others within the congregation. 3. Prepare and conduct special services such as weddings, funerals, community-wide services, etc. 4. Prepare for and teach various classes, Bible studies, and online courses. 5. Research, prepare, and write sermons, devotionals, small group materials, and books.

III. Leadership 1. Work with the ruling elders to ensure accountability and faithfulness to First Presbyterian Church's purpose and vision. Set direction for future endeavors and align the FPC staff accordingly. 2. Manage Associate Pastors and Coach them on their spiritual development efforts. 3. Manage the Executive Director of Ministries, the Executive Director of Operations and the Executive Director of Music. 4. Serve as Moderator for the session. Regularly meet with and evaluate officers of the church. 5. Develop and coach leaders. Pursue and develop lay leaders to begin ministries. 6. Oversee training of officer candidates (elders, deacons, trustees). 7. Provide scripturally-grounded leadership within the denomination.

IV. General Pastoral Responsibilities 1. Provide pastoral care in conjunction with other staff, committees, and member care-givers through visitation, counseling, and prayer. 2. Make appropriate referrals when necessary and quickly respond to crisis situations which arise in the congregation.

V. Community, Denominational, and National Relationship Development & Management 1. Encourage all organizations and ministries of the church to carry out their work with an emphasis on welcoming others to participate in the mission work of Christ. 2. Build and maintain relationships throughout the Tulsa metropolitan area and surrounding communities with: other pastors, city leaders, business professionals, Tulsa institutions of higher education, and not-for-profit organizations and partners.

VI. Stewardship 1. Work with the Finance & Stewardship Committee to promote, educate, and advocate responsible Biblical stewardship in the congregation. 2. Oversee and promote congregational benevolence and mission. 3. Oversee fundraising for capital projects, development of endowments, etc...

INTERNAL/EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS • Internal Reporting: Reports to Session. Staff liaison with Strategic Planning Committee, Personnel Committee, Worship & Music Committee, Finance & Stewardship Committee, and Nominating Committee. • External Interface: Has primary responsibility for connecting with pastors of other local and national churches. Works with community leaders, philanthropists, business professionals and outside speakers and thought leaders.

QUALIFICATION STANDARDS: • Graduate theological degree preferred • Six+ years pastoral experience • Excellence in worship leadership and vital proclamation of God's Word • Exudes the love of Jesus Christ, upholds the Scriptures as the unique authority in all matters of faith and practice; committed to the Gospel's expression within the Reformed tradition, guided by the Book of Confessions.