Pulpit Search Committee

The Pulpit Search Committee (PSC) desires to keep you, the congregation, regularly informed about the status of the search so that you will regularly join us in prayer to our good God, who is guiding Carriage Lane in the search for our next senior pastor.

Dear Church Family,

We hope that this page will be informative and encouraging to you as we go through this process of searching for our next senior pastor. We will be keeping it up to date regularly with updates, prayer requests, and where we are in the search process. We are praying with and for you, and appreciate your prayers for us as a committee. May our good God unite us all together through Jesus Christ as we wait upon Him, looking expectantly for Him to provide the next senior pastor to help shepherd this local flock at Carriage Lane.

Grace and Peace,

The Pulpit Search Committee

**Currently we’re in Phase 2: Collection of Candidates and Phase 3: Evaluation of Candidates**

We are currently in Phase 2 and Phase 3 of our four-phase process, which includes:

Phase 1: Discovery & Engagement
Phase 2: Collection of Candidates
Phase 3: Evaluation of Candidates
Phase 4: Recommendation of Candidate to Congregation

While we are still receiving applications, the majority of our time and energy is spent evaluating and talking with candidates.

Referrals: During Phase 2 we are asking that you would prayerfully consider who you may share with us as a referral. We are asking that you would contact the man you are wanting to refer before you submit the referral form. When you are ready, please fill out this form. Thank you so much for your participation in this way!

For a detailed outline of the 4 Phases, click here.

Updates

Here is the most recent update, and afterwards there are links to previous updates.

April 26, 2024

Dear Church Family,

Thank you for your continued prayers for our church during this time of transition and for us as a committee. We are praying for you and have been encouraged by your prayers for us.

April marks six months since we started accepting and evaluating applications for the senior pastor position. We have been diligently working: evaluating applications and listening to sermons as they are submitted. We are greatly encouraged by the work the Lord is doing throughout His church in our nation and denomination as we've read materials and listened to sermons from faithful men of God. Although some of the applicants haven't fit within the priorities for our next senior pastor that were identified in our meetings with you (Congregation, Staff, Session, and Diaconate) during Phase 1, we praise God for their faithful ministry in the gospel. We hope it encourages you also to know that God is at work strengthening and extending His Kingdom through the ministry of faithful men! (You can click here for the list of priorities we identified in Phase 1: Discovery & Engagement).

Where we are currently: We continue to simultaneously do the work outlined in Phase 2: Collection of Candidates and Phase 3: Evaluation of Candidates (click here for more detailed steps taken during all phases). While we are still open to receiving new applications, the majority of our time, energy, and focus right now is spent evaluating and talking with the handful of candidates further along in the evaluation process. This work is time intensive, and we seek to be thorough, diligent, and faithful.

Timing: We shared with you on Sunday that we feel close. As a reminder, we don’t know God’s timing and plans for these particular men and their families. At any time, God may call any or all of these men elsewhere. And while that possibility is clear to us as a committee, since this is Carriage Lane’s first time having a pulpit search committee, we want to make you aware of that reality as well. Please continue to pray for clarity, focus, and alignment of all parties with the Lord.

Prayer Requests: We ask that you would pray for us daily. We have listed 7 requests, that you may pray for one each day (or all of them every day!):

Please pray that we all (committee, candidates, and congregation) will seek after the Lord and His will. While we all desire a senior pastor, may we find that we long for and desire Jesus more than anything else.
Please pray for each of us on the committee and for our families--we feel the weight of time spent away from our families. (We've requested this before, and we feel it even more keenly now).
Please pray that God would align our schedules so we can meet to do the work set before us. We praise God that He has faithfully given us windows of time each week to get together, but it has become much more challenging this spring.
Please continue to pray for wisdom and discernment for the committee.
Please pray for the candidates. Ask the Lord to continue to bless them in the work He has called them to do where they are now. Pray for their families in this long process. Just as we know how hard it is for each of us to wait, may we see that we share in the waiting and knowingly pray for them in their waiting.
Please continue to pray for God's protection and strength for each of us on the committee, specifically that the Lord would be our stronghold and our shield. Ask Him to guard and protect us from the Evil One, that He would not lead us into temptation.
Please continue to pray that we as a congregation would ready our hearts and minds to receive the man the Lord has for us as our next senior pastor–that God would bring peace, unity, and increase the bonds of love for one another within this body.

We are so thankful for each of you and the many ways you encourage us. Please continue to buoy us up by telling us you are praying for us. We trust this is the case, but it does encourage our hearts to hear it from you.

For Christ and His Kingdom,

The Pulpit Search Committee

Previous Updates: October 19, 2023 Update October 4, 2023 September 7, 2023 Update August 10, 2023 Update August 4, 2023 Update

Current Prayer Requests

Please be praying with and for us. Here you may find the most recent list of prayer requests:

Please pray that we all (committee, candidates, and congregation) will seek after the Lord and His will. While we all desire a senior pastor, may we find that we long for and desire Jesus more than anything else.
Please pray for each of us on the committee and for our families--we feel the weight of time spent away from our families. (We've requested this before, and we feel it even more keenly now).
Please pray that God would align our schedules so we can meet to do the work set before us. We praise God that He has faithfully given us windows of time each week to get together, but it has become much more challenging this spring.
Please continue to pray for wisdom and discernment for the committee.
Please pray for the candidates. Ask the Lord to continue to bless them in the work He has called them to do where they are now. Pray for their families in this long process. Just as we know how hard it is for each of us to wait, may we see that we share in the waiting and knowingly pray for them in their waiting.
Please continue to pray for God's protection and strength for each of us on the committee, specifically that the Lord would be our stronghold and our shield. Ask Him to guard and protect us from the Evil One, that He would not lead us into temptation.
Please continue to pray that we as a congregation would ready our hearts and minds to receive the man the Lord has for us as our next senior pastor–that God would bring peace, unity, and increase the bonds of love for one another within this body.
Please pray for our church, that God will prepare all of our hearts and minds to call and receive with joy the man God has for us.
Please pray for our church, that God would be working now in each of our hearts to draw us closer to Him in love and service, that our love for one another would increase, and that we would patiently wait upon the Lord’s timing in establishing the next senior pastor at Carriage Lane.
Please pray for the committee, that we will be diligent in the process and be granted wisdom and discernment as we evaluate men to recommend to the congregation for a call.
Please pray for the committee, that we would trust God throughout these next two phases as we humbly and gratefully receive applications from men who have been called by God to be shepherds of His flock. Pray that as we interact with these men, we would encourage them in their calling to love and serve God, and that God would direct and guide all of our paths. Also pray that God would grant us wisdom and discernment to evaluate well the applications that we receive.
Please pray for the man whom God is calling, that God will protect him and his family and prepare his heart to serve with us.
Please pray for our pastoral and support staff, our elders, and our deacons, that God would continue to bless them and encourage them in their work of service unto the Lord as they minister to us.
Please pray for the candidates, that although you will not know them by name, that you would be praying for the men who will apply and for their families, that the Lord will bless them in the ways He has currently called them, that they would patiently wait upon Him and His timing, and that God would grant them peace during this process, which can be long.
Please continue to pray for God’s guidance in this search for our next senior pastor.
Please continue to pray for the PSC, specifically for wisdom, unity, and protection.

Priorities for Senior Pastor

Carriage Lane seeks a man who:

Honors the Word
- preaches the truths of God’s Word from a reformed, redemptive, and Christo-centric perspective, clearly and compellingly presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ.
- is uncompromising on the inerrancy and sufficiency of God’s Word in his preaching, ministry, and personal life. Follows the Word and not the clever ideas of man.
- effectively communicates to people with varying levels of spiritual maturity.
- is disciplined in study and prayer.
Prioritizes the Means of Grace
- is committed to a means of grace ministry through the Word, sacraments, and prayer as God has ordained.
Serves and Leads the Flock
- is a servant-leader with the skills to shepherd a large Session and Staff.
- indirectly leads the church by equipping the officers and heads of households, by God’s grace, to fulfill the mission and realize the vision of Carriage Lane.
- follows the BCO without being overbearing or neglecting responsibility.
- pursues true fellowship in the body and encourages others to do the same.
- is a peacemaker who speaks the truth in love.
Engages the World as God Requires
- has a heart for the lost, stepping out in love and truth, thoughtfully confronting the lies of our time, sharing the good news of God’s Word with the lost, and equipping the flock at Carriage Lane to do likewise.
- identifies compromise and equivocation in his life, in our church, and in our denomination and points God’s people back to the Lord and His truth.
Is a Devoted Disciplemaker
- follows the Lord closely in his personal walk.
- leads his family well in following the Lord.
- shares his learning through preaching and teaching.
- is active in his support of missions and evangelism.
- encourages the principle of iron sharpening iron within a multi-generational church.

Committee Members

Below you will see all of the members of the committee, listed alphabetically. Special notes such as chairman, secretary, and alternates are listed below their name.