In these videos, Pennington argues that church structure is no accident, but is essential to the health of a church.

Pennington argues for local church leadership consisting of multiple elders.

They all refer to the same office in Scripture. The difference is that “elder” refers to the character of the person, while “shepherd” and “overseer” refer to their function.

1. Personal spiritual life
   1. Scripture
   2. Prayer
   3. Participation in corporate worship
2. Family
3. Public ministry

1. Attitude
2. Aptitude
3. Interpersonal Skills

Pennington argues that the church should be the first place to look for candidates, but warns that it is easy for a church to “settle” if they only consider those that they know best.

1. Advertise
2. Send applications
3. Sort applications
4. Evaluate applications
5. Schedule interviews
6. Notify non-hires
7. Conduct second interview
8. Call References
9. Job Offer
10. Paperwork
11. Orientation

1. Timeliness of submission
2. Appearance of the form
3. Level of articulateness
4. Vocabulary
5. Work History
6. Specific tests

The main objective in an interview is to be a detective that is trying to gather data about the candidate. This is not to treat them as less than human, but to truly get to know the person. Some tips to keep in mind are:

1. Ask open-ended questions
2. Listen carefully
3. Keep careful notes

1. Be generous
2. Take care of your family
3. Protect your family from a catastrophic occurrence
4. Plan for the future

Don’t be ruled by money. He says he has known more men that have left the ministry because of financial indiscretion than moral indiscretion.

He has five categories in his definition. They are:

1. Rent/ purchase of a home/ maintenance of a home, not to exceed the fair market rental value.
   1. Fair market rental value is ~1% of appraised-value per month.
2. Furnishings.
3. Utilities.
4. Cleaning supplies.
5. Miscellaneous repairs.

Though staff are not slaves, the principles from Paul’s instructions to masters and servants apply. As the boss of their staff, pastors still work for a greater boss. They must remember that every aspect of their job ought to be done for the sake of the great master, Jesus.

Compensation meets the needs of the employee and frees them up to put more energy into their job at the church or ministry.

As a pastor, one is called to be a faithful steward of what God has given. If one cannot be faithful with money, how can they be expected to be faithful with anything else?

No, this is almost always unhelpful and can lead to being judgmental or partial towards individuals.

Dr. Pennington recommends that churches join the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

Yes, this is not as much of a clear cut issue as some Christians make it out to be. The most important principle is for churches is that they have a plan to pay off the loan in a reasonable time.

A zero-based budget is when past budgets are ignored and each department or ministry starts with zero dollars. In the budget making process, they must defend why they deserve every dollar that they want to receive instead of receiving money based on the pattern of past years. This method may be useful when a pastor has inherited a church that has not spent much time evaluating its budget in many years. This method is often too time-consuming to utilize every year.

Some churches claim to be trusting that God to provide far more in a new year than he did in a previous year. They may call this faith budgeting. This idea, as noble as it sounds, is often foolish. Churches should project revenue based on past giving patterns. This is still trusting God, but done intelligently.

This is a way to be able to prove that the department or activity that the expenses were for were actually necessary and helpful. Every expense provides more to be evaluated as the next budget is created.

This depends on each church’s structure. In an elder-ruled church, the elders will be the final approvers of the budget. However, in an elder-led congregational church (as many baptist churches are today), the elders create the budget, but the congregation has the final say on the budget.

1. The organization can sue and be sued, rather than individual liability.
2. The organization can hold and transfer titles of property.
3. The organization can enter into contracts and other legal obligations as an entity.

Yes, every church is tax-exempt. It may be wise, however, to contact the IRS to get a letter stating that your church is tax-exempt.

A church must make any hiring guidelines clear in the church’s documents (by-laws/constitution) and show how they are derived from Scripture.

Ratification is the knowledge of the unauthorized act of a minister or church worker and voluntary affirmation of it or failure to address it. If one finds out that their staff has done something wrong and refuses to address it, they become liable for the action.

1. Craving: of both the office and the work.
2. Character can be attested to by those surrounding the man, particularly in his local church.
3. Capacity: Ability to teach and manage life.
4. Confirmation of the entire local church.
   1. Selection of the individual.
   2. Evaluation of the individual.
   3. Recognition of approval from the church.

No, the call can only be discerned in the context of church community. Certainly, there is an internal craving, but it can only be interpreted with the help of a church.