August Update

We officially closed the application period on July 1st and have made great progress in evaluating all of applications we received. We feel particularly encouraged by the quality of the candidates who have applied and by the peace and unity we have experienced in many aspects of this process. Please continue to pray for us, and for the man who the Lord has in mind to be our particular under-shepherd at City Church. It is with great expectation that we move closer and closer to forming a short list of 4 to 6 candidates. Thanks for all of your support and prayer, and for generously feeding us on the nights that we meet.

May 11th Update

We have posted the search documents and are now collecting applications!  You can view the documents in the How to Apply section of this blog.  

Please help us spread the word.  If you know of someone who fits the qualifications, and who may be interested in the Lead Pastor position, please contact them and send them a link to the documents.  

As a reminder, all names and personal information about applicants will be kept strictly confidential.  This is done out of consideration for applicants and to protect the unity of our church.  This means we will not be able to answer questions about which applications we have received (or not received).  

Thank you so much for your prayers!  Please continue to pray for us as we enter this new stage of evaluating applications.  Here are three specific prayer requests that were mentioned on Sunday:

1. Pray for discernment and wisdom, especially as we enter into this stage of evaluating applications. Pray specifically for our personal spiritual and devotional lives, that we would be dependent on prayer and spending time in the Word. 1 Corinthians 1:24 describes Christ as the "power of God and the wisdom of God." The more we are looking to and leaning into Christ, the more wisdom will come.
2. Pray for our interactions with the applicants for the Lead Pastor position - that we would be able to communicate well and in a timely fashion. We will have a lot of paperwork to go through as we evaluate applications, and we don't want to leave applicants wondering about their status for weeks on end. So please pray that we would care well for these men during the process.
3. Finally, pray for the man that the Lord would call to become our next Lead Pastor...that God would be preparing his heart to be sent and that He would be preparing our hearts to receive him.

April 27th Update

We are excited to be coming to the close of Stage 3 in the Pastor Search Process!  We have spent the last two months creating three documents which are central to our pastor search.

• The Community Profile describes East Nashville.
• The Church Profile describes City Church: our core values and our history.
• The Desired Pastor Profile details the qualities we are looking for in a new lead pastor.

These documents have been written with great care and much discussion, incorporating input from the congregation, the session, and the staff.  This week we are having the documents formatted and plan to post them publicly on the City Church website by May 5.

Publishing these documents will bring us into Stage 4 of this process—“Post the Position.”  We will begin collecting applications and reviewing them.  The Desired Pastor Profile includes information on how to apply for the position.

We encourage members of the congregation to recommend applicants to us.  If you have someone in mind for the position, please contact that person first and find out if they desire to apply.  If so, direct them to the City Church website (citychurcheast.org) where they can find the Profile documents and application information by following the “Pastor Search” link.

Thank you to all the families who have provided meals for our evening meetings.  It is a great gift to have a meal waiting for us when we arrive at the meeting (often coming directly from work).  We feel very loved and supported by you!

Please continue in prayer for the person God is preparing to become the lead pastor at City Church!

March 9th Update

The Pulpit Committee is continuing to gather information from the congregation to help us prepare for posting the lead pastor position, which we hope to now do by the end of April.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Listening Sessions in February.  Over 200 people participated!  Keep an eye out for a Congregational Survey to be emailed out this week. We’d appreciate if everyone will take the time to complete the survey. 

Prayer requests: 

• Please continue to pray for the committee and our church during this transition. 
• Pray specifically for wisdom, discernment and diligence for the committee. 
• Pray for rest and refreshment in the midst of our busy schedules. 
• Finally, pray for unity in the church throughout this process.

Pulpit Committee "Listening Sessions"

Dear City Church,

Since the Pulpit Committee was formed in November, we have spent our time getting organized as a committee and seeking to understand the entire process of searching for a new pastor.  (On Sunday we gave an update of what this process will look like.)  We are excited to announce the next step in the pastoral search process, which involves gathering information from you about our church and about the type of pastor we should be looking for.  One of the main ways we will be gathering information is by holding “Listening Sessions” throughout the month of February.

The Listening Sessions are designed to do exactly that—listen.  We want to listen to the congregation of City Church and we want to listen to the Holy Spirit. 

Our goal throughout the entire pastoral search process is to engage in the spiritual practice of discernment, and we believe that holding these Listening Sessions is foundational to discerning God’s direction for City Church.  For, as others have written, “The process of discernment invites us into the heart and life of the Triune God.  Decision-making can no longer be defined as doing what we think is best; it is now a search for the mind and will of God within a community of people with whom God has chosen to dwell.”*

In light of this, we view these Listening Sessions as a spiritual exercise.  We are sending out the questions in advance to give you time to thoughtfully and prayerfully consider each question.

These four questions will be posed at each Listening Session:

1. Who is City Church and why are you here?
2. What characteristics do you think are important in the new pastor? 
3. What should that person understand about City Church? 
4. What advice do you have for the Pulpit Committee?

We will hold 17 different Listening Sessions over the month of February, and most of them will be held in Neighborhood Groups.  Be on the lookout for information from your Neighborhood Group leader about when your Listening Session is scheduled.  If you are not in a Neighborhood Group or cannot attend your group, we will be holding an open Listening Session on Sunday, February 23 at 10am at the church office.

If you prefer you can also submit your responses via email.  Just email your responses to the above questions to ccenpc@gmail.com.  Once we receive your email we will send you a confirmation response.

It is our hope that each session would foster openness, honesty, and encouragement.  To that end, we have come up with the following guidelines:

• Speak for yourself, expressing your own thoughts and feelings. 
• Do not challenge what others say.
• Speak the truth in love.
• Value encouragement, grace, and the unity of the church.
• Avoid dwelling on the negative.
• Be mindful of the group and aim to be concise with your answers.

We are really looking forward to engaging in this process of listening and seeking the mind of Christ.  If you have questions about the Listening Sessions please email us at ccenpc@gmail.com.

In Christ,

Jon Hansen

Pulpit Committee Chair

Overview of the Pastor Search Process

Dear City Church,

Last night the Pulpit Committee shared an overview of the process of calling a new pastor and took some time for questions.  We wanted to be sure to share this information with those of you who were not in the service.  

You can click here for the CCEN Pastoral Search Process that was shared  This document lists the 8 different steps of the search process and provides a brief description of each step.  

Here is the video of the announcement and Q&A:

The audio of the announcement is available on the church website.

More details about the "Listening Sessions" that were discussed will be sent out later this week. 

Have a great week!

City Church Pastor Search Process