His resume said he was in the Army, he wasn’t.  Another man’s said he had a degree from a prestigious university, he didn’t.  And neither of these folks were preachers.

Like your favorite translation of the Bible, a resume is an important tool.  And like your preferred translation, it is the reflection of a reality.  In the case of the Bible, God’s word is reflected in the translation you prefer.  The resume reflects your character, experience, and preparation.

Some preachers refuse to prepare or to share a resume.  We all should do as God leads.  However, unless you are very unusual, God’s leadership to another place begins with the recommendation of someone who knows you, then the presentation of your ministry to folks who are searching.  This presentation is usually in the form of a resume.

So, are there some guidelines on preparing and using a resume?

First, get organized.  Think through your ministry and how God prepared you.  Make notes.  Perhaps research is necessary to help you get statistics, dates, and events in order.  Sometimes it helps to prepare a timeline.  Specificity and accuracy will save time, and limit questions when people read your resume.

Be brief and yet comprehensive. Don’t write a long thesis on your doctrinal positions, when “My theological positions are consistent with the Baptist Faith and Message statement of the Southern Baptist Convention” is all anyone wants to know.  You do not need to explain that while you were in seminary you worked at Federal Express for 3 months loading trucks and for two months driving a forklift.  “Seminary employment at Federal Express” is sufficient.

State the impact of your ministry. You need not list all the responsibilities for which you were responsible as a Minister of Music each church you served.  But if you organized the largest choir trip in the history of the church, you should include that information.  Folks on search committees already know that as Pastor, you are responsible for baptizing new converts, but if you led the church to baptize a record number, that is important to communicate.

Do not restate the obvious.  There is no need to tell folks how old you are or how long you’ve been married, or how many children you have if you have listed this information in another place.  Search committees are looking for certain things, extraneous material is a liability, not an asset.

Don’t leave gaps.  This usually happens when for one reason or another you are not in ministry for a period of time.  Fill in the gaps.  You want to answer questions, not create them.

Use plain language.  There is no need to say you are the “senior pastor” if you are the only pastor of a church.  There is no need to refer to eschatology when you can say, “I believe Jesus is coming soon”.  No need to explain your ecclesiology, when you can say “I believe the church is God’s institution on this earth to spread the gospel.”  People on Search Committees rarely carry theological dictionaries.

More next week on this subject.

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