Would Jesus even be considered for recruitment if He were alive today? Highly unlikely. Did He have an impressive resume? Was His appearance impressive? Did He ever multiply His followers beyond the original twelve?
The recent appointment of Pastor Woojoon Kim from Good Community Church of Torrance to the senior pastor position at Jiguchon Church in Bundang, South Korea, has reignited controversy over pastoral recruitment practices.
Pastor Kim delivered his farewell sermon on April 27, resigning just two weeks after informing his congregation about his new appointment. The members, left with no choice, had to send him off in tears.
At the very least, Pastor Kim appears to have observed some basic courtesy. According to the church, he committed to assisting with the handover process for a month, supporting the elders in recruiting a new senior pastor.
Unilateral Decisions Bypass Congregations
Yet the Korean American church community seems locked in an endless cycle of recruitment controversies. The same patterns, the same problems, continue without change. Churches aggressively approach pastors without involving their current churches, pushing forward unilateral recruitment offers.
Over time, these repeated patterns dull the senses—a phenomenon known as sensory adaptation. Recruitment practices are no different. Churches bypass the pastor’s current church, presenting offers directly to the pastor. Once the pastor privately decides, they inform their church of the move—essentially a notification, not a dialogue. While ‘recruitment’ implies inviting someone, in reality, it often feels more like headhunting.
Is the church truly a spiritual or faith community? If it is not a company or an organization, such unilateral recruitment would be unthinkable.
It’s hard to blame either side entirely—the church making the offer or the pastor accepting it. Phrases like “I prayed and decided” or “It’s God’s will” are religious justifications that make the recruitment and resignation appear legitimate. These expressions are exclusive to the religious realm and can conveniently dismiss any lingering doubts.
A Culture of Silent ‘Upward Mobility’
Of course, pastors are humans before they are clergy. They have every right to change churches. Likewise, churches striving to recruit strong pastors cannot be criticized for doing so.
However, the irony is hard to ignore. Why do pastors always ‘move up’ when they claim to follow God’s calling? Among pastors who have made a name for themselves, there are few, if any, examples of a ‘downward move.’
The same applies to churches attempting to recruit. Let’s be honest. To maintain or grow their church, they need a pastor with a certain degree of star power. Even though churches outwardly reject defining their essence by membership numbers or physical scale, in practice, pastors are judged by different standards. How many members did they bring in? What academic credentials do they have? How powerful is their preaching? What strategies and systems did they implement to grow the church? These become key criteria. How many churches can confidently say they are above this?
The issue of pastoral recruitment reflects a distorted view of revival within the church. The fixation on credentials has led to a situation where the bad drives out the good.
Churches repeatedly emphasize their need to be distinct from the world. Yet, when examining their recruitment practices, those claims fall flat. Is there really any difference from other sectors of society?
Today’s situation is the result of a lack of basic common sense and transparency. Even if Jesus were alive, what could He do? The structure has long been entrenched where today’s ‘victim church’ becomes tomorrow’s ‘aggressor church.’
Calls for Transparency and Accountability in Pastor Recruitment
To break this cycle, at the very least, basic respect and consideration for the other church are necessary. If a church truly needs a pastor, it should explain the rationale for the recruitment directly to the pastor’s current church, engaging in sufficient dialogue and seeking agreement. Then, if the other church decides through a congregational vote or other process, both churches should have the maturity to accept the decision as legitimate and transparent.
Now it is Good Community Church of Torrance’s turn. Will they pass on the shock and disappointment they experienced to another church? Or will they break the chain of irrationality? The choice is theirs.
BY YEOL JANG [jang.yeol@koreadaily.com]
