When I was pastoring, I used the "Jay Leno" Philosophy. In other words, Johnny Carson made Jay his permanent guest host. I just made sure that I always planned in advance any times I was going to be out of church and had the same guy who I trusted to do right. It worked for me.

I think that first there needs to be an understanding of why such a special speaker is needed. I'm sure that there are people who "want to preach" in our church, but that doesn't necessitate giving them the opportunity, regardless of what has happened before.

For the last six years, and up until this past year, I have had a trustworthy and very capable assistant who was my choice to preach in my absence. If we have a guest speaker when I am not absent, there needs to be both a good reason for that and a confidence about the person's doctrine before he is invited. I don't invite anyone with whom I am not familiar enough to be able to know where they are doctrinally and philosophically.

I'd be more inclined to tell the brother that asked this question that he should not worry - church's don't grow by having guest speakers.

The first thing I'm curious about is why guest preachers would be needed so often. It sounds like this pastor has not been at this church very long. If that is the case, it would be good for him to be in the pulpit as much as possible to help the people align their vision with his. Could it be that he has brought this on himself to some degree by bringing in his own guest preachers when they were not needed? Maybe the first step is to do the preaching himself every Sunday for so long that people forget about the other guys. When they ask for guest preachers he can tell them that he thinks it's healthier for him to do the preaching himself unless there's some reason he can't. When they figure out that he is going to be their preacher from now on, those that don't like his philosophy of preaching will either have to change their minds or go somewhere else.

When he's on vacation or has some other legitimate reason why he can't preach, he should ask someone to preach in his place before he lets it be known to anyone else that there is an open Sunday.

Basically, he should do whatever he can to erase from the congregation's minds the idea that this church's pulpit has an open door.

The three comments above are good but I think they fail to understand the needs of solo pastors in slowly reforming churches. Pastors must be out for more reasons than vacations. How about dissertation work or mission trips or teaching in seminaries far away. Some may argue that this is not the pastors calling, but I think that is a bit unfair to the nature of ministry.

And I actually think it is good to allow the congregation to hear from more than just the lead pastor from time to time. Sunday nights are a good place to allow for other preachers. I agree that the lead pastor does almost all the preaching as he is trying to present a vision to the people. I dont see the need to let anyone and everyone who wants to preach, but not everyone has someone they trust to stand in when a preacher IS needed. So the question remains--would you ever let someone preach in your pulpit that you dont know personally, and if so how can you guard it? I would suggest just as everyone else did that we have someone we trust who is a regular stand in. If that is not possible and you dont want to die on hills that you shouldnt be fighting on early in ministry, then allow one or two guest preachers but make sure they are willing to be scrutinized. Require notes and if necessary a reference from someone you do trust.

I really want to hear what everyone else says.

"Basically, he should do whatever he can to erase from the congregation's minds the idea that this church's pulpit has an open door."

Not to be offensive or argumentative, but why?

Tradition?

Does the pastor always have to be the preacher?

As a pastor you are responsible for your congregation and what they are being fed spiritually. If this involves asking questions of guest speakers then so be it. You need to know who is taking your place and what they value in their own spiritual walk.

First, I'm not a pastor, so I might have an outside view on this. But, I can't imagine why any preacher who prepares his sermons wouldn't be willing to let a church know what he was planning to preach on ahead of time. Anyone who isn't willing to do that seems a little suspicious to me. At the very least, the person could provide a copy (text or audio recording) of their most recent sermon(s) at their church to give some examples.

This situation also seems strange to me as I wonder why the church is so used to having so many guest preachers. I guess the revolving pulpit is more interesting entertainment for the congregation. Most of us don't want to listen to the same music band every time we turn on the radio, after all.

And this issue has actually been on my mind recently because of an event at my church. I've been a member of my church for less than a year, and the pastors recently announced they'd be having a creation seminar by a traveling speaker. I had some previous experience with that speaker and believe he's absolutely awful. When I told the senior pastor my concern, he found himself between a rock and a hard place as this creation speaker had come highly recommended, but then there's this new member telling him how awful the speaker is. What was he to do?

Let them preach once more with an etched inscription on the top of the pulpit: (McKinley can help your language) "Your preaching must pass the 'DMLJ' test: would what I am preaching make Martyn Lloyd-Jones want to rip off my arm and beat me with the bloody shoulder socket? If the answer is 'yes', don't do it"...and preach Christ and Him crucified!

I find myself in broad agreement with the previous two posts: churches don't grow by getting good 'guest speakers' in, they grow as the duly called/appointed pastor works faithfully, week in and week out, fulfillng their primary calling to preach the word. I'm also inclined to agree that it's better to have one or two 'go-to guys', who share your convictions about the central importance of expository preaching. At the outset, they may have to come from OUTSIDE your own church context (especially if you can't afford an assistant!!), but it should be your aim and your prayer that God will both raise up such men from AMONG your congregation, and draw such men TO your congregation.

If you're dealing with 'wannabe' preachers whose gifts and callings you're uncertain of - then by all means, take it slow, maybe encourage them to prepare a manuscript that you can critique with them as you train them. But these shouldn't be your 'go-to guys', at least not yet.

Personally, I'd be pretty reluctant to accept an invitation to preach that came with the caveat, "I'll have to see and approve your manuscript first." It smacks of distrust (which of course it is!), and indicates the person in question has no idea whether I'm suitable to occupy their pulpit! If someone is VOLUNTEERING themselves that's another matter - though even then I'd suggest you ask for audio (tape or mp3) of sermons they've preached previously, rather than a manuscript for the sermon they intend to preach. And if you're actively on the LOOKOUT? Scout around, ask people you trust for recommendations, find out (again) whether there's any way you can listen to previous sermons - but don't issue an invitation unless and until you're confident your potential 'guest speaker' is appropriate for your context.

I can't say my personal experience represents a general principle, but when I first moved to the church I now pastor, 6 1/2 years ago (Albion Park Presbyterian, 1 1/2 hrs south of Sydney, Australia), I relied fairly heavily on personal recommendation - and found annual leave fairly stressful because I often didn't really know my 'guest speakers'! Over the past couple of years, though, I've been able to develop relationships with a couple of guys OUTSIDE our congregation who are faithful, dependable preachers; and God has blessed us with two newer members of the congregation who are capable, experienced 'lay preachers' (my 'Go-to- guys'). Next step (God willing) is to identify younger guys with promise and begin TRAINING them to handle the word of God. I very rarely (perhaps TOO rarely?) invite 'special guest speakers' with high profiles - but I'm not convinced that's what my congregation needs. Ultimately it's about the word preached, not the credentials of the one who preaches.

The Bible doesn't command guest preachers to shepherd the flock, but elders. If a guest preacher is to be brought in, he must have the full confidence of the elders of the church. A guest preacher should be expected to submit his entire manuscript of his message to the elders far enough in advance for the elders to review it. If that doesn't happen, the elders are not doing their job.

Now, this could lead to another question: What is a responsible process for replacing a departing preacher?

Another possibly related question would be this: How should a new preacher introduce different doctrine to his church (e.g., a change from Purpose Driven to 9 Marks)?

I would explain to the congregation (or those respective individuals) that you will only invite guest preachers who meets certain criterias:
1. Those whom you have a relationship with and know personally. This is the easiest. If you already have like-minded ministerial colleagues and you're already familiar/comfortable with their theology, preaching and teaching, then your concerns are alleviated.
2. Preachers who are recommended by others whom you respect. So if I were casually speaking with Mark Dever, and during the course of the discussion he happens to tell me that he knows a brother pastoring in a church nearby, I'll look that brother up. I'll go to his church's website and listen to some of his sermons, if available.
3. Search surrounding local churches 50-100 miles radius of your area to find other like-minded churches lead by like-minded pastors/elders. If you find any, call them up for lunch or coffee and begin developing a relationship with them.
4. Raise up elders within your church. No better pool of guest preachers to invite from than those whom you have trained and discipled personally.