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A few things. It varies by church denomination and even diocese within a denomination. I will speak from Sydney Anglican denomination as it is the one I am most familiar with.
* Biblically: Needs to conform to the standards set out by 1 Timothy 3:1-13
* Institutionally: Needs to agree and hold up the 39 articles of the Book of Common Prayer
* Ethically: Must be transparent re their life. They don't accept divorcee's or single men for a few different reasons.
There's more, but that's the gist of it.
You're given 'ordination', which is a process they send you through. Basically they scruitinise your life and faith to ensure you're meeting a set of standards they feel need to be met for a leader of a church.
Most Anglican churches in Sydney have ministers, but there's always vacancies. There's more clergy than churches right now. But that's just us. Every other denomination is experiencing a decline in clergy, particularly Catholics.
You don't get 'placed'; you get invited to a church. Once invited, you interview / are interviewed (basically they invite you over to dinner, you invite them over to dinner) and work out if you're a decent fit for the church. The final say is the ministers, although bishops will encourage candidates to the right churches. Its a mutual process; you got to realise, this is more than a job - your social life is tied up with the church too. Basically, its a huge commitment.
