Another chapter closed

This past Sunday was my last as the Transitional Pastor of Westport Baptist Church. I served this great church for about 2 1/2 years in that role and loved every minute of it. The people there are great, which I knew before I even went there. For a number of years this church was in my Area when I served as Area Minister. It was always in my top three favorite churches that were in my Area. Their pastor was a great minister and friend, now retired, and the church had an amazing feel every time I walked in.

It should not have taken the church this long to find a pastor, but that is the way it is today when churches seek new pastoral leadership. For years I've told search committees that the pool is not very big and not very deep. This is especially true for churches in rural communities or small towns. If I had to guess, some of the people the church interviewed decided to not candidate due to the small community of Westport. Personally, I don't think they know what they are missing. Of course, I like small communities and always felt very comfortable with the Westport community.

Their new pastor is a young man with a family. He's never pastored a fully-funded church before so the church has asked me to mentor him for a few weeks. He seems energetic so I think I'll enjoy meeting with him and helping to answer some of his questions.

God has been very good to me in the churches He has led me to serve. For 20 years I served as a bivocational pastor at Hebron Baptist Church in Madison, IN. What a wonderful time that was! After retiring from denominational ministry I had the opportunity to serve Madison FBC as their Transitional Pastor for two years, and now He allowed me the privilege of serving the Westport church. As an Area Minister in our Region for 14 years I know how brutal some churches can be, and I am thankful God spared me from that.

Some have asked about my future plans, and I really do not know. My auction business keeps me busy, but if God opens up another door I'll certainly consider it. I turn 75 later this year, but I don't feel like it (usually!), and I believe God still has work for me to do.

The older I get the more I appreciate Caleb. As one of the original spies of the Promised Land he along with Joshua were the only ones who encouraged the Israelites to conquer the land since God had promised it to them. Now, the Israelites are conquering the land. Caleb goes to Joshua and asked him to let him take his tribe and take the mountain areas. Although that area was inhabited by giants and walled cities Caleb was ready at the age of 85 to rise to the challenge. My prayer is that I will always be ready to rise to the opportunities God gives me.

While I wait to see if God opens up doors of ministry I am ready to fill pulpits when needed. Please feel free to contact me if you need someone to preach for you. 

Important tasks for the church between pastors

For the past 18 or so months I've served as the Transitional Pastor of Madison First Baptist Church. The church has called a pastor who is leaving for a three month sabbatical that was already planned, and I've been asked to remain until he begins. I was more than happy to do so.

This has been a wonderful time of ministry. This is a very active church with numerous ministries, a passion for missions, and some great leadership. During my time here we've discerned a fresh vision for ministry with which the new pastor is in agreement. I believe this vision will lead the church forward for several years to come. We have spent time in the past few months looking at how to live into that vision with positive results.

I asked for the title of Transitional Pastor rather than Interim Pastor because I wanted to highlight the fact that we were in transition and not just standing around waiting for a new pastor. To me, transition implies movement, and I wanted to keep the church moving forward. The church has done that very well.

However, during this transitional time for the church there are five primary tasks that need to be done to help prepare the church for their new pastor.

1. The church needs to come to terms with its history. This is especially important if there are unresolved issues in its history. No church should call a new pastor if it has such issues that have not been resolved. That would be very unfair to the new pastor. On the positive side, this task can also help a church better understand its strengths.
2. The church needs to discover who it is today. Many churches still think of themselves as they were 20-30 years ago. This is a great time for a church to look inward to understand its current personality, its strengths and weaknesses, its passions, and its hope for the future.
3. The church needs to allow for leadership changes to occur. Some current leaders, especially if they were close to the former pastor, may feel the need to step back. New leaders might decide to step into new roles. This is normally a healthy thing unless conflicts begin to develop. When a pastor leaves there might be a leadership vacuum that people with ulterior motives might be tempted to fill.
4. The church needs to reconnect with its denomination if it belongs to one. Denominational leaders are often the first persons called when the current pastor leaves. These individuals can assist the church in finding a qualified Transitional Pastor and help the search team when they begin looking for candidates for the position.
5. The church needs to discern a fresh vision for ministry and be prepared to work with its new pastor to see that vision fulfilled. If a church is not ready to work with a new pastor it should not call one.

Too many churches just look for someone to preach during this transition time, and that is a mistake. A church will be far healthier and more ready to receive a new pastor if it intentionally works through these five steps. When your church needs to call a Transitional Pastor make sure he or she will help you do that.

*These five steps come from a booklet written by Kenneth Blazier titled Tackling the Tasks: Planning Interim Ministry in a Church. It was published by the Ministers-at-Large Program of the American Baptist Churches USA.

Starting a new ministry

Last night something happened that I had not planned when I retired last December. Madison FBC voted to call me as their interim pastor. I had really not given much thought to doing interim work when I retired. Although I had interviewed with another church that asked me to serve as their interim pastor, I had decided to not accept their offer. I was preaching just about every week somewhere, leading my workshops and conferences, and growing my auction business. I thought that was enough for a retired person!

Several times in the past few weeks Madison FBC had asked me to fill their pulpit. This is a church I've known for over 30 years and was happy to do so. A couple of weeks ago their pastor search team asked me to consider becoming their interim pastor. After some prayer I decided to accept, and last night a congregational vote made it a reality.

Madison FBC is a great church that has served this area for over 200 years. The church has an Associate Pastor who also leads a dynamic youth program and a Children's Director who leads a great children's ministry. A number of lay leaders are also involved in leading various ministries. The church has a traditional service at 8:45 and a contemporary service at 11:00. Both services are very well done. During my time as a Resource Minister in our region I worked with the church on two occasions when they were seeking pastor leadership. Now, I get to be part of its transition in a new way.

I find this call to be both exciting and humbling. It's exciting because it's an opportunity to lead a church through a transition period as they prepare for and seek a new pastor. It's humbling because of the rich history of ministry that this church has known over the years and the excellent ministerial leadership it has known.

As I tell pastors in some of my workshops, do not limit what God might want to do in your life. I've been surprised at the ministry doors God has opened throughout my ministry. This one is no different. What we need to do is to be open to God's leading and be willing to walk through the doors He opens.

Please keep me and the church in your prayers.

When your church is between pastors

The first day a pastor begins his or her ministry in a new church that person is a departing pastor. We seldom think of it that way, but at some point that pastor will leave the church. He or she may leave for another church, leave the ministry completely, retire, or die, but, if the Lord tarries, at some point the church will be seeking a new pastor. Instead of being surprised when this happens the church should be planning for that eventual transition.

For many years this was often referred to as an interim time in the life of the church. The person called to lead the church during this time was usually referred to as an interim pastor. In recent years many are calling this a transitional time and the individual serving as pastor is a transitional pastor. I think this is a good change in terminology.

The word interim seems to me like a time when things are at a standstill. Everyone is waiting for something to happen, and that something is the calling of a new pastor. On the other hand, transitional provides a sense that things are happening. You are moving from one place to another. In fact, my dictionary defines transition as "a passage from one state to another; a movement."

This time between pastors should not be a time when a church is idle and waiting, but should be a time when the church is reflecting on who it is and where God wants it to be going. It is a time to seek a fresh vision from God so the church has a better idea of the gifts and abilities their next pastor needs to have to help them achieve that vision.

Too many churches are waiting for a new pastor to tell them their vision. Think of the time that is wasted. It's not unusual to take a year or two to find a new pastor. That person needs to take some time to get to know the congregation and the community, and only then can a vision discernment begin. A church waiting on a new pastor to give them their vision for ministry could easily spend 2-3 years doing absolutely nothing but waiting.

Besides, it's not the pastor's role to "give" the church a vision. A vision discernment process should be done by the entire church, or in the case of a larger church by the leadership. For any vision to truly be owned by the congregation they need to have input into the process of discerning what that vision is. The transitional time between pastors is a great opportunity for such discernment to occur.

It's often helpful to have someone from outside the church lead that process. Denominational and judicatory leaders can often lead that. Church consultants and coaches can do so as well. Regardless of whom you use to lead the process, it's important to do it.

When you can match your next pastor to your ministry vision, you are more likely to call the right person. You also won't lose valuable time when such vision discernment is done before the new pastor begins. Use the transitional time between pastors wisely. Your church's ministry will benefit greatly if you do.

Pastoral transitions

One of the toughest decisions a minister must make is knowing if it is time to leave his or her present place of ministry for another.  Of course, sometimes the church makes that decision for the minister eliminating any confusion on the part of the minister.  But, most of us will struggle with this decision at times in our ministerial lives, and it has been well said that it is the loneliest decision a minister must make.

Some ministers do not seem to struggle too much with deciding to move.  They do it so often that they never unpack most of their belongings and have a discount plan with their moving company.  You can count on these individuals changing churches about every 2-3 years or whenever they find an open church that appears to be a move up the ministerial ladder of success.  I consider these persons to be hirelings, not pastors, and nothing I say in this post is likely to influence them.

For many of us, it is a struggle.  We don't want to leave too soon and miss out on something God is planning for our church, and yet we don't want to stay when we have nothing more to offer.  In yesterday's post I mentioned John Maxwell's book Good Leaders Ask Great Questions: Your Foundation for Successful Leadership.  As I was reading it today I came across a chapter that addresses this very issue.  One of the things in the book that really connected with me was a statement Maxwell shared from Elmer Towns, co-founder of Liberty University, "Don't leave something; go to something."

In about my 18th year as pastor of my bivocational church I felt that my time there was about over.  There had been various times during those years when I had felt that previously and had even interviewed with a handful of churches, but after those interviews I just didn't feel called to leave when I was serving.  All of those churches were larger than the one I was in, and several of them had much more growth potential than our rural church had, but I just didn't feel led to leave.  This time was different.  I knew my time there was over.  What I didn't know was what my next place of ministry would be.

About a year later the Executive Minister of our region called asking if I would be willing to serve part-time as an interim Area Minister.  The person in that position was leaving for another ministry.  It was anticipated that the search for a new person would take about a year, and they needed someone to serve during that interim period.  My duties would be limited since I was pastoring a church, but I would be able to do many of the tasks our Area Ministers were doing.  After taking a weekend to pray about it and discuss it with my wife I accepted.  Several months later the region began accepting applications, and I was told that I could submit one if I wanted to.  At the end of that search process I was selected for the position.

Submitting that application was a scary moment.  After serving the church for nearly 20 years I knew I could do that standing on my head.  I didn't know if I could do regional ministry.  I lacked the education and many of the experiences others on our staff had.  I could easily fail, but I also knew God was calling me to this new role, and I had to accept it.  Nearly 14 years later I am still serving in this ministry.

It was very difficult to announce my leaving to the church, but it was helpful to know that I was not leaving something; I was going to something.  The church was as healthy as it had been in decades.  We had a new fellowship building under construction that was being paid for in donations.  Our mission giving was strong.  There were no issues in the congregation.  I wasn't leaving problems; I was going to a new ministry that God had been preparing me for.

As you consider making a transition in your ministry ask yourself if you are leaving something or going to something.  If you are only wanting to leave, you may need to check your motives.  If you are going to something, you may be on the right track for making such a transition.

The most critical time in the life of a small church

After spending 20 years as the bivocational pastor of a small church and the past 13 years as a leader in our judicatory often working with smaller churches I have decided the most critical time in the life of a small church is the time they spend between pastors.  This is a time that should be spent in reflection as they review their history and look towards the future.  It is a time to discern a fresh vision from God regarding their future ministry.  The selection of their next pastor is a critical decision that will largely determine whether or not that vision is fulfilled, and the person they call will shape their congregation for good or bad for years to come.  Unfortunately, many churches do not use this time wisely and end up calling someone who is not a good fit for their church and/or does not have the gifts to lead their church towards their God-given vision.

Some smaller churches cannot stand to not have a pastor.  Their attitude seems to be that most people wouldn't want to come to their church so they will take the first person who shows an interest.  This usually does not end well for the church.   Sadly, many of these churches do not learn from their mistake, and when they begin the search for their next pastor they take the same approach...and they continue their downward spiral.

I have worked with some smaller churches that are unwilling to spend the money for a quality interim pastor who can help them become better prepared to call a pastor.  These churches view the interim time as an opportunity to build up their financial coffers.  They look for someone willing to preach for little salary so they can replenish their bank account.  As a result they lose the opportunity to have someone lead the reflection they need before calling a new pastor.  A good interim minister will have some skills that can be very valuable to a church in a pastoral transition, and these folks should be used as often as possible.

Some of these churches really do not want a pastor, or at least one who will provide leadership to the church.  These churches want a chaplain who will care for the flock.  They simply want someone to preach on Sundays, visit people in the hospital, and perform weddings and funerals.  A problem arises when the number of funerals continues to increase much faster than the number of weddings.

Everything rises and falls on leadership.  No church can be any healthier than its leadership, and this includes both pastoral and lay leadership.  A church will not be healthy and growing if it does not have a healthy, growing pastor who is willing and able to provide leadership to the church, and the church is willing to follow that leadership.

Equally important is that the pastor is a good cultural and spiritual match to the congregation.  I have seen too many short-term pastorates because the pastor and the congregation were not a good fit.  There is little excuse for this if the church has done proper reflection and has performed a quality search.  Smaller churches cannot afford short-term pastorates if they want to go to a higher level of ministry which makes this search process even more critical.

A final mistake I'll mention in this post is that some smaller churches fail to utilize the services of their judicatories.  Our region offers the services of our Resource Ministers to assist our churches in their pastoral searches, but some of our smaller churches refuse to use that assistance.  I'll be the first to admit that it is often not easy to find quality persons to serve in some smaller churches, but we do have some resources at our disposal that can help that process.  We have a process that we can give our churches to help them through the time of reflection, and we have persons who can provide quality interim ministry during the search process that we can recommend.  Call your judicatory and ask what resources they have available, and use them.

Remember - you are better off without a pastor than to call the wrong person to be your next pastor.  The search process may take longer than you would like, but if results in a better match it will be well worth the wait.

Finishing well

I recently read that one study found that a very high percentage of pastors had ministries that did not end well.  This past weekend I had the privilege of attending a retirement party for one pastor whose ministry did end well.  It spanned over 40 years and included pastoring the same church (the one from which he recently retired from) three times.  In between those pastorates he had several very successful interim pastorates.  His church would not hold the expected crowd so his retirement celebration was held at the local school.  I would estimate the invitation-only dinner crowd at 150-200 people, and I do not know how many people came for the open house earlier in the day.  This individual was not only pastor to his church but to the entire community.

Three denominational leaders, including myself, spoke of our relationship with this pastor and his wife.  Each of us had been profoundly impacted by his ministry and his friendship.  One summed up this pastor's ministry by noting that he had never seen him act in any way but pastoral.  He did not mean by that comment that the pastor had merely acted pastoral, but that he was pastoral.  My experience with him is the same.

My friend never pastored a megachurch nor did he serve in some large metropolitan area. His was a median size church located in a small community surrounded by farm land. He never wrote a book, although he tells me he is writing one now. He was never a featured speaker at a church growth conference. He just went about his ministry serving the people God entrusted to him. When we would eat lunch together everyone we saw wanted to speak to him. He was indeed the pastor to the community.

It is exciting to see a pastor have this kind of impact on his or her church and community.  One can only imagine how many people his ministry has impacted over the course of his ministry.  When it was his turn to speak the words did not come easily.  He was obviously humbled by the love demonstrated in that room and very quickly reminded people that anything he had ever done in ministry was possible only through the power of God in his life.  Reflecting on the evening later I could only sum it up by noting that he was one who has finished well.

I would think every minister wants to finish well, but we need to remember that such an ending to our ministries does not happen by accident.  There are simply too many opportunities over the course of a long ministry to get tripped up.  We can fail to grow and develop as leaders and fail to lead our churches in the vision God has for them.  We can stop learning and fall prey to outdated ideas and ways of thinking.  We can not understand the changes that occur in society and become irrelevant.  We can become isolated and find ourselves involved in behaviors that will wreck our lives and ministries. 

If we want to finish well we must intentionally plan to do so.  We must intentionally seek growth opportunities.  We must learn what is happening in our neighborhoods and in the lives of people and address them from a biblical perspective.  We must commit ourselves to learning new skills that will improve our ministries.  We must develop boundaries that will guide our behavior.  We must maintain balance in the important areas of life - God, Family, Ministry, and Self-Care.  If we do these things we can enjoy a good end to our own ministries.

My friend's ministry really hasn't ended.  He reminded me that night to keep him in mind if I have churches that need someone to fill the pulpit on a Sunday or perhaps even need an interim pastor.  He said that he believes he still has some good ministry left in him.  And, that's the way to finish well.

The transition time between pastors is important in the life of a church

Yesterday I had the opportunity to help lead a workshop for persons interested in serving churches as interim ministers.  An interim minister is a term often used for persons who fill the pastoral role of a church when their previous pastor leaves and before a new pastor is called.  Another term that is often used today is transitional pastor, and this is a term I am beginning to appreciate more and more. Several of the individuals attending the workshop have been serving as interim pastors for a few years now and wanted to learn how they could be more effective in that role.  Others wanted to learn more about this ministry to determine if this is something they might want to do.

In the past many churches that called an interim minister primarily wanted someone to be there on Sunday morning and preach.  There might be a few other expectations regarding limited visitation and providing some administrative assistance, but these churches mostly wanted to make sure someone would be there each Sunday with a sermon.  That remains the expectation of many churches today, especially smaller churches.  For some, it is a time when they can build up their finances since the interim usually costs the church less than having a pastor.  Marginal churches actually look forward to this period of time as it gives them a chance to replenish their dwindling bank account, but that is a topic for a later post.

The fact is this interim period is a very important time in the life of a church.  It gives the church an opportunity to take a long, honest look at itself and determine if there are some things that need to be addressed before calling another pastor.  Is there a history of on-going conflict in the church?  Now is the time to address that.  Does the church need to transition from having a fully-funded pastor to calling a bivocational pastor?  If the church is struggling to provide a decent salary package to their pastor and maintain a ministry presence in the community, the answer is yes, and this is the time to make that transition.  Are there systems issues in the church that need to be corrected?  A well-trained interim minister can do that and save their next pastor from having to fight that battle.  Does the church need to identify a fresh vision from God for its future?  Doing that during the interim period will give the church the opportunity to call a pastor with the gifts that will allow the church to fulfill that vision.  The church is going through a transition time and using this time wisely will help it come out a much healthier church and better prepared to take advantage of the leadership their new pastor will bring.

I know one church that had struggled for years with a systems problem in their church.  Two previous pastors had been unable to correct that problem.  An interim pastor led the church to make the needed change in less than a year, and their current pastor rejoices today he did not have to fight that battle.  I know another church that had a member who had a history of creating numerous problems in the church.  No one in the congregation was willing to challenge this individual, but within a few short months after arriving an interim pastor confronted her about her behavior, and the individual left the church.  This church has experienced steady growth ever since, and the pastor who followed that interim has enjoyed one of the longest tenures in that church it has known in years.  Countless similar stories could be told of churches that experienced transformation during the interim period leading to these churches being stronger and healthier when their next pastor came on the scene.

Unfortunately, many stories can also be told of churches that did nothing but save some money during the interim period who came through that critical time with the same dysfunctions it had before their previous pastor left.  Pastors come and go in these churches, all fight the same losing battles, and the church never changes.  Such churches often complain how none of the pastors they call grow their church never realizing that it is their own dysfunctions that prevent such growth from occurring.  The interim period is a great time to address those dysfunctions, but these churches are unwilling to do so.  They prefer to use someone they know who can preach a little and will work for little pay so they can save some money than to invest in an interim minister who is skilled and trained to lead a church through this interim time so they come through it healthier and stronger.  Little can be done to help these churches until they take a different approach to the interim time.

Interim ministry is a vital ministry to help churches grow healthier.  It is a great way for a retired pastor to remain in the ministry after retirement, but it's important to recognize that there are some specific tasks interim ministers need to perform that may require some training.  Just because someone has been a pastor for 30 years does not mean that person will be a great interim minister.  There are some new skills that a pastor may need to learn before becoming an interim minister.  Many denominations offer training for persons interested in serving as an interim pastor, and other organizations such as the Center for Congregational Health also offer such training.  This can also be a new role a bivocational minister can consider.  Interim ministry is an important ministry for the church and the Kingdom of God, and it is one you may want to consider.