ChurchWhisperers.Org

Letter To a Hurting Church

The following is a letter (with names removed) I sent to a church which was on the brink of splitting in two. I’m sorry to say that I think the letter probably has application to many other situations. I wrote it – and am placing it here – in hopes that God will use it to influence some of His people for good. BAT

To my dear friends at ________ Church,

Words can’t express how greatly you encouraged my heart as I kept hearing that God was working so powerfully at __________. I’ve been learning a lot about how the Apostle Paul felt: you are “my joy and crown” (Philippians 4:1). Neither can words express how heartbreaking it has been to hear about the division and strife that has occurred more recently. The following are mostly thoughts that occurred to me while talking to _______ ________ last night. You may do what you want with them of course; I’m no apostle, but Donna and I love you and I think that gives us some credibility.

The first and most important thing I have to say to all is, please, please, please understand that this is not a contest between people; this is primarily a contest between God and Satan and I do not mean to imply that some of you are on God’s side and some on Satan’s side! I mean that you caused our enemy (your brother is NOT your enemy; the devil is) great consternation while the church was going “great guns.” Do not be ignorant of his devices; his best methodology is to simply use the flesh of Christians (our sin-powered humanity) to destroy our absolutely essential unity. Galatians 5:15 says “If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” As Donna says, when the same old tactic works so well year after year, why should the devil come up with anything new?

It sounds like unity at the board level is what was sacrificed first and that was a mistake. A great pastor, Larry Osborne, wrote a book on the subject called “The Unity Factor.” At some point in your healing process, study it carefully. There’s no getting around the necessity of a unified board/pastor leadership team.

I don’t pretend to know or understand all that’s gone on in your fellowship in the past few months. I’m confident that none of you do either; there are at least three sides to every story, yours, mine and God’s; the essential matter is what you do now.

My understanding is that Pastor _______ has resigned. Now you’re going to be tempted to be embittered with each other. Don’t fall for it. Forgiveness is absolutely essential and it must be given even to those who never apologize for what we see as their sins. Our value differences cause us to see things differently and to sometimes view our brother as sinning when he or she is absolutely confident that he is doing the right thing. This even occurs in our marriages because of the different FOO (family of origin) cultures we’ve come from. What Donna considers sin I consider acceptable and normal and we’ll never completely see every issue eye-to-eye. Some of you have a very strong loyalty ethic and believed that you should stand by Pastor _______ no matter what. Others among you have very high standards regarding a pastor’s loyalty to a church constitution. It may be that you will never, until reaching heaven, agree on this. Better yet, put your good values together and go forward into the future with an absolute commitment to maintain a tight, tight unity at the leadership level, to deal with your differences in godly ways and to have a “rule book” (constitution) that all agree to follow. In any case, the crucial matter right now is what you do right now.

Right now, tonight, you need to start forgiving one another and moving in the direction of reconciliation. (It will take time to feel good about each other.) You can beat the devil at his own game if you will start forgiving now. You are handing him a victory on a silver platter if you don’t. This is not about your “rightness;” this is about God’s glory. God will be glorified, His reputation enhanced, His power displayed, if you reconcile and become a stronger, holier church. You will give Christ “a black eye” if you don’t.

Right now, tonight, you will need to resolve to not make the situation worse with blaming and name calling. “Getting it out” is a worldly concept, not a biblical one. Anger expressed without restraint does not “spend” the anger and lead to peace; it leads to hotter, more deadly anger. You might want to read Ephesians 4 together, very slowly. If you must meet tonight, make your comments from the floor addressed to the “chair” and do not allow any angry outbursts by anybody, period.

You will need to resist the temptation to think with your hearts. Hearts are for feeling; heads are for thinking. Do not try to fix your problem by latching unto someone nearby who seems like “pastor material.” Of course you need someone to come and preach and teach on Sundays for awhile, and God will greatly bless you through these speakers, but they will not be a substitute for the “native guide” which you will need for a few months. You need more than a godly man; you need a trained and experienced man who knows how to lead a church through a process of reconciliation. I shared with ________ the name of an organization which might be able to provide some wonderful, short-term help with reconciliation. I also shared with her that I have names and phone numbers for three organizations which supply trained and experienced, peacemaking, interim pastors to churches. This is what you’re going to need now (and I don’t mean me! We have our hands full here in __________). In time, you will need to oh-so-carefully call a new long-term pastor. In the meantime, your best chance for healing is going to be with the help of someone who has been gifted by God for just such a time as this.

We love you all and will be praying for you tonight and in the weeks to come.

For HIS Glory,
Brian Thorstad

Putting Two Dollar Plants In Ten Dollar Holes

Or, “How an intentional interim pastor can help your pastor-less church prepare for its future.”

Like Moses before him, Episcopal Bishop, Loren Mead received some of the best advice he ever heard from his father-in-law, a skilled and experienced gardener: “It’s better to put a two dollar plant in a ten dollar hole than a ten dollar plant in a two dollar hole.” The father-in-law’s counsel would go on to become foundational to the son-in-law’s extensive thinking and writing on the subject of intentional interim pastoring. Mead would later write that:

“Anything you do requires a lot of hard preparation if it’s going to grow. It’s got to have lots of room for the roots to spread out and get sustenance. That doesn’t happen if you just stick it in the ground. An awful lot of people in churches keep buying ten dollar plants and shoving them into two dollar holes, wondering why they don’t flourish and blossom…” 1

Before we venture further into our “plants and holes” allegory, let me ask you this: When you’ve recovered from the initial shock of hearing that your pastor is moving on, what do you most want for your church’s future? If your desire is that it “flourish and blossom,” not just survive, then read on.

Types of Interim Pastoring

At one time there were only two types of interim pastoring – or, at least only two types had been identified and labeled. There was intentional interim pastoring, wherein the pastor lets it be known that he is not a candidate for the long-term pastorate of the church, and trial interim pastoring, wherein the pastor is not so sure about the church, the church is not so sure about the pastor, or both; kind of like a trial marriage. (I’ve never actually heard a term used for this so “trial” will have to do for now.)

Intentional interim pastors were usually retired or semi-retired men who did churches a great service by bringing stability, continuity in the pulpit and the gentle touch of a seasoned care-giver to congregations in transition between long-term pastors, often on a part-time basis. I call this traditional or maintenance model interim pastoring.

During the 1970’s and 80’s however, Loren Mead and other mainline denominational pastors began refining traditional or maintenance model interim pastoring into something more vigorous: transitional interim pastoring. Transitional interim pastors do all the good things described above and a whole lot more. In truth, I strongly suspect that many interim pastors were instinctively seeking to engage churches in some of the tasks described below, but had never put a name on it. In any case, Loren Mead did “put a name on it” when he identified five developmental tasks the interim pastor seeks to take the interim congregation through. (The tasks are not to be confused with the stages that the congregation will invariably pass through on its journey from one long-term pastorate to the next.) In this model, “success” is when a healthy percentage of the congregation embraces the challenge set before them and participates in working through the tasks, in such a way as to result in a congregation which is ready to experience vibrant health under the leadership of its new, long-term pastor. Here are the tasks and a very brief description of each:

• Coming to terms with our history – The church uses a “journey wall” or other means to face its own history. Does it have a pattern of short pastorates? Are multiple pastors fired or asked to leave? Did several pastors leave in disgust or despair?

• Re-discovering our true identity – How old are we? What kind of church are we? What are our strengths and weaknesses?

• Allowing for leadership changes – The interim pastor can help the church to allow some leaders to step back and new ones to “step up” with as little trauma as possible.

• Re-thinking our denominational affiliation – Would we have been better off if we had gotten more help from our denomination as the former pastor’s ministry was drawing to a close? Are we taking advantage of the help that we could be receiving from our denominational leaders?

• Re-committing ourselves to future ministry – Towards the end of the interim pastorate the interim pastor challenges the church members to get wholeheartedly, “on the bus,” to commit themselves to being part of a “ministry dream team” that is ready to welcome the new long-term pastor and the good future that God has for the church.

On the far end of an intentional interim pastoring continuum (which would have traditional interim pastoring at one end and transitional interim pastoring in the middle) there exists a third development which I call transformational interim pastoring.

The difference between transitional and transformational interim pastoring is one of degree; it is a quantitative rather than a qualitative difference. The transformational interim pastor takes churches through the same five tasks mentioned above but the process is more thorough-going, more intense and results in a more fully renewed congregation. Transformational interim pastors boldly challenge Christians to present themselves and their churches to God, to put, as it were, their church on the operating room table and invite God to be the surgeon. Because the process is more thorough than in the transitional interim, those who specialize in transformational ministries sometimes lengthen the five tasks to seven (Titus Ministries) or even nine (yours truly). If a transitional interim redevelopment process takes about a year, a transformational version of the process takes about two years - unless the interim pastor and the congregation are prepared to work themselves nearly to death (which I've done but don't recommend).

While not every church in transition between long-term pastors needs a transformational interim pastorate, many, if not most, are candidates for and greatly helped by at least going through a transitional interim process. Obviously, the willingness of the congregation to experience a great deal of change in a short time is vital if there’s any hope for a true redevelopment process to succeed. I always wish that I could get more people in churches which need interim pastors to talk to more people in churches which have had interim pastors. While many folks in churches in need of interims are skeptical or confused about the concept, most Christians in churches which have been through it understand the process and are enthusiastic about how God used it to change their churches, and in many cases, themselves.

Let’s think about it:

Are you a pastor whom God might be leading into the adventure of interim pastoring? If so, what “level” of intentional interim pastoring do you think God has equipped you to do? (David Miles'wonderful three-ring binder resource – “ReTURN: Restoring Churches To The Heart Of God” - includes an inventory to help you answer this. See our Resource page.)

Are you a church member with a church that needs a transitional or transformational interim process? Are you willing to “put your church on God’s operating room table? Are you skeptical or confused but willing to talk to someone in a church who has been through a redevelopment process?

Are you a pastor who needs to move on so someone else can take your church through a renewal process? (Sometimes the strongest leadership move we can make in our congregation is to move on!)

Resources For Redevelopment or Strategic Interim Pastors

Note: You may need to read my article on “Types of Interim Pastors” to understand the terminology I use below. BAT

"Who Stole My Church" by Gordon MacDonald, Thomas Nelson Publishers. MacDonald has given us a fictional account of a pastor working issues relatated to change with a group of Christians in their 50's and over, folks who feel that a younger generation or two has stolen their church. The book should be helpful for pastors as well as frustrated older saints. I hope to get the chance to use this book with a small group or two.

Alban Institute – Find them at www.alban.org. Mainline denomination based, but a source for some great books, etc. Most will take the transitional approach.

Interim Pastor Ministries (IPM) – Is offering periodic live training events. Previously a trictly “maintenance model,” non-denominational, evangelical, interim pastoring organization, IPM is now encouraging its men to engage churches in a redevelopment process. The best (and unique) aspect of their training sessions (from what I’ve experienced) are the IPM veterans who attend and share some of their best insights. www.interimpastors.org or 1-800-501-7117 or aconrad105@mchsi.com

Interim Ministry Network – Mainline denomination-based, IMN offers printed resources, training (expensive) and a network of interim pastors to belong to. www.interimministry.org or 1-800-235-8414 or jenny@interimministry.org

“The Ten Leading Indicators of a Healthy Church” workbook and implementation guide from the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA). Inspired by the work of Christian Schwarz, the “ten indicators” are the EFCA’s adaptation of this approach to their own denominational values. The implementation guide includes an inventory which the EFCA says should be done by 31 persons. The workbook is a comprehensive manual by EFCA Church Health Director, Jim Fann, which incorporates much of the work done by church health writers over the past decades. I have done my own Bible studies based on the ten indicators numerous times and even added “a few more indicators of a healthy church.” Find the EFCA booksource, NextStep Resources, online at www.EFCA.org.

Natural Church Development (NCD) materials from Christian Schwarz, available from ChurchSmart Resources (below). Schwarz’ well known claim is that a church will grow when all seven quality characteristics are brought up to a minimal level of effectiveness. Whether or not you totally buy into Schwarz’ theory, his materials and inventories have proved invaluable for bringing some objectivity to a leader’s perception of a church’s ill-health.

Titus Ministries – A non-denominational, evangelical interim organization which takes a no-holds-barred transformational approach. The basic training (excellent) is open to all. Titus interims work a seven-step process in every church. Churches “hand themselves over” to the Titus ministry as part of the contract. The Titus interim works as a near-dictator in the church, under the authority of the Titus leadership. The Titus approach is a hard-sell for many churches and denominational leaders but the success rate for those who will embrace their approach is impressive. www.titus-ministries.org or Renewal@titus-ministries.org or 928-710-4864

Church Resource Ministries is now the source for the “Refocusing Your Church” manual by Terry Walling. This is the best resource I know of for working through the strategic planning (I call it “getting focused”) process. Find them at www.crmresources.org or 1-800-777-6658.

On the overall work of redevelopment or strategic interim pastoring, no resource that I’ve seen compares with the “ReTURN, Restoring Churches To The Heart of God” manual by David Miles. Miles seems to have a better grasp on interim pastoring than anyone I’ve heard of. Miles’ manual is on my short list of resources to invest in. Find them at www.Churchsmart.com or 1-800-253-4276 or customerservice@churchsmart.com. (ChurchSmart also offers many other interesting looking resources!)

David Miles also supplies churches with interim pastors under the umbrella of Church Resource Ministries. You will find them at crmreturn.org or restoring churches.org.

Peacemaker Ministries – I bet you’ve heard of them. Their materials on conflict and peacemaking are the best. Buy their books and go to their “Conflict Coaching” and “Mediation” training sessions. They also have a training session called “Intervening in Church Conflict” which I haven’t been able to attend. Everything they have to teach is worth learning. Find them at www.peacemaker.net.

“Leading Turnaround Churches” by Gene Wood. Wood considers himself to be a “turnaround pastor” who takes about a decade to transform churches, but it’s a really helpful book for interim’s nevertheless.

Aubrey Malphurs. Malphurs has a wonderful grasp of the strategic planning process. I’ve read his “Advanced Strategic Planning” and his book on vision (packed up and I don’t remember the exact title) and have yet to read his “Values-Driven Leadership.” What I’ve read so far has been excellent. He is a Dallas Seminary professor and also has a consulting ministry you may reach at www.malphursgroup.com.

“Emotionally Healthy Churches” by Peter Scazzaro is worth the price of the volume for the story about bridge jumpers and rope holders in the chapter on “Accepting Your Limitations.”

“The Unity Factor” by Larry Osborne is a wonderful book on the power of truly united church boards. I have used this wonderful book for training and re-training church boards with great success. A natural follow-up study is “High Impact Church Boards” by Tim Addington. Addington’s book, for me, is a priceless tool; the kind I’d give my right arm for. Addington argues for streamlined, simple church structures where trust replaces the mistrust and “separation of powers” so common in older, congregational churches. He also makes a strong case for requiring that all church board members have, to some degree, the gift of leadership, so they dare to make bold decisions along with their fellow leaders.

The Center For Congregational Health is a ministry of the Southern Baptist Convention of North Carolina. They have a great web site at www.healthychurch.org. For training for interim pastoring - and I haven't attended but have been told that it's good - click on "Services," then "Interim Ministry," then on "Interim Ministry For Today's Church."

Twenty Observations About Troubled Congregations

By Peter Steinke

I have worked with troubled churches for 20 years. I never cease to learn from these experiences. The list below includes some of what I have learned about congregations in times of conflict.

1. Most people are interested in relieving their own anxiety rather than managing the crisis or planning for a clear direction. Their primary goal is anxiety reduction, not congregational renewal.

2. Under certain conditions, anxiety is neutral. As much as possible, effective leaders normalize anxiety. Considering what is happening, anxiety's presence is what we would expect. By normalizing, people will not automatically think anxiety exists because the community is flawed.

3. If anxiety is high, people lose their capacity to be self-reflective. They look outward, not at themselves. Self-awareness is dim, and the ability to identify with the life processes of others is impaired.

4. Peace is often preferred over justice. Congregational members can resist or be hesitant about taking stands, making decisions, or charting a course of action that would offend or upset the community. By placing a premium on togetherness, they play into the hands of the most dependent people who can threaten to incite disharmony as a way to receive what they want. When such superficial harmony--so-called "peace"--must prevail, then the pursuit of justice often is sacrificed and others who are involved become excused from responsibility.

5. If an individual becomes the lightning rod for people's anxiety and cannot extricate him- or herself from that position through self-differentiation (or the environment is so perverse that no one can escape from that position), trying to maintain his or her position or presence in the emotional system is unproductive as well as painful.

6. All disease processes are enabled. Viruses need host cells. Not all people designated by anxious systems as the patient are sick. The illness is in the interactive system, to which the following observations attest:
"All neuroses have accomplices" (Carl Jung). Anxiety not resolved in one relationship will be acted out in another relationship.

"Unless the leader has a degree of self-knowledge and self-understanding, there is the risk that he or she may use the organization to address his or her own neuroses" (Peter Senge et al.).8
7. The way we use information is an emotional phenomenon; what we hear and don't hear, what we remember, how we gather and exclude data are all connected to emotional processes. We gravitate toward information that coincides with our viewpoints and that promises to contribute to our survival.

8. The healing process for midrange to severely anxious congregations takes two to five years.

9. Losses (membership, offerings, attendance) will result no matter what choices are made. Most congregations regain their losses within two years.

10. Secrets--that is, hidden agendas and invisible loyalties--in most cases need to be brought to light. What about sin and evil? Expect it; expose it. To expose the demonic, name it (recall the story of Jesus and the demoniac in Mark 5).

11. Reactivity can issue from people who are leaders, erudite, talented, wealthy, well-educated, pious, charming, or normally calm folks. None of the above characteristics indicate that these individuals are mature emotionally.

12. Issues must be clearly identified and individuals must be challenged to act. No anxious congregation can handle more than three to five issues at a time. The issues must be condensed.

13. The sabotage of a process to deal with conflict should be expected. The usual saboteurs will be those who are losing control or not getting what they want from the process.

14. Murray Bowen claimed that all dyads are unstable. Therefore the basic molecule of all relationship systems is a triangle (the use of a third party to reduce tension between a twosome). A Swahili proverb reads: "When the elephants fight, it's the grass that gets crushed." Triangle formation is natural. Triangulation is another matter. It happens when the third party allows the original dyad to escape responsibility for its actions by assuming their anxiety and taking responsibility for them. Whenever a congregation brings in a third party, such as an intervention team, there is a triangle. Triangulation would occur if the team became anxious and felt responsible for the conflict's outcome.

15. Five styles of managing conflict have become commonplace: accommodating, problem solving, compromising, avoiding, and fighting. They are useful for recognizing general patterns of behavior under pressure. But they are not helpful when used as predictors—"Oh, Susan never takes a stand. She'll compromise on anything." People like Susan do not function in the same way in every context. At home Susan may compromise but at work she's quite a problem solver. Even in the same conflict, people may shift from one style to another. One may begin as a fighter, only with time to become an accommodator. Further, not all avoiders or problem solvers are equal. There's a range to their functioning. People's functioning is not determined by a style but by the context.

16. Recent research challenges the prevailing assumptions about conflict behavior being mutually exclusive. For example, direct fighting and problem solving are more effective in combination than they are in isolation. The continuous repetition of fighting, then problem solving, and then fighting is effective.

17. How the conflict is framed affects the behavior of those involved. When the conflict is conceptualized as cost or benefit, the participants' behavior changes. People become more involved if they anticipate losses as a result of the conflict than if they anticipate gains. Losses arouse greater emotional force. Researchers found that a prospect of loss led to less yielding behavior. Even when the opponent is about to suffer a loss, there is more cooperation from the other side than if the opponent enjoyed a profit.9

18. No emotional system will change unless the members of the system change how they interact with one another. Patterns of behavior tend toward rigidity. Conflict may be necessary to jolt and jar the shape of things in order to reshape the pattern. But the degree to which that change is positive or negative depends on the leadership present to respond to it.

19. The parties involved in a rift are in a poor position to settle the dispute if anxiety is high and rampant. Being too closely and emotionally involved in a circumstance, they will find it difficult to provide a fair overview.

20. Final or perfect solutions are not available. Conflict leaves things messy. The best solutions to insolvable problems are the approximate solutions--ones that prepare a system for new learning and a new beginning.

"Twenty Observations about Troubled Congregations" by Peter Steinke is reprinted from Alban Weekly (No. 124, 2006-12-04) with permission from the Alban Institute. Adapted from Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times by Peter Steinke (http://www.alban.org/bookdetails.aspx?id=2830). Copyright 2006 by The Alban Institute, Inc., Herndon, VA. All rights reserved.

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Sample Interim Pastor Contract

Interim Pastor Parameters And Contract For Brian Thorstad And (name of church)

1. It is understood that Pastor Thorstad will not, under any circumstances, be a candidate for the position of long-term pastor of the church. This is because the ability of the intentional interim pastor to fulfill his unique type of ministry is dependant upon the understanding, on both sides, of the short-term nature of his stay.

2. Pastor Thorstad’s term with the church will be for at least one year from the date of the beginning of his ministry with the church and may be extended on a month-by-month basis at the discretion of both the church and Pastor Thorstad. In most cases, intentional interim pastors remain with the church until a long-term pastor is called. (Pastor Brian’s first three interims have been 13, 15 and – approximately - 25 months in length.) If the church elects to end Brian’s ministry with the church before the end of the one year period, he shall be given 30 days severance pay. Should Brian choose to end his ministry before the end of the six month period, he shall give the church 30 days notice of his departure.

3. Pastor Thorstad will give himself to the work of taking the church through its interim time and will not hold any outside employment while he is with the church. He will work at least forty hours per week. He may engage in writing projects, district leadership ministries or the coaching or training of interim pastors “on his own time.”

4. Pastor Thorstad will dialogue with the church’s leadership team regarding the existing senior or solo pastor’s written ministry description, if the church has one. He will labor in prayer, give pastoral care, preach, teach and manage ministries as necessary. His leadership efforts will be focused on the nine developmental tasks which a church needs to go through during the interim time and the training of leaders to equip the church for its future. He will seek to be very proactive and intentional in his work. The specific goals of his interim ministry – which can vary greatly from church to church - will be worked out with the church’s leadership team after several weeks of information gathering.

5. Pastor Brian will receive the salary and benefits (or an equivalent amount of compensation) which were received by the previous long-term pastor.

6. The Thorstad’s moving expenses to your area will be paid by the church. This will usually include truck rental (not a moving service) gas, meals and motel stays. The Thorstads try to keep these expenses as low as possible.

7. Depending on the day of the week on which the Thorstads arrive in your community, Brian may ask to be allowed to devote himself to “settling in” during his first week in your community.

8. Donna Thorstad will not be considered an employee of the church, but will be allowed to use her gifts as God leads her.

9. Pastor Thorstad requests one month of paid vacation per one year of service, to be pro-rated accordingly if his ministry with the church is longer or shorter than one year. (Six months of ministry would equate to two weeks of paid vacation; eighteen months of ministry would equate to six weeks of paid vacation.) Because of the intensive nature of interventionist interim ministry, he may elect to take one or two weeks after the first six months with your church. He may take some or all of his vacation time at the end of his term with the church, so the Thorstad’s can get moved to and mentally rested for their next ministry.

10. In most cases, Pastor Thorstad will take Fridays off and requests that the church honor this need, as much as possible, emergencies excepted. In most cases, Brian will use Monday as his “serious study day” and will not interrupt his sermon preparation on these days to return phone calls, etc. As he will normally work for the church six days per week, he may request some days off if out-of-town guests are with the Thorstad’s.

11. It is understood that the liability insurance policy held by the church currently will apply to Pastor Thorstad’s ministry with the church.

12. Pastor Thorstad will offer as much help as is wanted by the church’s Pastoral Search Committee. (He usually serves in a “coaching” capacity.) He will not be present when a candidate for the long-term pastorate preaches at the church or is voted on.

13. Pastor Thorstad will be allowed and expected to attend Evangelical Free Church functions such as local “cluster group” or “healthy church network” meetings of pastors. He also asks that he be allowed to travel for bi-monthly or quarterly meetings with the District Superintendent and that he and Donna be allowed to attend annual or semi-annual District Conferences. He will use expense account funds for these functions if possible.

14. He also asks to be reimbursed for mileage at the current IRS rate for extended trips needed for the church, such as hospital visitation outside the local area.

We have read, understood and agree to these parameters on this day of

______, 200_

Signed: (Church board/leadership team members)

Long Pastorates: An Alternative View

By Rev. John Herman, Executive Director, Evangelical Free Church of America Pastoral Care Ministries

This article originally appeared in EFCA TODAY magazine, Summer, 2004, Volume 78, Issue 2. I think brother Herman has something very important to say here about an extremely relevant topic for church health: pastoral tenure. BAT

The long pastorate is usually viewed as the ideal for which both church and pastor ought to strive, “If you plant your own, you ought to plan to stay for life.” Pastors are admonished to accept a call and bring with it a commitment to grow along with the church.

But I’d like to propose an alternate view. My proposal should be thought of as a viable option, freeing some pastors to take a different and better approach to the transitions they are called to make in the course of a lifetime of ministry. This approach will help some churches move smoothly through the well-documented stages of growth. (See, for instance, One Size Doesn’t Fit All, by Gary McIntosh, Fleming H. Revell, 1999.)

I propose that the ideal is not the long pastorate, but the right-length pastorate. The right length for a pastorate is the length of time it takes to faithfully complete a set of well-defined (yet flexible) objectives that correspond with the purpose for which the church called the pastor.

Does the church desire to respond to changes in the community? Does it need to strengthen certain ministries? Is the pastor’s main role to guide the church through growth? The pastor may be called to heal a church that feels wounded. Or to “wound” a church that has become self-serving.

A right-length pastorate is the logical extension of seeking a “best fit” when calling a pastor. It calls for a workable system of regular and honest evaluations. It requires an answer to the question, “Where is the church now in its journey to becoming what God called it to be?” This approach also requires discernment from the pastor. Am I helping us continually sharpen our ministry focus? Can I serve this church well in the years ahead? This discussion can be healthy and enable positive pastoral transitions to get underway.

I acknowledge that right-length pastorates may result in shorter (not short) pastorates. They may bring with them the pain of moving when things are going well on the surface and the move appears unnecessary.

But a right-length pastorate brings with it the joy of moving to a place filled once again with opportunities for which you are uniquely well suited and specially prepared by God.

Top Ten Reasons For Calling An Interim Pastor

10. He helps keep the giving up. His steady presence sends the message that things are “okay” and his full-time status keeps the need for giving up! “Saving money” during the interim time can often result in diminished giving by the time the new pastor is called.

9. He helps keep the attendance up. When a church is without a Pastor or Interim Pastor, attendance, especially that of folks “on the fringes” often drops off.

8. He gives assurance to church members that somebody is “guiding the ship.” As he has not been involved in whatever emotional upheaval has been going on, he provides a welcome, “steady hand.”

7. He gives church lay leaders and staff members the chance to continue with their own important ministries instead of having to give themselves to the duties of the Interim or Sr. Pastor.

6. He gives the church the time to “take their time and do it right” (the Mr. Rogers Method) in looking for a new pastor. Trying to “replace” a departed pastor as quickly as possible is often regretted.

5. Most unresolved issues get addressed before the new, long-term pastor arrives.

4. The Interim Pastor is a specialist who will do everything possible to help as many people as possible participate in the interim tasks.

3. The Interim Pastor gives continuity where it is perhaps most needed: in the pulpit. He gets to know the church, it’s situation and it’s needs in a way that a series of guest speakers cannot.

2. The Interim Pastor focuses on the tasks at hand (the interim tasks) so that the new, long-term Pastor, when he arrives, can focus on long-term growth strategies. New long-term Pastors often don’t understand why churches are not ready to “charge ahead” with new plans and proposals!

1. The Interim Pastor has great freedom as an outsider/insider to be totally frank (in love and humility, of course!).