The church classroom in which the afternoon workshop session was being held was filled to capacity and beyond: the front row seats were unexpectedly taken and the back wall was lined with conference attendees who were willing to stand for fifty minutes to get in on this session. Many in the room had […]
Is There Hope For The Congregational Church?
My impression is that increasing numbers of pastors of evangelical churches today (2011) have “just about had it” with congregationalism, that form of church government which invests every member with the right to speak up, vote and get involved in decision-making processes. Pastors – not just those who lack patience, but those who want their […]
“Playing Twenty Questions”
Elsewhere on this site (“Gaining Restoration Authority) I’ve written about the value of conducting listening sessions at the beginning of a change-oriented interim pastorate. We have found this to be so valuable that we (Donna and I) would do this in any new pastorate that we would undertake, interim or long-term, no matter what the […]
“In Defense Of Playing Defense”
Okay, I might as well admit it. I’m the guy (or one of the guys) who’s always talking about playing offense, not defense, in the ministry of the church. “I love playing offense,” some of you have heard me say, “I don’t like playing defense, and I hate punting.” I’m not really talking about football, […]
Heaven Help Our Church!
My guess is that some of you reading these words today feel just like the title; you have been crying out to God to come down and rescue a church which you dearly love. I would like to be the instrument of God today to give you some hope for the healing of your church. […]
“Enjoying The Ride”
(Or, “How you can survive the pastoral transition at your church”) Psychologists today tell us that stress is an inside job, more of a function of the individual human personality than an inevitable reaction to circumstances. You could almost say that we make our own stress. Two people are strapped into the same roller coaster. […]
Interim Pastor-Proof Your Church
Leaving your church is probably okay; leaving a mess behind for an interim pastor or somebody else to try to clean up is not okay. While I love what I do, I don’t want to have to come to your church.
When Good People Do Bad Things, Part Three
(Note: This is the third of three articles on the subject of “When Good People Do Bad Things.”) A wise individual once said that “Renewing your church is like remodeling your house…” If you’ve ever remodeled or attempted to remodel a house you can guess what’s coming… “Renewing your church is like remodeling your house: it will […]
“When Good People Do Bad Things, Part Two”
Note: Elsewhere on this website is an article called, “When Good People Do Bad Things.” The following is part two (to be followed by a part three). I was in the sixth grade and it was my eleventh birthday, November 22, 1963. As we were ending our physical education class, the next roomful […]
When Good People Do Bad Things
Over the past few years, several television networks have broadcast reality shows with names like, “When good pets go bad,” “When animals attack,” or “When nice dogs bite.” The common denominator in these shows is the perplexing problem of seeing normally docile, loveable animals turn mean and ugly. In my work as a redevelopment […]
Joy In The Journey
(Unexpected fringe benefits for the interim pastor or “Guys, have your wife read this!”) “Ohhhhh yukkkkk! That sounds awful! That’s the last thing I’d want to do! Oh man, you can have that ministry!” Those words were the actual reaction of a fellow pastor upon hearing the basics of my strategic interim pastor ministry […]
Working Yourself Out Of A Job
(How interim pastors can help their church’s pastoral search committees) Of the many projects I’ve undertaken as an interim pastor in several churches, helping these church’s long-term pastor search committees has been among the most satisfying. The help I have given has been greatly appreciated, the task of leading these groups has been comparatively […]
Do We Have To Have These Business Meetings?
Many pastors enjoy church business meetings as much as root canals. A trip to a proctologist or a funeral for a thither is a more welcome event on the calendar. “Do we have to have these business meetings?” they groan to no one in particular. Far too often these necessary-but-evil events turn out too long, too boring […]
Traditions or Trends: Which Should We Follow?
Most of the readers of this blog know about the dangers of traditionalism. Yale University professor Jaraslov Jan Pelikan has been credited with saying that “Tradition is the living faith of those now departed. Traditionalism is the dead faith of those now living” [emphasis mine]. A “dead faith,” I’m sure Pelikan meant, because the traditionalist […]
Metaphorically Speaking…
The new paradigms in interim pastoring can be hard for people to understand. The “new wave” interim pastor isn’t an intern, a fill in, a substitute or something less than a “real” pastor; I’m thinking of the visitor who heard me a couple of Sundays and then told me that I was good enough to […]
The Surgical Model Compared To Ten Developmental Tasks Of The Interim Congregation
The surgical model involves three stages and as many as ten redevelopment tasks: 1. There's a DIAGNOSIS STAGE that takes about 2-6 months. The interim pastor will major on getting to know people and getting to know the congregation. During this time the church may need to get real regarding its history. Some churches […]
Determining The Level Of Intentionality Needed In An Interim Pastor
Brian's note: Dr. Ken Moberg designed this grid to help church leaders determine the type of interim pastor their church needs. A "high level of intentionality" is another way of saying, a transitional or transformational (or interventionist) interim pastor, as opposed to a traditional or "maintenance model" interim pastor (or none at all).
When Church Members Leave
For many of us, the very mention of the subject of church members leaving knots up our stomachs faster than a phone call from the IRS. Painful memories flood my mind as I sit down to write – and I thought I’d gotten “good at” letting people go. Not that we really want to get […]
Gaining Restoration Authority
Where do strategic (or “restoration” or “redevelopment”) interim pastors get the authority to change so much so fast in the churches they lead? A church-health expert once told me that “all an interim pastor can do is to give a church a good slap in the face.” As one who has been doing interim pastoring […]
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 […]
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 […]
