Pastoral Transitions Archives - Helping Churches Thrive

Long Pastorates: An Alternative View

By Rev. John Herman, Former 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…

QUICK GUIDE – Succession Planning For Pastors

Condensed from “Succession Planning”, NL Moore & Associates Planned or unplanned, every church will go through a pastoral succession. In the next 10 years, more than half of all churches in America will go through a pastoral succession. There are not enough students in seminaries today to fill the empty pulpits that already exist…

Three Benefits of Getting a Fresh Start

Not so long ago, the ideal among evangelical pastors was the “lifetime pastorate” of 20, 30 or 40 years. Our models were a few famous pastors. “Since their ministries were long and successful,” we reasoned, “if I have a long ministry it will also be successful.” That was a poor deduction. Those long ministries were…

QUICK GUIDE – Pastoral Resignations (13 Ways To Leave With Grace)

Don’t go away mad. Seek a trusted advisor and work through your anger issues. Resign because God is leading you to resign, not because your emotions are leading you to resign (Ephesians 4:25-31). If God is leading you to resign, don’t equivocate or expect to be talked into staying. Make it clear and firm…

Six Things Struggling Pastors Don’t Need

Here’s what I mean by a “struggling pastor.” I’m talking about a pastor who, by his own admission, is neither happy nor effective. He’s not having fun. He’s bailing water and not keeping up. ‘Get the picture? Here’s what he doesn’t need: A new church I need to be careful here. Maybe he doesneed a new…

Senior-itis And Senior Pastor-itis

I think we all know what senior-itis is: the arrogance/impatience/excitement of the high school senior who feels like she’s: (a) an adult, trapped in a child’s existence (b) so much smarter than her parents (c) a college student on the inside who is suffering terribly by having to attend high school and live with her…

God Doesn’t Offer Stock Options

Many corporations offer stock options to their employees. It works out pretty well for everyone. Employees get a piece of the company. Employers get increased dedication from their employees. Sadly, many Christian workers make the mistake of assuming that they are earning shares in the ministries they work for through their hard work and dedication….

Three Challenges To The Traditional Search Committee

Congregational churches have traditionally replaced their pastors with the help of “search” or “pulpit” committees, made up of a combination of board members and non-board representatives of the congregation. The non-board members of the group are, in some churches, chosen by the church’s leaders, but are more typically elected by the congregation. In the worst…

Four Perils Of The Internal Candidate

The senior pastor has just resigned. Before anyone can say “search committee,” the board chairman lets it be known that his nephew, a missionary in Botswana, would make a great candidate. The missionary is a favorite son candidate and there are dangers involved in how he is handled. Much more dangerous, however, is the situation…

More Perils of the Internal Candidate

In a previous post, Four perils of the internal candidate, I wrote about the difficulties which accompany the church staff member making himself a candidate for the position opened up by the departure of the senior pastor. In too many cases, good churches stumble into these situations without any knowledge of the perils. Here are…

Not Your Father’s Interim Pastor

It wasn’t so long ago that almost all interim pastors were of the traditional variety. They preached sermons, gave pastoral care and basically just kept things afloat until the congregation could call a “real pastor.” Things have changed. Today’s interim pastors, who sometimes prefer to be called transitional pastors, are doing interim ministry in some…

The Parable Of The Headhunter

Note: I first wrote this parable to help pastor search committees to move in the direction of realistic expectations for pastors. Even if your church is not searching for a new pastor, this little story may help you to understand and bear with the pastor you already have. The senior pastor search committee of First…

“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….

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…

To Get The Best Pastor Possible

Looking for a new solo or senior pastor for your church can be a stressful, fearful, experience. We know that we should just “trust God” of course, but we also know, all-too-well, how important this process can be. The right pastor can greatly bless your church. The wrong pastor can all but destroy your church….

To Get The Best Pastor Possible, Part Two

Periods of transition between senior or solo pastors are crucial for churches. This seems to be the case in all sizes of churches and in almost all denominational “tribes.” We wish it wasn’t so, but most of us know that the calling/accepting of a new pastor can make or break a congregation. This being the…

“Our Pastor Just Went Away Mad”

I’m sorry to say that I have heard these very words from the leaders of more than one congregation, sometimes followed by the question: “Now what?” This should almost never happen of course. Pastors, of all people, should know how to – as the old saying has it – “just go away,” instead of going…

Why Pastors Go Away Mad

I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest – I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.” Psalm 55:7,8 Last week I wrote about the sad phenomenon of…

Brian’s “Peace Verses”

Psalm 3:5,6 “I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the LORD sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.” (NIV) Psalm 4:7,8 “You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep…

The Myth Of The Young Pastor

I’m not picking on young pastors. Not by any means. Young pastors (and their families) are wonderful. Nor am I picking on churches which like young pastors. Good for them. In fact, I want to commend every church on the planet which is aging but interested in younger pastors because they’re concerned about reaching the…

Full Disclosure Vs. No Disclosure: How Much Should We Tell?

Here’s the scenario: Your church’s youth director has just resigned. He was well-liked and seemed to be effective. Most of the church has no idea what went on behind the scenes. Only a few leaders know that there were character issues, accountability issues, communication issues, philosophy-of-ministry issues and eventually, personal issues between the senior pastor…