How We Can Do Better With The Coming And Going Of Pastors

I mentioned last week (Six Reasons Why We Struggle With The Coming And Going Of Pastors) that:

After twenty centuries of struggling with the coming and going of our pastoral leaders, we’re still not very good at pastoral transitions.

The grieving which pastors and church members experience when a beloved pastor moves on is only a small – but significant – part of the problem. When one pastor – and his family – leaves the congregation and another arrives, we also, all-too-frequently, experience division, strife, fear, conflict and confusion.  

Why?  Last week I mentioned:

(1) The problem of our immaturity – which the Apostle Paul rebukes in I Corinthians chapters 1-4. Our spiritual childishness is seen in our jealousy and open conflict (I Cor. 1:10-17 & 3:1-4).

(2) The problem of our self-esteem. We tie our identity to that of our pastors.  Paul refers to this in I Corinthians 3:21 (“boasting about men”) and 4:7 (taking pride in “one man over against another”).

(3) The temptation to judge the work and worth of our pastors. Paul says, “Only God knows how much a pastor is actually accomplishing” (I Cor. 4:1-7).

Added to what I wrote last week, we also get confused by the greatly varied assignments that God has for pastors.  Sometimes we pastors have the privilege of walking into a unified church in a growing area.  At other times we must come to town as the peacemaker, or the shepherd who nurtures a church through a huge downturn in the community. In some of my interim pastorates, I had to address serious dysfunctions instead of preaching the way I wanted to. It’s no fun being the bad cop, but sometimes that role is the God-ordained assignment.

(4) The factor of our personal preferences and interests. We all know what WE want in a pastor. Obviously, it’s what the church needs and what God wants that matters.

(5) The mixed blessing of God building unique ministries through unique ministers. God builds great counseling ministries, powerful recovery ministries, etc. through pastors with gifts and passions in these areas.  When the pastor leaves, the ministries he started or inspired frequently disappear with him and some people are bitterly disappointed.

(6) The hard, simple reality of grief and loss. Nobody enjoys grief.  It doesn’t have to permanently harm us, but sometimes in the throes of it, we drop out of our churches or blame others for our pain.

The following are some suggestions for how we can do better at dealing with our pastoral transitions:

(1) We (pastors) can constantly challenge our people to move on to maturity (Hebrews 5:11-6:3). We need to boldly proclaim that jealousy, quarreling and glorying in human personalities are not acceptable behaviors for Christians.

From all I’ve heard and seen, the one Christian practice which will do more to bring our people to real maturity than any other is their personal, private, meditative, prayerful study of the Bible. Such believers are not dependent upon pastoral “feeding;” they are self-feeders. Some Christians grow up; others just grow old. Let’s strive to have churches in which, at least a core group of the members, truly grow up.

(2) We can set realistic expectations for pastoral transitions. Tell the truth. If you’re a pastor, don’t ever call yourself a “permanent pastor.” The only permanent pastor is Jesus; the rest of us are interim pastors.

(3) We can reject Roman Catholic priesthood expectations and notions. There. I said it.  Here in Wisconsin, where the influence of the Roman Catholic Church is great, expectations for pastors are commonly those of the priesthood.  The pastor’s presence is “magic.”  His prayers are better than anyone else’s.  The dinner can’t begin until the reverend prays.

Evangelicals know that these ideas are grossly unbiblical.  So why do we often act as if they’re not?  God ordained that churches should be led by teams of mature individuals who share the responsibilities of leadership, teaching, guardianship, personal care and management (Acts 20:28-32; I Peter 5:1-4).  I don’t care what terminology you use: does your church have a leadership team or one Superpastor?  If you have one Superpastor, of course your church is going to panic when he is re-deployed by God to another Metropolis.

(4) We can have good, open discussions at the leadership level about the upcoming pastoral transition (and there is always an “upcoming pastoral transition”). Coming up with a perfect transition plan isn’t the point; God’s plans may be different from yours anyway.  The key is to just start talking and praying about what the future is going to bring.

(5) Prepared, educated, informed lay leaders can help their brothers and sisters immensely when the pastoral transition actually happens. If board and staff members are panicking, the church’s rank and file will likely be

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:

1. How mature are your people…really? What evidence do you have to support your opinions about this?  How many of your people have a Philippians chapter three passion for their own growth in Christlikeness?
2. Does your church have a strong leadership team which shares the responsibilities listed in Acts 20:28-32 and I Peter 5:1- 4?
3. Do your people understand that your church is supposed to be “pastored” by a team of individuals, as in the above passages?
4. Have you, as leaders, discussed and prayed about the upcoming, inevitable pastoral transition?
5. Pastor: What have you done to prepare the church for your eventual relocation?