Pastoral Succession: “Nailing” The Handoff

Good handoffs can be hugely important. Witness the muffed handoffs that happen on the football field every week. Then there’s the infamous story of the 4X100 meter men’s relay at the 2008 Olympic games, when the American team – expected to win the event handily – literally dropped the baton on a handoff.

In the church we experience senior or solo pastor handoffs about every eight years, on average. Some of them are handled seamlessly. The church is propelled forward in the process. A pastor who has run his God-given leg of the race has safely handed the baton (or think in terms of a shepherd’s staff, if you prefer) over to the next guy: a gifted, God-prepared, fresh, energized, providentially-chosen successor.

This is the way it’s supposed to happen.  God wants us to “nail” our handoffs. Check out the following: John 3:27-30, I Corinthians 3:1-17, II Timothy 4:1-8.

But for a number of reasons, this isn’t how it usually works. “Muffing” the handoff seems to be the norm, especially in smaller churches with family-like cultures where the pastor is seen by many as the father figure. The departure of the pastor – if it’s his idea – is seen as abandonment of the family by an irresponsible dad.

In this kind of culture, which exists in the majority of churches, our pastoral handoffs are viewed as being so negative that the process which could make for a good handoff is often not even attempted.

No practice handoffs.  No handoff discussions. “We’ll burn that bridge when we come to it” is the attitude of both pastor and board, and the result is anything but a good experience for the church.

A good place to begin in improving our handoffs is simply to consider our options.  The following are ten of them:

1. The notes and keys approach – A few weeks after announcing his departure, the departing pastor leaves a couple of notes and some keys on his desk for the “new guy.” Any more contact than this is considered to be “cheating.” Books used to teach this years ago. A terrible approach in my opinion.

2. The turn it over to the denomination approach – In some denominations you can do this. In most you cannot.

3. The vague, eventual intention approach – The pastor tells the church he’s going to resign or retire but doesn’t tell them when. Everybody is left “in limbo.” By the time the pastor ends his ministry, the church is in shock, or half the size it was a year earlier. I’ve been on church boards twice when this occurred. It was very difficult both times.

4. The pastor is involved in the search process and stays until the new man is chosen – This can work if the pastoral search committee and board actually, seriously, want his input. If they don’t, it’s going to be ugly. “How can we get the pastor off the search committee?  He’s running it and ruining it. He thinks we want somebody just like him. We don’t.”

5. The pastor stays until the new man is chosen but stays out of the process – This can work quite well, though he may feel like a “lame duck” and not be able to do much good for the church during his final months (or years). During this time, If he doesn’t serve his church like a good interim pastor, preparing the congregation for the future, the church will languish. I’ve written about what he can and probably cannot do during this time here.

6. The find and train your own successor approach – This can be wonderful if God gives your church the right man for the job and an outgoing pastor who would love to train him. (Some 40 year old quarterbacks want to train their successors, and some don’t.) This approach is much more common in larger churches which can afford to pay the future pastor a full-time salary while he is in training.

7. A variation on #6: The senior pastor and associate pastor literally swap roles – These situations are rare, but they can actually work. The success of this is dependent upon the senior pastor who is becoming the associate pastor.  He must show great grace!

8. Another variation on #6: The senior pastor stays on the staff in a role other than that of associate pastor, such as a care-giving or counseling pastor. There are dangers involved in this, but it can work with the help of God’s extraordinary grace.  Obviously, the newly chosen senior pastor has to seriously want the former pastor to stick around.  

9. Unorthodox approaches we are considering because of the pastor shortage we are experiencing:

• We can learn how to function more effectively with bi-vocational and co-vocational pastors. In some locations, this is the best we can do.
• Some churches function well with two part-time, co-vocational pastors. Again, this takes unusual grace, but it can work.
• Mature, gifted and godly laymen, who have served in their churches in various capacities for years, can be trained for pastoral leadership by their own pastors, along with taking courses online from colleges, seminaries or parachurch ministries. This is a wonderful movement underway in our day.
• Some churches are able to lure a rested pastor out of retirement. These men are some of the best pastors anywhere.
• Some churches are able to share a pastor with another church. An old solution we may have to consider again.
• We can be more open to cross-denominational pastorates. Again: a solution that takes a lot of grace; these were more common in the 19^th
• We can be more open to pastors who aren’t exactly what we have in mind. Some churches go “pastor-less” for decades because they’re looking for perfection.
• Two tired pastors can share a pastorate instead of retiring completely. I haven’t seen this, but it certainly could be done.
• A church can consider a merger, a fostering relationship or an adoption by a larger church. Sometimes one of these can be the best solution.

10. The interim pastor approach – An interim pastor is a great solution for many churches, especially smaller congregations which cannot afford to have two pastors on staff.

In the past, almost all interim pastors preached sermons and gave pastoral care without providing leadership for the church.  In my view, such interim pastorates are tenable only in rare circumstances – like the church which has selected its next pastor but must wait a few weeks or months for him to become available.

Much more useful is the trained and skilled, strategic or intentional or redevelopment interim pastor who carefully guides the church – like a harbor pilot – through the dangerous waters of a pastoral transition.  During his one to three years with the church he assesses the situation, works with the board to sharpen the church’s strengths and correct its weaknesses.  He coaches the search committee and prepares the church for a great future with a new, God-given long-term pastor. This type of interim pastorate can be hugely beneficial for the smaller church which needs a loving, leading, shepherd to prepare the way for a longer-term shepherd.

I’ve written about interim pastorates extensively in my book: “REDEVELOPMENT: Transitional Pastorates That Transform Churches” and in the Interim Pastoring Category of my blog.  Find it at https://helpingchurchesthrive.com/category/interim-pastoring/

 Bottom line: Even in small churches we don’t have to dread pastoral transitions.  They are natural, normal and to be expected, like handing the baton to the next runner or turning the business over to one’s adult children.  By the grace of God we can “nail” our handoffs.