Time
for a Change
Our interim pastor is completing his contract with our
church, and we are bringing in a new pastor. During a recent after service
coffee hour, another old-timer and I were talking about how it’s going to be
difficult for the new pastor. His problem will be how much the interim we’re
losing is liked and appreciated. I should explain that because of church
regulations, the interim cannot remain although the entire church would like him
to do so.
Our conversation got me to thinking about leaving jobs. No
one gets to be my age without having lost a boss or two for whatever reason and
we’ve all been in organizations when there were changes in leadership. Of
course, this isn’t the first transition of ministers we’ve experienced. It seems
changes at the top always evoke emotions.
I remember the first time I experienced a change in
leadership where I was working. We knew it was coming, he’d announced his
pending retirement well in advance. In all honesty, most of us were looking
forward to his leaving. He had been head honcho for a long time and developed
his way of doing things. Many on staff chaffed under some of his ways of doing
things. Ironically, while his replacement did away with some of the things that
bothered us, it wasn’t long before many of us realized the new man wasn’t anyway
near the leader of the predecessor. We longed for what we had.
Conversely, the first change of pastor I remember, wasn’t
looked forward to by many of the congregation. It was understood why the
minister was retiring – his wife had health concerns. We all knew his
leadership, compassion and sermons were going to be missed. In that case, there
was an interim who helped with the transition by being so much less. By the time
a replacement pastor was found, many of us were ready for the change even if the
new dude didn’t match the original.
This time I’m afraid the circumstances are completely
different. The interim replaced a minister who didn’t really meet the needs of
many of the congregation. The interim not only answered those needs but also
brought leadership that has been missing from the church for many years. In
other words, he’s going to be a very tough act to follow. What will the
congregation’s reaction to the new pastor be? Time will tell.
I think the important thing for each of us to think about
is how will we be viewed when it’s time for us to move on. Will the organization
you chaired this year be looking forward to your replacement, or worry if
someone is going to be able to do as well as you have? I don’t know how my
exiting various positions of leadership was viewed by the organizations, but I’d
be honored if any of them had the concerns we have about this interim pastor
leaving.