When a church finds itself
without a pastor—whether because of resignation, firing, or death—it is a
crucial time. It could be a time when a church comes apart, or it could be that
the congregation comes together. If the church is independent, or affiliated
with a denomination in which each congregation is responsible to find a new
pastor, suddenly being without a leader is very scary for the leadership board
of the church, the staff, and the members. Too many times when churches call a
new pastor, particularly after long tenured pastor, the next pastor becomes
what could be called an unintentional interim pastor and only stays an often
difficult year or two. This is because the church didn’t take the time to heal
any wounds and prepare for a new direction under a new leader. A good interim
pastor can do a lot to help a congregation navigate this unsettled, often
stormy time. Here are seven ways an interim pastor can help.
1. The Interim Pastor becomes a consistent face and
voice in the pulpit.
People want to know what to
expect when they come to worship on Sunday morning. If the pulpit is filled week
to week by a variety of speakers that may, or may not be available in its area,
the church may find the quality of the preaching to be unsteady. The interim
pastor can keep up the interest of worship attenders and speak with areas that
may help the church deal with the loss of the former pastor. There may well be
hurt, conflict, and confusion in the church, and the interim pastor will be
able to get the feel for where the church needs help and “scratch where they
itch.” Also he can preach messages and message series to help keep the church
from turning in on itself and becoming inward focused.
2. A good interim pastor can help the church deal
with the changes that are inevitable with the coming of a new pastor.
Change is often the biggest
issue when a church is without a pastor. Change or lack of change may have been
the issue that led to the former pastor’s departure. An interim pastor can help
the congregation deal with its fear of change and prepare them for the new
vision the new pastor will bring. He can talk about Jesus’ purpose for the
church: to make more disciples, and help them see that change is good if the
object of the change is to make more disciples of Christ. The interim pastor
can begin turning a fear of change into an expectation for a new and greater
day.
3. An interim can help members deal with the loss of
the last pastor.
The consistent presence of
an interim pastor can help the people know someone is at the helm of the
church. On a more personal level, an interim pastor can help people work
through their personal issues, and/or grief as they miss the former pastor. In
addition, it’s reassuring for the people to know that someone is on hand if they
need help in a family tragedy or a personal trauma. Furthermore, if there are
tensions that have been caused by the circumstances that brought about the
departure of the former pastor, the interim pastor can work on peacemaking and
reconciliation within the church.
4.The interim pastor can be a great resource for the
Search Team and Board.
Hopefully, it has been a
while since the congregation has had to look for a new pastor. If the church is
independent has congregational polity, the Search Team may well need help getting
started. They will need someone in the denomination to contact to get their
position posted and find out which pastors are looking for a position. Also he
can help them find other pastoral placement organizations that could be
helpful. When the team gets together, the interim pastor can help the Search
Team focus on what kind of person the church needs to be the next pastor to
lead the church into a new life cycle. He can help them answer questions like: What kind of a surveys should we do to find
out the thinking of the congregation? Do we need a consultation team to help us
evaluate where we are as a church, and if so, how do we find a good consultant
firm?
5. He can give leadership to the staff and resource
them in a time of uncertainty.
Having an interim pastor
sitting in the lead pastor’s chair can enable the staff to continue to work
together on accomplishing the Great Commission and the Great Commandments in
the church and community.
Many churches require the
rest of the staff to offer their resignations when the lead pastor leaves so
that the new pastor can build his own team. Often the new pastor will retain at
least part of the staff, but for this, and a multitude of other reasons, time
between pastors is very unsettling for the staff. An interim pastor can be a
sounding board when the staff gets nervous. He will be able to dampen the
effects of the natural upheaval that comes when leadership changes, and he may
be able to help them start their searches for new positions.
6. An interim can analyze the church’s structure and
help them adopt a new structure if needed.
In churches with
congregational polity, sometimes the structure of the church is problematic.
Perhaps the bylaws need to be updated, or even totally rewritten so that new
leadership can make sense of them. It would be tragic if a good pastoral
candidate didn’t consider the church because he/she was put off by antiquated
bylaws that he had no idea how to use.
In churches that have a
prescribed structure the interim could make sure the membership and attendance
statistics are up to date and that the structure the church is using is the
appropriate one for the size it is now.
7. An interim can get the church ready for the coming
of a new pastor.
If the church has had the
same pastor for many years, and especially if the church has grown during that
time, some of the members will have a hard time imagining another pastor in the
pulpit. The presence of an interim pastor helps the church get used to another
person filling the role. Members can become able to picture someone, with a
different style, and a different approach, leading their church. The interim
pastor can talk about great days ahead for the church and help them look
forward to a new vision and a new life-cycle with excitement instead of dread.
Churches need to resist the temptation to try to save
the money they would’ve paid a pastor during the time they don’t have one. The months between pastors become very important as
the church turns the page and closes the chapter of its history that was
written by the old leader and prepares itself to begin writing a new chapter
under new leadership. A good interim pastor can help the congregation do that
and is well worth a salary.
Effective interim pastors should be people called to
that ministry and not people marking
time until retirement, or retirees “just keeping their hand in”, or people who
have repeatedly failed as pastors. Interim pastors may work part time, or full
time depending on the needs and size of the church. It should be very, very
rare for an interim pastor to become the next pastor of the church. If he wants
to be the permanent pastor, he should apply for that job, and not accept the
interim position. The interim needs to be a free agent, able to do what is best
to prepare the church for its next chapter.
The most important thing when
a church loses a pastor for whatever reason is to prepare for the future God
has in mind. Whenever a church finds itself in that position it should
seriously consider finding an interim to help them.