When a pastor leaves, whether due to retirement or to follow God’s call to another ministry position, the local church body experiences not only the loss of the pastor’s leadership but also the loss of a confidant and friend who has shared some of the members’ most personal and emotional experiences.
Anxious to replace what they have lost, church leaders and members may feel the need to call a permanent pastor right away, which can be a mistake, according to Paul Strahan, pastoral ministry specialist with LifeWay Church Resources.
“We are in a ‘do-everything-quick’ mode in our culture,” Strahan said. “But if a church will prepare during the interim period to do the work God has for them, they will be a healthier church and be able to find a better match for a pastor.”
Retired pastors bring the wisdom of their experience to the role of interim pastor, he added. And since simmering tensions within a church can come to a boil when a pastor leaves, an interim or retired pastor who has years of experience dealing with people, committees and ministry teams can help the church effectively deal with conflict.
“These men have preached for a long time, and there are not many things they haven’t seen,” Strahan said. “When they go to churches, they are able to help the church resolve the important issues.”
In Baptist life, there are two programs designed to prepare pastors for interim ministry.
Many Alabama Baptist pastors have trained for interim ministry through the Center for Congregational Health in Winston-Salem, N.C. The center provides resources for Traditional Interim Ministry, in which an interim pastor provides leadership primarily in worship, while the pastor search committee works to find a permanent pastor. The center also conducts training for Intentional Interim Ministry, which differs from the traditional interim program in several key ways, according to Dale Huff, director of the office of LeaderCare and church administration for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.
“The purpose of the intentional interim is to maximize the opportunity of the interim period,” Huff said. “The concept of the intentional interim is that the interim time is the best time for a church to analyze itself to see what needs to be done to prepare for the next pastor’s ministry.”
During the interim period, he said, an intentional interim pastor can help a church assess its mission, organization and needs, as well as the church’s expectations of a pastor. The intentional interim pastor can then help the church make any necessary changes before a permanent pastor is in place.
Another program for interim pastors is the Transitional Pastor Ministry training offered through LifeWay Christian Resources. Much like an intentional interim, a transitional pastor provides the leadership a church needs between permanent pastors, while also helping the church evaluate its ministries and the way it accomplishes its mission, Strahan said.
According to him, many who have received transitional pastor training are retired pastors who see this as a natural extension of their ministry. “For many of them, there is a burning desire to do something in connection with their calling — that is, preaching. In addition, retired pastors can still connect to a local congregation, and they get a sense of satisfaction in helping people one-on-one.”
Like other interim pastors, a transitional pastor is there to preach, but he is also an active pastor in every sense of the word.
Helping churches heal
“A transitional pastor helps the church focus on what is really important and provides time for healing in the church,” Strahan said. “The transitional pastor also allows the pastor search committee to take their time in finding the next permanent pastor.”
In addition to getting the permanent pastor off to a good start in the church, the goal of both the intentional interim ministry and the transitional pastor ministry is healthier churches and longer pastoral tenure. “The average tenure of a Baptist pastor is 42 months,” Strahan said. “However, many people have discovered that the most effective work of a pastor takes place after five years of service.”
With an estimated 300 pastor positions open in Alabama Baptist churches at any given time, the work of an interim pastor is important in the life of a church.
“Finding a pastor is like finding a spouse — it’s something we shouldn’t rush into,” Strahan said. “The transitional time is a time to prepare for a better, healthier future for the church.”
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