The Interim Time

People who study the dynamics of church life point out that chapters in a church’s history often coincide with the coming and going of pastors. But that does not mean the time between pastors is unimportant. As increased attention is given to the life of the church, one of the major findings is the importance of the interim time between pastors.

No longer is the time between pastors thought of as a lull in the church program when nothing important transpires. Now people recognize that appropriate attention to the internal life of the congregation during an interim period can help ensure an effective future. In the same way, lack of attention to the internal life of the church can result in a rocky future.

Because Baptists believe and practice a congregational polity, no outside individual or group can tell a local church what it should be doing. It is the responsibility of the members of a congregation to set their church’s direction. While that may sound easy, it is not. The process of getting members with different backgrounds, different goals for the church, different needs for personal involvement, different expectations of the pastor and staff to agree on a common future for the church is slow and painstaking.

But it is necessary. Unless the congregation has a vision of what it wants to be about, a pastor may be called whose ministry gifts and goals do not fit the local setting. When this occurs, the result may be conflict, hurt and disappointment for all concerned. When the new pastor is equipped to lead the church in the directions the members have embraced, the result can be a step toward effective ministry and growth.

An interim period requires extensive lay ministry. Work usually expected of the pastor must be done by deacons and other lay leaders. Leadership must come from church members who head programs, organizations and committees of the church. Caring for the needs of the congregation must be shared by all members.

Instead of waiting for the pastor to do the work of the church, lay members must exercise the spiritual gifts that God placed in them. Baptists call this lay ministry. It has been a hallmark of Baptists since the earliest days. While Baptists believe in the leadership of a God-called pastor, Baptists also believe all Christians are equipped and called for Christian service.

The interim time is a good time to reinforce the Baptist commitment to the ministry of the laity. When the next pastor arrives, it provides him a larger, more experienced base of leadership with which to work.

The interim time also is a good time to strengthen the fellowship base of the church. In every congregation there is a difference between the fellowship circle of the church and the membership. Over time, people move to the fringes of church life, even drop out entirely. The interim time is a good time to attempt to draw members from the fringes back into the fellowship circle.

And every church has special needs. No two churches share the same history, the same personalities, the same resources, the same opportunities. Every church is different. What works in one church may not be appropriate in another. Identifying challenges unique to that congregation and ways to respond to the challenges is another opportunity of the interim period.

To wait for the new pastor to identify problems and correct them means the pastor will spend his opening months dealing with negatives, which is not a good way to begin a ministry.

The challenges of the interim period mean churches need an effective interim pastor. His role is far more than preaching. It is leading the church in charting its future direction so a pastor can be called whose gifts coincide with the opportunities and needs of the situation. It is helping the church develop lay leadership. It is helping expand the fellowship circle of the congregation. It is this and much more.

An interim pastor is a preacher, an administrator, a counselor, a small group leader, a planner and an encourager. He is many of the things a pastor will be but for a defined period of time. Certainly, the interim pastor is not a source of division in a church. His role is to help heal, if needed, and enable future growth.

In a church’s history, little will ever be said about the interim time. But if a church seizes the opportunities offered by the span between pastors and does them well, the success of the interim time will be reflected in the chapter about the service of the next pastor.