Can you walk and chew gum at the same time?
Yes, but don't try juggling chain saws too. The last preview of 33 Basic Statements
~621 short - 2 minutes
Editor’s note: This is the final preview installment of the preview of 33 Basic Statements on Senior Pastor Succession. See below on how you can get a copy.
You can walk and chew gum at the same time, but it is hard to walk, chew gum, and juggle running chainsaws simultaneously.
My experience is that large churches can undertake two major change initiatives at one time, but they can’t do three.
Small churches can do one at a time.
What is a significant change initiative? An initiative where more than 50% of the staff is involved or more than 33% of the congregation.
These would include:
A major generosity initiative.
Staff restructuring.
A change in the small group approach or model.
Adding a worship service.
Adding a site.
Changing the Church Management System software.
A succession planning effort.
You get to choose up to TWO at one given period. You can do some sequentially but not simultaneously.
Note the last one.
If you are in a succession process and you want it to go well, what is your other ONE?
Choose it wisely.
(This is addressed in the Paced Pastor Plan in our framework)
Succession is different than search.
“I must find the next leader before deciding on timing.”
“We will get started once I bring in someone and test them for a season.”
“We will hire a search firm to find a potential candidate, then get started.”
(Actual paraphrase of statements made to me by potential clients.)
Succession success begins with the current leader rather than the next leader. That is true even when a church has an excellent internal candidate.
When the focus is on the next leader, you miss key elements along the way that will enable the next leader to be their most successful.
If you start at the wrong place, you might still end up well, but it will generally take longer and be more complicated. It leads to suboptimal outcomes.
It can be compared to a trapeze athlete trying to hang on to both bars for a bit too long. If there isn’t a net, that could end up in pain.
Start on the issues with the current leader and help them and the core team through the initial stages. There is much to do first in helping identify the needs of the next leader to lead the next season at a specific church. We will get to that.
(Much of this happens in the Leader’s Future area of our process)
We will return after this message from our sponsor….
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Story continues….
Even Doctors don’t remove their own appendix.
Many pastors try and plan their own succession process. But it is hard to balance your needs, interests, health, and the church’s health when you try to do this yourself.
Forming an internal team helps. It can give you counsel and guidance.
Depending on your polity, your board should also be an asset in the planning.
But most DIY pastors in large churches try to copy another church’s pastor’s process, thinking that “we are so much alike.” Sometimes, they will even call in that pastor to tell their team how it should be done.
But after working with over 60 churches under contract and counseling another 150 more, I find less in common in these situations than you would think. Even those in the same denominational family or similar governance have vast differences in process and outcomes.
Things can be learned but are harder to apply from church to church.
The tools I use to set up conversations and processes so that each church designs the solution that fits their situation like a surgeon’s glove, not a catcher’s mitt.
The doctors in my family consult with other doctors and specialists when they have a medical issue, even if it is a common one.
Remember that as you think of whom to call in to help you.
So that does it for the preview of the 33, if you read all the articles you will be about 25% through with the book. But you will miss the funny photos if you don’t order the book.