The difference between Chronos and Kairos in Planning
Is this a Kairos moment for you and your church?
(Third in a series. See the first article here. Second here.)
995 words ~ 3 to 4 minutes of reading time.
Why this matters:
There is a difference between Chronos and Kairos. These need to sync when facing significant initiatives.
Some of you have seen my presentation on the Pyramid of Pressing Priorities ™ thinking. It illustrates the tradeoffs that one must make in a significant change initiative. To hear more, attend one of the legacy series webinars. See the ad to find out more.
The Pyramid is presented here:
The left side of the pyramid is labeled "time." Time is also a resource in change initiatives when giving a team's attention to a specific project. Time is necessary to complete a task well and thoroughly. This is the left side of the triangle.
Time divides into two parts – Chronos and Kairos. They are related, but not the same, perhaps second cousins.
Chronos is the time we discussed in the last issue about Seasons, Series, and Sprints. You can read that here.
Many of us still wear a watch. We have calendars. Sunday comes every seven days. We set down our Focus, Free, and Buffer days. (often a subject I cover in coaching sessions)
These are the quantitative sets of time we devote to certain activities.
Examples include:
We have Sunday or weekend worship.
We have yearly budgets (mostly).
We get an annual audit.
We have an annual board/elder or staff retreat.
We do a yearly plan.
We have an annual class of interns or residents.
Leaders often look at Chronos time in other ways. Examples will follow below.
Kairos Time is different.
See that concept after the ad….
A question I get asked – “If I step down as Senior Pastor, do I have to leave?”
In the old days, the accepted pattern was – Retire. Leave the church to the next leader.
That was normal practice a decade ago.
Today? Not so much.
After working with almost 150 different large churches over 25 years in the area of Senior Pastor Succession, I have found certain markers to help answer the question for leaders and their churches.
A week from today - Wednesday, March 23rd, I will share the indicators to answer these questions after working with 150 larger churches on pastoral succession.
There are good reasons for stay or go choices.
In the last year, I have worked with multiple Senior Pastors in their 50s and one in their 40s to help answer this question. It’s not just for 60ish leaders anymore. It’s time for many others to consider this question.
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It is NOT RECORDED. If you cannot attend, have one of your team listen in.
Here is the link to register and get the private zoom link for the session
Story continues…
Kairos is the intangible and qualitative sense of time. Kairos requires interpretation. Kairos is often the meaning we use to fill the gaps in understanding Chronos time.
Kairos is more sensed and seasonal, but apart from calendar time.
Kairos came originally in Greek from use with weaving machines. It described how the other threads and yarns were set for when the shuttle needle could be threaded through to create something beautiful. The weaver has to think through what the piece should look like and design it, but then with each pass through the other yarns, adjust to make it right at the end.
When I speak of Kairos time for a Pastor Succession, or any significant change initiative, we have to think about the opportune time for action. It depends on the extant circumstances, mood, and readiness of a church to move forward.
The wiki machine says Kairos is used 86 times in the New Testament to describe time. It is the appointed time for the purposes of God. It is "in due season," it is "the time of salvation." Those are statements of the type of time, not the Chronos time.
We have to work with both senses to discern WHEN the correct change is needed. It can be a decisive moment for crucial changes.
Admittedly there are times when Kairos time is FORCED upon us by circumstance. We may not feel it is the best time for a change, but God had other plans.
The most prominent example comes from my Senior Pastor Succession and Legacy Life Planning process.
Many leaders get fixed on a Chronos number when stepping down from their primary leadership role. For example: "I want to retire when I am 65!" (or 70 or 75).
Or they will say – "In 2025, the church will be 40 years old, I will have 40 years of leadership here, and I will be 70. That sounds like a good time to step down."
Ok. Maybe.
But there is no magic in the number 65. We get that chronos number from our culture. A section of scripture in Numbers 13 describes priests stepping down from an active role at 50 years of age and becoming assistants and advisors to younger priests. But I know few Senior Pastors of larger churches that adhere to the 50 years of age number.
We have to work with both senses when we think about our initiatives and significant changes.
Over the past three years, I have worked with several pastors younger than 60 to help them plan their succession paths.
This change was driven not by their Chronos age, but by the sense that the church's needs and future would be best served with a younger leader.
In some cases, the community around them had become much younger in recent years, and they knew a younger teaching pastor and leader was needed to continue to grow their church.
In other cases, the pastor felt they could best serve in a new role at the church, but it would not be an operational, day-to-day role to help the church move forward. We helped the leader and the church make provision for that role.
Still, in other cases, the pastor felt that their next season of ministry needed a different container for their gifts than being a lead pastor at this time.
At the same time, the Kairos moment of covid comeback is upon us in these cases. Here's a quote: "I feel that this is a good time for the next leader to cast vision for what we need to be in the future. While I think I could do it, I think too many would look back to how we were a few years ago and want that instead of embracing the new." Said a wise leader to me recently.
“I know the last ten years of ministry will look vastly different from the next ten,” said another.
Another way this impacts a church in essential leader succession is the pastor's severe illness or spouse's illness. These Kairos moments are times when rest and resets are needed. But they can also be whispers and indicators from God that our season is ending in the role of primary leader.
Is 2022 a Chronos and Kairos moment for your leadership and future?
If you want to explore that concept, reach out to me via email at dave.travis@generis.com.