The Difference Between Kairos and Chronos
Is this a Kairos moment for you and your church? (A summer special)
In the coming months, Church Leader Insider will have its 250th edition. Not only that, but the subscriber number has also doubled over the past few years.
When I was growing up, the TV networks ran “reruns” in the summer. This summer, I plan to do the same for some of my columns. While I have plenty of issues “in the can” for the future, I need to give attention to a few other things this summer.
Some of you are aware of my dad’s recent health challenges, which knocked me out of work for a few months. Now I'm back at it, strong and focused on my clients.
A few issues will be “classics” that appeared early, before many of you were subscribers. They will be slightly updated and edited to reflect 2025 though.
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 valuable resource in change initiatives, as it requires 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 can be divided into two parts: Chronos and Kairos. They are related, but not the same; perhaps they are second cousins.
Chronos is the time we discussed in the last issue, specifically regarding 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 specific 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….
Another client has finished their succession process. Beltway Park of Abilene, Texas, has transferred the primary leader role from David McQueen to Geoffrey Turner.
This was an elder-led and facilitated process that took the time to evaluate and develop a strong internal candidate. This process also involved a shift in role for the long-serving Executive Pastor, as well as hiring a new Executive Pastor from outside the church.
The elders could go to the church and say with honesty and openness – “We have examined Geoffrey in every area of his life and leadership and feel he is the best leader for our next season.” Pastor David McQueen will continue his ministry with the church after a short break in a new role as well.
I feel this church is well-positioned for the next generation of believers. They prepared well, worked diligently through the process, and made wise decisions throughout.
The case also shows that every Senior Pastor Smart Succession ™ looks different from every other one.
To learn more about this case, you can set up a time to talk to me by emailing: Dave.Travis@generis.com
Additionally, I am pleased to announce the Public Profile for The Church at Severn Run in the Anne Arundel County, Maryland area for their next Senior Pastor. This church will do an external search.
This is a vibrant, multicultural, community-serving, Bible-teaching church with a significant influence on strategic decision-makers in its community.
Their pastor for the past 27 years, Drew Shofner, will retire and move to Oklahoma with his family.
See more information here: https://severnrun.com/pastoraltransition/
This is another great client and a great church. The church is growing, vibrant, and healthy, and is an excellent place for a future leader to take it to the next level.
Do you know someone who needs to see this profile? Please forward this link to them.
Again, this illustrates how every Senior Pastor Smart Succession ™ looks different from every other one.
Both healthy churches are making great strides in God’s kingdom work for the future.
I am very proud to serve both of these clients. Could yours be the next great church I serve?
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 the use of 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 must consider 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 Smart Succession(tm) 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 2030, 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 the age of 50 and becoming assistants and advisors to younger priests. However, I know a few Senior Pastors of larger churches who adhere to the 50-year age limit.
We must work with both senses when considering our initiatives and significant changes.
Over the past seven years, I have worked with several pastors under the age of 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 the COVID comeback is upon us in these cases. [Remember this was written over three years ago] 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. However, they can also be whispers and indicators from God that our season as primary leaders is coming to an end.
Is 2025 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.