The Hidden Risks of Interim Pastors: Insights for Long-Serving Senior Pastors
Momentum Shifts Fast
~ 1000 words - 4 minutes
This part 2 of a longer piece on Interim Pastors – Pro and Con
Find part 1 here, but if you missed it, here is an abbreviated introduction.
Recently, a leader I deeply respect, a generation older than me, shared his belief in the necessity of an interim pastor immediately succeeding a long-serving Senior Pastor of a large church. His wisdom, garnered from years of experience, is invaluable.
His reasoning was guided by thoughts from our mutual mentor, Lyle Schaller.
My approach, the Senior Pastor Smart Succession ™ process, departs from conventional wisdom. It is a unique system that diverges from the traditional view of an interim pastor.
My clients are pathbreaker pastors who have led a church for a long time and have typically altered the trajectory of the church’s mission and vision over that season. They tend to be highly respected by their congregation. There is deep trust present in the system. Many of them are founders or near-founders.
My argument is that, in most cases, interim pastor seasons can disrupt the momentum the church has or needs. This interruption can harm the church's progress and the new leader's ability to start strong.
My approach, the Senior Pastor Smart Succession ™ process, departs from conventional wisdom. It is a unique system that diverges from the traditional view of an interim pastor.
Remember – my clients are pathbreaker pastors who have led a church for a long time and have typically altered the trajectory of the church’s mission and vision over that season. They tend to be highly respected by their congregation. There is deep trust present in the system. Many of them are founders or near-founders. (see this column)
The Senior Pastor Smart Succession Process ™ is designed to help the church smoothly handle and transition to the next leader. It is a process that maintains and builds momentum throughout, ensuring the new leader starts strong and the church continues to thrive.
My argument is that in most cases, interim pastor seasons can disrupt the church's momentum or needs. This interruption can harm the church's progress and the new leader's ability to start strong.
So here is the list of cons I usually pull out when boards and pastors want to lean into an interim leader instead of moving toward a smooth handoff.
We typically have enough time to organize and plan in my work cases. We build momentum throughout the process. In most situations, the desire is for strong continuity of the church's direction.
Persistent Purpose.
Moving directly to the next leader without an interim pastor helps the staff and leaders continue in consistent directions without whiplash-inducing changes. We often work through this in our core directions and short-term plans. It helps manage conflicts when the team is clear on initial priorities.
Empowering Engagement.
The process is designed to help the board, staff leaders, and significant stakeholders take more responsibility for decision-making in the future. This helps to strengthen internal leadership development and increase ownership of the decisions and the ministries themselves.
Sidestep Slump.
We work hard throughout the process to build momentum and avoid big dips in morale, attendance, and energy. We want to move from celebrating and affirming the past leader to embracing the next leader season. This works better than having an interim pastor encouraging a dip and for a “wait and see” stance in many people.
Story will continue shortly….
The call came last week as I was leaving the hospital where my dad was prepping for heart surgery:
“We wanted you to know how well it went Sunday when we announced the successor. Everyone was thrilled and excited. We think your process really helped make this a great success. If we had done it alone, we would have hurried it and lost people. This has been just right for us.”
It’s always gratifying to get feedback like that!
The new leader will take charge in a few months while the current pastor finishes their time as the primary leader. He will take a short break and return in a new role that fits his season of life and primary calling for this next chapter.
If you are thinking about your legacy season and the succession plans for leadership, now is the time to talk and get on the calendar for a conversation.
Every situation is unique and different. You need a workable plan that fits YOUR church, your own leadership, and the time it takes to seek or develop the next leader.
Let’s find a time to talk. Just email me at dave.travis@generis.com to set a time.
Even those that don’t hire me say: “That presentation we discussed was invaluable to us.”
And now the rest of the story….
Solidarity Strength.
If the people know that the plan is NOT to have an interim pastor but to move to the next chapter immediately, most congregations will unite and take responsibility for helping in that effort. They participate more in the focus groups and give feedback to the profiles so that they feel included in the process.
Culture Current.
Most churches have strong cultures. Those who believe their church is about the same as the next church have not spent much time testing that hypothesis! This is not to say that a culture is perfect, but by moving from one leader to the next leader chapter, a church can maintain its unique identity and values without the hindrance of any that a temporary leader might introduce.
Ministerial Movement.
My experience says that when staff see no clarity in the church's future direction, they start to seek their next step in ministry, and sometimes, that can mean leaving the ministry.
Conversely, when church staff members see the direction coming from a new leader, they tend to stick around even if they may disagree with it for now. They will wait and see and give a new permanent leader more leeway than an interim leader.
Conflict Creation.
I have seen this happen a few times in an interim situation. The interim can have a different view as to:
Theology.
Worship Practices.
A style that clashes with the team.
Or the way the church works within its structure.
It is terrible when they publicly express their views and tell the church, “If you fix this, you will find a better pastor.”
This often creates more of a ruckus and bumpy road for the church to find its next leader.
Other times, an interim inadvertently steps into an existing, known pothole at the church that they were not briefed to avoid.
Momentum Maximization.
The new leader will have agreed to the core directions guiding the church in the first part of the next chapter. Often, we have scripted the 30-120 plan of action with the board and leader to drive the church forward.
It is possible that a former leader can step down with the next leader known and identified but not yet on the field but coming within 30-45 days. If that is the case, momentum can be maintained.
Having written all of the above, I will tell you a secret.
I was an interim pastor 13 times in my past career. Most of the cases involved sudden departures of a past leader or sad situations. This allowed me to focus on a few things to build trust and momentum again.
Generally, I had a preexisting relationship with the church and could say, “If I come, this is what we will do together.” Sometimes, we succeeded, and sometimes, we did not.
But large churches, with long-tenured and faithful pastors who have served well, are better suited for a process that helps the handoff in leadership without an interim pastor.
I would love to hear your affirmations, pushbacks, and other learnings. Send them along to me.