First, my colleague and owner of our firm wrote last week’s post. It was misattributed to me when it went out. I am not that smart on giving initiatives. If I talk about giving, it comes from knowing a great team of people like Jim. You can find that post here.
This post is a bit long but is the second part of the series on Sabbaticals, Mini Sabbaticals, Study breaks. See part 1 here.
The Legacy Break
This concept applies to pastors who step down from a lead role but intend to remain at their church.
It comes from my experience coaching leaders, boards, and churches in the Senior Pastor Smart Succession Process.
It often becomes a challenge to convince the parties of the wisdom in this immediate after-season, but those who follow the counsel have been well pleased with the results.
It applies to those that desire to:
Fully retire from ministry but continue living in the community and attending their church.
Those that desire to continue to live in the community and serve the church in some way, such as a part-time role.
Those who stay connected to the church but have another ministry outside the church.
In all of the above cases, my commendation is to have the pastor that steps down, and their spouse, take a 6-12 month break from participation in their current church. My counsel is usually on the longish end, especially when the pastor will return to another role at the church in the future.
A few notes on this idea:
Recognize that almost all the churches I serve are larger than the typical size. The smallest I have worked with was around 350 in attendance, and one was over 50,000 on Easter before I met with them. While I have done several in the 500-1000 attendance range, most are at least double that size and more. The average is over 5000 in weekly attendance. But the principles apply about the same.
Some traditions and tribes REQUIRE (a) an interim pastor of at least a year, and (b) the pastor and their family remove themselves from the church as they step down. I rarely align with that thinking, though I understand where it derives.
For the large churches I serve, I do not recommend they have interim pastors except for two cases. The first case is a church that has had a tremendous public failure in leadership. The second case would be a short-term situation where the new leader has been appointed/elected/selected, but there is a 4–8-week break before they begin public leadership.
Let’s return to the break season immediately after the current leader steps down.
The challenges to this recommendation come from all sides.
From the pastor: “I want to be on the front row cheering the new leader on so people see I am supportive.”
From the pastor’s spouse: “Why should I get disconnected from my relationships and place of service?”
From the board: “We like having the security of our long-term leader around to counsel and guide the next leader.”
From the congregation: “We think it better to involve the former pastored since we trust them.”
From some key staff: “Only pastor x can guide the new leader around some of our challenges.”
OK, that last one rarely happens. Often the staff is supportive of the now-former leader taking a break.
My counsel to my clients most often is that the pastor and their spouse be given a “legacy sabbatical” that helps them enter their new phase of life. No public duties will be required during this season, and we will ask them not to attend church, come to the offices, or any other gatherings during this time, with a few exceptions.
Instead, we will commission them to be our ambassadors to the other churches in our city, region, tribe, or nation. We want them to go and see what God is doing at other churches.
We will state this explicitly to the congregation: “While the pastor and his family will be returning at some point to our church, we have asked them to be our ambassadors for the next year (or season) to other sister churches. We want them to encourage other churches and leaders and bring back to us their learnings. So, if you hear that they are attending another area church, they very well might be for a season, but that is a part of their assignment for now.”
This could also include investing themselves in a mission project team through a partner, preparing for a future ministry that could be connected to the church but doesn’t have to be, assisting some of your church’s new church plants, spending time with their family in their hometowns, recreational travel experiences, and a long list of other involvements that may have been neglected over the years.
If the church knows some of this will occur, it should be communicated to the congregation before they leave.
A few frequently asked questions:
Why do this?
To give the new leader an opportunity to make their own space.
To give the staff team understanding that it is a new era.
To let the congregation see clearly that a new leader is leading.
To honor that past leader by giving them time away.
Are there exceptions?
Of course, the first exception is the pastor and family that realize they need to move to another community amid the season. This is most often for a pressing family need. That leads to a renegotiation of any role connected to the present church.
For the installation services for the new leader. These should be scheduled so that the former leader can participate. [a separate issue, but I like that to be a few months after the new leader begins leading.]
On a case-by-case basis, depending on the seasonal big events, for a service such as Christmas Eve, but only as a back row participant. Not the staff Christmas party.
What about the small group where they are engaged? If this is a truly small group of longstanding connections, I think it can be allowed IF it meets in a home or off campus. That will be up to the pastor and family. I have known some that this was a vital part of their spiritual life not to be lost. Others were ready for a break.
Is this paid?
If the pastor intends to move from the community, often not.
If the pastor intends to stay in a future role, often yes. This continues as regular payroll and benefits.
If it is a future consulting or much-reduced role, compensation adjusts accordingly.
Some clients have elected to grant a transition year sabbatical to pastors exiting and retiring as well to help them adjust to their new life situation. Most churches have good resources to do this and bless the pastor in this way.
We have our new model that explains the Senior Pastor Smart Succession Process.
Every church must answer three essential questions to make this a season that leads to ministry momentum throughout and to the next leader.
Want to know the questions and see the full model?
A great topic for you and your board to consider.
Schedule an hour with me for a zoom conversation. Just email me at dave.travis@generis.com.