Interim Ministry During Pastoral Flux

A certain staff pastor has endured considerable turnover in the senior pastor’s office during his brief three-year tenure. The first senior pastor was ending a long and successful ministry. The second was an interim pastor whose doctrine was problematic and who treated staff members harshly. He outstayed his welcome long before the year was over and left the church. Afterward, the church hired a senior pastor who is a gifted leader and who is widely appreciated as a good man. The staff pastor would like to know how to respond to the uncertain wind of changing pastorates. I wonder if he’s tried kite-surfing.

A friend of mine is a kite-surfer. With each hand he is tethered to a kite about thirty feet above his head. Beneath his feet a special board enables him to maneuver on waves that are constantly in flux because of the wind, tides, and currents. Using the wind, he gathers speed or gives it away, he takes a hard turn to the left or an easy one to the right, he jumps hard on a wave to get airborne or he glides easily across the surface on a stretch of calm water. And if he loses the wind, or fails to harness its power, or doesn’t judge the waves properly, he will fall into the ocean. His ride will be over.

The key to his success is staying in motion while responding to rapidly changing conditions.

The Four Winds

My friend’s experience as a kite-surfer is not unlike that of staff pastors. Staff pastors can ride above the uncertain waves created by changing pastorates if they use the prevailing wind of congregational opinion to maintain momentum toward the goal of Christ-honoring, God-glorifying ministry. The staff pastor must listen closely to people in an effort to discern the direction of their movement. Are they moving toward supporting a pastor or moving away from him? Are they forming separate camps? Is a storm building or waning?

My friend the kite-surfer has to be able to discern what kind of wind is blowing. Similarly, a staff member must be able to discern the nature of the wind that is blowing in the church. There are four winds of opinion that the staff member should look for.

Successful staff pastors are able to respond to the changing conditions around them. This doesn’t require endorsing opinions or aligning yourself with parties. You don’t have to like the wind’s force or direction, and neither do you have to follow its direction—especially if it’s going in the wrong direction. But you must be aware of the direction the congregation and its leaders are moving and respond skillfully or your ride will be over.

The Four Skills

In addition to discerning the wind, several key skills will keep you from sinking.

As a starting place, stay true to your job description. This should clearly delineate your ministry area (youth, worship, pastoral care, etc.) along with specific responsibilities that you have and tasks that you are expected to perform. Don’t assume that this is optional or that it is a list of suggestions. Some senior pastors view job descriptions that way, as fluid documents that change over time, but not all. Don’t be caught drifting away from your job description when another senior pastor enters the scene who expects you to abide by the “letter of the law.” It will be better for you during this transition period to follow every “jot and tittle” of your job description without having to be reminded to do so.

Secondly, be flexible enough to do whatever other tasks you might be given by the senior pastor du jour and to do them without complaint. Be prepared to bend in the wind. Trees that don’t have the flexibility to bend in a strong wind will break. Often those trees are already dead, or they are alive but planted in weak soil, or they are alive but unhealthy. What about you? Are you spiritually alive, planted in the fertile and strong soil of nurturing relationships, and nourished by the health-fortifying properties of God’s Word and prayer? If the answer to those questions is “yes” you will probably have the flexibility to bend with whatever storm passes through the church. Most importantly, don’t resist the wind. Be willing to bend.

Next, tread carefully. Some people in the church will freely share their opinions about the departed senior pastor or about the current senior pastor. The persuasive tone of their voice will be hard to resist. You’ll feel persuaded to adopt their opinions—if you haven’t already. Maybe everything you are hearing and thinking is right. Maybe the pastor is everything people are saying about him—to his credit or discredit. But can you know with certainty that every voice you hear is trustworthy? Remember, you have your own career in ministry to look out for. It will be best to steer clear of factional groups, no matter how sympathetic you may feel. When you hear comments from people, don’t hesitate to tell them:

• “I really don’t have anything to say about that.”
• “That’s interesting, but I can’t comment.”
• “I don’t know enough about the situation.”
• “Thanks for sharing that with me. I can’t speak to that issue, but I’ll keep your comments in mind.”
• “I can’t do anything about that. Have you talked to a board member?”

Another person to tread carefully around is the senior pastor. If he feels that his employment by the church is threatened he may attempt to garner your support. He may take you into his confidence and slander church members. He may give you a distorted account of a conversation he had with a prominent church leader or with several leaders in a recent board meeting. He might be very persuasive. He also might be wrong. If you align yourself with him too closely, you could find yourself in the board’s crosshairs. This leads to the next point.

Finally, don’t attach yourself to the senior pastor’s star. Some staff members become enamored with the senior pastor’s charisma or authority. They feel as though they can ride his popularity into a successful ministry of their own. Of maybe they feel that their professional duty binds them to be loyal to him regardless of the personal price it may require. After all, the nature of ministry is sacrifice.

Be aware that, especially during this period of transition, the senior pastor’s performance is being watched and scrutinized by the church and board. If he makes the grade after he’s hired, he’ll stay. Many churches have a probationary period for senior pastors or a mandatory vote at the end of his first, second or third year that will confirm him as a permanent senior pastor. He might stay; or he might go. If you’ve attached yourself to his star and it falls, you may well flame out with it. You’ll both be looking for a job.

You would be wise to read the church’s bylaws to see what provisions there are for a probationary period for the senior pastor or for a congregational vote on his continued employment after he begins his ministry. Either one of these related situations could set him up to prove his job performance quickly. If he feels a sense of urgency, he may ride you hard so that he gets the congregational support he’ll need to stay.

On the other hand, if the senior pastor is genuinely gifted, compassionate, self-confident, and competent; if he has a winsome personality; if he is a careful and faithful expositor of the Word and an inspirational speaker, he will be well-liked by the church. He will quickly gain their support. You’ll see it in the way they respond to him, you’ll hear it in the tone of their voices when they talk about him, you’ll notice it in the words they use to talk about him. There will be a certain warm, contagious feeling surrounding him. Aligning yourself with him and following his leadership will be easy and natural. Supporting him will be to your advantage.

The Serpents and Doves

During transitional periods in churches, I’ve found the following words of Jesus to be helpful:

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.  Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues.” (Matthew 10:16-17)

Maybe you were expecting an encouraging word. Listen to me. When wolves are in the area I’d prefer to hear a warning.

Be Wise as Serpents

As a staff pastor, be keenly aware of your surroundings, treading carefully in all circumstances and relationships.

• Be wary of confiding in people, whether board members, staff members, or church members. You have no way of knowing who has the senior pastor’s ear, or how your story might be amended and distorted as it spreads throughout the church. Everyone loves a good story. Do what you can to make sure that you aren’t one of the characters. The wolves could be anywhere.
• Be careful with whom you associate. In every situation that is in flux, lay leaders emerge. They are probably on the church board. They take a stronger leadership role because the congregation trusts them and because they feel obliged to lead. Learn who they are. Watch their behavior. Where do their sympathies lie? You might need an advocate sometime soon, so prayerfully consider befriending them. If you do this and the senior pastor discovers it, he will likely assume that you are being seditious, consorting with the enemy. Your association will be viewed as a betrayal of his trust. So, be wise and judicious. And as I mentioned above, be aware that the wolves could be anywhere.

Be Innocent as Doves

As a staff pastor, be untainted by sin and by sinful ways of relating to people.

• Allow your good character and positive attitude to be evident in all situations. Don’t talk about people behind their back. Instead, be a peacemaker; speak well of people and not ill.
• Be careful not to develop a critical spirit; there will be plenty of people around you with critical spirits and the criticism may fly.
• Let the Holy Spirit overflow your life as you walk in a holy relationship with God.

People will take notice of you and will praise you in conversation with others. The dove’s symbolism in scripture as a bird of peace is helpful in this verse. If you have successfully steered clear of factional groups as a minister of peace your wings won’t get clipped.

The Intentional Interim Staff Pastor

Eyes Wide Open: Full Knowledge and Acceptance

You accepted the position knowing that it would be temporary, and everyone in the church knows that you are filling the position temporarily. Because you are temporary everyone has three expectations of you.

First, maintain the “status quo.”

Status Quo is a Latin term that refers to the existing state or condition of things. Your first responsibility as interim staff pastor is to learn what things were like before you arrived. Interview the senior pastor and key ministry leaders. Develop a description of positive characteristics to continue and negative ones to avoid. Then, with the full knowledge and support of your leadership team, continue the positive ones. Usually, this will mean maintaining the same schedule, traditions, activities, events, and personnel.

When I was in this position, I discovered that the church received communion monthly. Whether or not I preferred to do it monthly was irrelevant. My duty was to continue the ministry as I received it. I also discovered that they had a preaching service every Sunday evening. Again, I might have preferred to use Sunday evening for a Pastor’s Bible study, or for an adult discipleship evening with multiple learning options, or for a home small group night. All of that would have been irrelevant to their situation at that time. The church needed their Sunday evening tradition to continue, so I preached an entirely new sermon every Sunday evening.

The people you are serving don’t want anything changed, only that you maintain everything as it is until your successor arrives.  They don’t want you to develop plans for the ministry that your successor won’t support. They may not welcome your opinion about the type of person they should hire to replace you.

If you fail to maintain things as they were, expect them to voice their disappointment. Privately, they will likely excuse your shortcomings as something they will have to tolerate only for a while before “messiah” comes— the new staff member who rides in on a white horse to save them from your perceived incompetence or mediocrity. Don’t take it personally. If they viewed you differently, they might discover your malleability in God’s hands and that you have the potential to be and do far more than they imagined. So, whatever you do, make every effort to maintain the status quo.

Second, do no harm.

Doing no harm means not offending anyone or hurting the ministry.

Do no harm to their memories: Your predecessor was likely loved and respected by some, if not many, people who are still loyal to him. They are grieving his loss. So honor his memory and speak well of him.

If your predecessor left under unfavorable circumstances, listen to people’s grievances without taking sides. Hear their complaints as a call for healing and hope. Their image of the church and of pastoral leaders has taken a beating. Some of them never thought that anything like this could happen in a church among Christians. Your task is to help rebuild their faith in God and to help them find hope for the future. The storm didn’t last forever. The calm waters that now carry them will fall. The Ark will soon come to rest on solid ground. Everyone who completes the journey will have an opportunity to begin again, having learned from the past.

Do no harm to their numbers: The people know instinctively that the ministry is in a tenuous position. Some may be fearful that people, their friends in the church, may leave. They want to keep everyone on the Ark with the hope of finding dry ground and a fresh start—along with everyone who started the journey (as unrealistic as that may be). Most people will stay on-board until your successor arrives, but a few people may jump ship along the way. This is demoralizing to your “passengers” when it happens. Help them understand that some attrition is normal now and even after your successor begins his ministry. Some people have counted the cost of the journey and don’t want to pay it, whether the cost is relational, emotional, spiritual, or financial. Their departure may affect donations to the ministry. Your mission is to minimize loss of members and income.

If you harm the ministry by speaking ill of your predecessor, or through dropping attendance levels or giving, expect people to harm you. They will be quick to assign blame and you are the most visible target. So, avoid making this a shooting match by doing no harm.

Third, prepare them for your successor.

This isn’t one of their expectations, but it is something that they may permit you to do. As the interim you are in a unique position to help the people in your circle of influence. They know you are temporary—and so do you. Use that to your advantage. You will be with them only a short time. Use that time to prepare them for your successor. You can help them discuss and process the departure of your predecessor. You can facilitate their self-discovery of things that led to his departure. What can they learn from that experience?

• Help them Reflect on the Past:
  • What will they miss about their predecessor? What won’t they miss?
  • Why did he leave and how has his departure affected the ministry and the church?
  • How did they contribute to his decision to leave?
  • Are they comfortable with this, or regretful?
  • What mistakes did they make, if any, and how can they avoid them with your replacement?

• Help them Heal in the Present:
  • Prayer
    • Invite them to pray for their prior staff pastor.
    • Ask them to pray for their new staff pastor.
    • Lead them in prayer during regular planning meetings.
  • Bible
    • Share encouraging scripture verses that help build their faith and help them develop a biblical perspective on the person who will staff this opening.
    • Preach or teach on topics related to faith, hope in periods of transition.
  • Retreat
    • Suggest that you have a retreat for the purpose of gathering for prayer to plead for God’s help.
    • Schedule this as a weekend away from the church, or as an on-campus retreat for a day.

• Help them find Hope for the Future:
  • Help them dream about the future in an effort to raise their level of anticipation for the new staff pastor and his ministry.
  • Talk to them about how their new pastor will be different form the previous one. As much as possible, take the shine off their idealistic dream and paint a real picture of what a pastor is like: Faults and foibles, strengths and weaknesses, talents and the lack of them. You’ll do him a favor, enabling him to get a better start.

Interim Ministry

“I’ve been serving a church as the interim youth pastor for almost 2.5 years now.  There have been some really good things during that time; bad things happened too.”

Many senior pastors have a high measure of self-confidence, a biblical understanding of church health and personal growth, and the ability to manage a staff effectively. Such pastors don’t hire staff members for interim positions. They hire people that they would enjoy working with, that will have a collegial relationship with other staff members, and that will have a productive ministry. They also hire people that they hope will stay on the staff a long time because they know that longer tenures contribute to church growth and health. If you are an interim staff pastor, you probably aren’t working for that kind of senior pastor.

Being an interim staff pastor means that you are in a uniquely transitory relationship with the senior pastor, other staff members, and the church. As such, you also have a unique opportunity to be a blessing to them all.

As a starting place, here’s a basic definition of “interim” as it relates to staff ministry:

An interim position is a brief period of temporary employment in which you replace a recently departed staff member and then later, within a few months or years, vacate the position for the permanent staff member who follows you.

There are three ways of going into this: 1) Eyes Wide Open, 2) Eyes Wide Shut, and 3) Eyes Tightly Shut.