Whenever a church is without a Senior Pastor, it is a very vulnerable time. There are several options for filling the pulpit and the leadership role that has been vacated by the former Pastor. According to Lifeway, the average time that a church spends without a Pastor is between 9 and 18 months. So much can happen during that time that could affect the church either positively or negatively. A Transitional Pastor can help the church stay focused on its mission and keep from becoming complacent during the intervening time.
A church can choose to let staff members fill the pulpit. If you have a large enough staff to get a decent rotation going then this can work. However, it is possible that the preaching ability of the staff may not always be what the church body expects. It is important in a large church, that the quality of the preaching remain high. If not, there can be an extreme drop off in attendance. Another danger of allowing staff members to fill the pulpit is the natural tendency of many church members to want to present one of the staff members to the Search Committee as a candidate. This seldom works out and the normal result is that the staff member is not voted in, and the church is left fractured by the process with quite a few hard feelings. The staff member is usually put in the position of having to resign since he has become the focal point of division.
A church can choose to schedule multiple preachers and speakers fill the pulpit in the interim. The positive side of this is that the church family may get to hear many preachers they would never have been able to hear otherwise. The downside of this method is who will be scheduling these speakers. It becomes a very daunting task to schedule fresh speakers every week. Another problem with this method is the inconsistency in the pulpit. People do not know from one week to the next who is scheduled. People are not able to develop a relationship with the speaker as they are with a Pastor or Interim Pastor. This situation tends to lead to a great deal of uncertainty for most people in the pew.
Many churches choose to secure an Interim Pastor. Often it is a local retired pastor. They are able to fill the pulpit and assist the Search Committee. Depending on the Interim Pastor, often some in the congregation will want to make this person the Pastor. They will often approach the Search Committee with this suggestion. If the church has not already discussed this option with the Interim Pastor ahead of time, it can cause some division in the church if the Interim Pastor has any desire to become the Pastor. For this reason a church should be sure not to secure anyone as the Interim Pastor that they might consider as a Senior Pastor. Unfortunately, many churches suffer from a real sense of insecurity, so that whenever there is no Senior Pastor in place, many members will want to take whoever fills the pulpit in a halfway decent way, and make him the Pastor. In a sense, they are saying it is better to have this person than no one. People have to learn to trust the Lord and the Search Committee they have selected and learn to live with a certain amount of tension.
A better option for most churches is a Transitional Pastor. A Transitional Pastor is similar to an Interim Pastor in many ways. Most Transitional Pastors have been trained for that purpose. They tend to be experienced Pastors at some point. They tend to be capable in the pulpit and with relationship skills. They have the leadership skills to lead the church staff and lay leaders in the direction they should go in order to be ready for the arrival of the new Pastor. In many cases, they are able to deal with problems in the church body, so that when the newly called Pastor arrives, he does not have to deal with them. Those problems might include confronting a church boss, making a difficult change, organizing a ministry structure, developing the church’s stewardship, and more. A Transitional Pastor comes in with a set salary which may be close, but slightly less than a full time Pastor. He will set a schedule of office hours and ministry times for the church. He will sign a contract with the church for a set period of time and in that contract agree that he will not be considered for the position of Senior Pastor. By signing a contract with clearly defined job description, schedule, salary, time limits, and agreements for non-consideration, he enables the Search Committee to be able to proceed without worry about someone causing division in their church. He also is able to provide leadership to the congregation during this time and hopefully prevent the church losing attendance.
A church can choose to let staff members fill the pulpit. If you have a large enough staff to get a decent rotation going then this can work. However, it is possible that the preaching ability of the staff may not always be what the church body expects. It is important in a large church, that the quality of the preaching remain high. If not, there can be an extreme drop off in attendance. Another danger of allowing staff members to fill the pulpit is the natural tendency of many church members to want to present one of the staff members to the Search Committee as a candidate. This seldom works out and the normal result is that the staff member is not voted in, and the church is left fractured by the process with quite a few hard feelings. The staff member is usually put in the position of having to resign since he has become the focal point of division.
A church can choose to schedule multiple preachers and speakers fill the pulpit in the interim. The positive side of this is that the church family may get to hear many preachers they would never have been able to hear otherwise. The downside of this method is who will be scheduling these speakers. It becomes a very daunting task to schedule fresh speakers every week. Another problem with this method is the inconsistency in the pulpit. People do not know from one week to the next who is scheduled. People are not able to develop a relationship with the speaker as they are with a Pastor or Interim Pastor. This situation tends to lead to a great deal of uncertainty for most people in the pew.
Many churches choose to secure an Interim Pastor. Often it is a local retired pastor. They are able to fill the pulpit and assist the Search Committee. Depending on the Interim Pastor, often some in the congregation will want to make this person the Pastor. They will often approach the Search Committee with this suggestion. If the church has not already discussed this option with the Interim Pastor ahead of time, it can cause some division in the church if the Interim Pastor has any desire to become the Pastor. For this reason a church should be sure not to secure anyone as the Interim Pastor that they might consider as a Senior Pastor. Unfortunately, many churches suffer from a real sense of insecurity, so that whenever there is no Senior Pastor in place, many members will want to take whoever fills the pulpit in a halfway decent way, and make him the Pastor. In a sense, they are saying it is better to have this person than no one. People have to learn to trust the Lord and the Search Committee they have selected and learn to live with a certain amount of tension.
A better option for most churches is a Transitional Pastor. A Transitional Pastor is similar to an Interim Pastor in many ways. Most Transitional Pastors have been trained for that purpose. They tend to be experienced Pastors at some point. They tend to be capable in the pulpit and with relationship skills. They have the leadership skills to lead the church staff and lay leaders in the direction they should go in order to be ready for the arrival of the new Pastor. In many cases, they are able to deal with problems in the church body, so that when the newly called Pastor arrives, he does not have to deal with them. Those problems might include confronting a church boss, making a difficult change, organizing a ministry structure, developing the church’s stewardship, and more. A Transitional Pastor comes in with a set salary which may be close, but slightly less than a full time Pastor. He will set a schedule of office hours and ministry times for the church. He will sign a contract with the church for a set period of time and in that contract agree that he will not be considered for the position of Senior Pastor. By signing a contract with clearly defined job description, schedule, salary, time limits, and agreements for non-consideration, he enables the Search Committee to be able to proceed without worry about someone causing division in their church. He also is able to provide leadership to the congregation during this time and hopefully prevent the church losing attendance.
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