Pastors, you know (and accept) the responsibilities that you have from the Lord when it comes to executing your duties for the church that you are actively pastoring. But so many pastors make the mistake of beginning to abdicate those responsibilities the moment that they make the decision to leave, but BEFORE they have actually left.
Look, we get it. Sometimes, you just want to be done (and sometimes you are just "done, done"), and when the release comes from the Lord, the temptation to emotionally check out can be massive.
But the Bible tells us to be faithful.
And you, as the pastor, often have great power in those final weeks. In fact, some of the longest lasting things that you can do at the church can happen during those last few weeks. Why? Because you can set the church up for long term success by beginning the transition process with them before you leave. Here are a couple tips to get you started:
Walk the board through what your church's constitution and bylaws has to say about searching for a new pastor.
Walk the board through what a pastoral search committee does, and who should be on it; giving the board some insights into what a healthy pastoral search process should look like.
Walk the board through what a good interim pastor should do and not do.
Direct them to resources that can help them throughout this process once you are gone.
Set up a meeting between them and your denomination's hierarchy.
Help them decide if they will want to use a Pastoral Search Agency and/or a Pastoral Search Consultant like us. If you aren't sure of the difference, read through this page of our website: Pastoral Search Committee Operating System.
"Ioannis, do they really need this help?"
Yes! And please keep in mind that it may have been years or even decades since your church last looked for a Lead/Senior Pastor. Help them start the process strong!
"Our denominational leadership handles all of that."
I want to be respectful here, but I do need to call out some truth all the same: Do they really?
What we have found is that most denominational leaders don't have the time to fully invest in churches and pastoral search committees - not to the extent that the church and/or committee need. And, unfortunately, many denominational leaders don't actually know what to do themselves.
I know that last statement may sound crazy to you but think about it... most denominational leaders were pastors before becoming denominational leaders. They spent almost all of their time on the pastoral side of the search process.
Look, we have NOTHING against denominational leadership, and joyfully acknowledge that there are many in those roles who very much know how to successfully help churches through this transition! Your denominational leadership may be among them, but do you know for sure that they are? Here is a way to find out:
Do your denominational leaders encourage the very process that we call out as being not the best, in the opening words of our webpage that is linked above and below? Click on the link and read through that "call out" at the beginning of the page. If your denominational leaders are in alignment with what we call out, then understand that you may need to lead your church in securing a little extra assistance (in addition to working with your denominational leadership).
Sidenote: If you are a denominational leader, put our system to the test against your experience, and please let us know what you think!
"I am still not fully sure of how to best help my church before I leave."
No problem, our ministry has built a free resource, including a very detailed, step by step outline of the full pastoral search committee process. You can access it here: Pastoral Search Committee Operating System | Grats (gratsllc.com).
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