Are you familiar with transitional leadership?
It is often confused with the term ‘interim pastor’ or can be misplaced with a type of placeholder between pastors for the local church. It is so much more! Churches need to focus on the process of growth and health, rather than to simply fill a role or time. I invite you to take a moment and review the possibilities of what it means to walk your church or organization through transitional leadership.
A transitional leader walks with the church in a very direct manner, over a short period of time, to their next chapter in God’s story for them.
Particularly with an outgoing pastor, a church needs to take time to understand why they exist and where they are going. This can be a short period of reflection, or an extended time of assessment and renewal. But gaining vision is the key, especially if “we’ve always done it this way”.
A transitional ministry helps restore health and reconciliation where things are broken.
An ending can naturally come with some hurt. Or it can come with a lot of hurt. Hurt that is often hidden under the surface, especially when the hurtful actions feel normal in the church community. Taking time to face hurts and broken relationships is part of our gospel story, and it is good to take time through transition for this purpose.
A transitional ministry is not only for churches at the end of their rope.
It is an opportunity for any and every church to take a look in the mirror, rejoice in what God has been up to in the past, and discern where he is leading into the future. Every church needs this from time to time!
Is your church or denomination in need of a transitional leader for any of the above? I would love to start the conversation if that is the case.
3 Basic Questions to Begin:
- Do you know what needs to change?
- Are you prepared to make changes as necessary?
- Is there a unified sense of this need within your congregation/leadership?
My Basic Format as a Transitional Leader:
Timeline: Negotiable, normally 6-18 months
- Leadership conversation – This is always the starting point.
- Prayer and Coffee – Intentional prayer as a congregation combined with plenty of conversations over coffee. (Coffee optional)
- Congregational Survey – An assessment and follow-up discussion with insights on current state of your church.
- Congregational Coffee – Based on insights from our conversations and the survey we will have regular ‘coffee conversations’ focused on health and current areas where you as a church can grow.
- Ministry and Leadership Teams – Regular and focused meetings to discuss vision and strategy going forward. A number of resources and tools are put to use here for discernment and understanding.
- Listening Document – Near the end of our time together I provide a listening document with suggestions and potential ideas to consider.
- New wine, New wineskins? – Search process? Help with a completely new direction as a church?
Through an initial conversation you may decide a shorter format is helpful at this point, or maybe a series of workshops/discussions for your congregation or team. I can accommodate this as well. I have led some through discussions on vision and strategy, assessing past assumptions, and communication. Healthy leadership is key to a good communication, so I also offer my services to you for the purpose of coaching and walking with your team.
