Succession is a topic that sends a shudder through many long-tenured Senior Pastors. After years of faithful service in one church, the Pastor (and spouse) is entering into uncharted territory. They may wrestle with a fear of the unknown, the potential loss of role and relationships, as well as the deep challenge of entrusting the ministry they have poured their life into for decades, to another.
But planned, or unplanned, leadership succession will be part of the story for every long-term pastor. How this chapter is written is a choice. After planting a church and nurturing it for 34 years, Pastor John Larson and his wife Ruth Ann “passed the baton” of leadership this past year. NL Moore & Associates was privileged to walk with John, Ruth Ann and the church through this significant journey. During the next several weeks, John will be sharing his succession story here. We believe his experience and insights will help and inspire others. Enjoy!
The first time I considered ending my ministry at Hope Church I had a lump in my throat for weeks. I was conflicted. I wanted to stay, but knew it was time to prepare the congregation for their next lead pastor. I didn’t like the idea, nor did I know where to start or who to talk to.
My first instinct was to talk to trusted friends who would keep the conversation confidential. I didn’t want to let the “cat out of the bag” too soon because I didn’t know where this would lead.
I had been in my church for 25 years at the time and hoped for another ten, but didn’t know much about the succession process. I didn’t know about the resources available or the climate in which this transition needed to take place. As I was beginning to explore, I realized that I knew only a few other people who had gone through what I would be going through. My resources were limited.
After ruminating on the idea for months, I decided to take some action. Since I had no idea about the pathway for succession I met with a church consultant and who gave me two pieces of wise advice: 1) It’s too early to start talking publicly about leaving, and 2) “Read this book.” I kept my mouth shut and bought the book.
“The Elephant in the Boardroom” by Carolyn Weese and J. Russell Crabtree was one of the first books to address the issues I was wrestling with. I devoured the book. I distinctly remember flying through the first half of the book saying to myself, “I can do this. This will be easy.” My confidence, however, was short-lived. As I waded into the second half of the book my mind changed to, “I can’t do this. This is going to be too hard, and I have no one who can guide me.”
Today, ten years after my first musings about succession planning, I find myself freshly retired from my official pastor role of my first and only church, and Hope Church has recently welcomed our new lead pastor and family.
It’s been quite a ride. You can imagine after being in one church for 36 years that I’ve been through a number of transitions. There have been transitions of new staff, elder board members, building expansions, losing friends and gaining new ones. Each of these transitions either was challenging, exciting or just plain hard. But the most challenging, exciting and hard one was this last one. It has been a wild ride full of ups and downs. At the core, it has been a time of stretching my faith, testing of my identity, my relationships, and my marriage of 40 years.
Over the next few blogs I’d like to address some of the “learnings” that I’ve experienced. I’ll tell you what went well and what didn’t. All of this is to help you make the transition smoother from one ministry to another. I hope it will help you be effective as you partake in succession planning. I also hope it will give you ideas on how to prepare for life outside of official pastoral ministry.
Some of the topics I’ll try to tackle are…
Starting: Where to start so you can plan the end.
Courage: Leading your board into the succession conversation.
Planning or Reacting: Change is coming. The benefit of planned transition.
Mission: It’s more important than transition.
Vision: Establishing a vision for your future after official pastoral leadership.
Rhythm in Marriage: Tackling the challenge of new rhythm in marriage post succession.
Mine Fields in Marriage: Establishing new communication patterns with your spouse after a long-term ministry.
Coaching Change: Helping others to navigate the journey of succession.
Pass the Baton: Personal reflections on how to prepare to release your ministry.
Stay tuned…