“Keeping the Faith in the Interim Time:
Thoughts, Views and Opinions from your Interim Vicar”
"There are certain times in the life of a parish community where normal and regular changes of leadership are likely to intensify and even develop. The roles and functions of leaders may also shift. One such time for congregations is definitely during a time of pastoral transition.” Temporary Shepherds; The Reverend Andrew Carlsson, p. 87.
(Developmental Task #3 Identifying and Encouraging New Lay Leadership)
After the death of Judas the disciples were perplexed. They quickly came to the conclusion that they must find a replacement since it was important that they continue to be known as “The Twelve”. And so, the first thing they did was to write a job description of the position they wanted to fill. They said, "Judas must now be replaced. The replacement must come from the company of men who stayed together with us from the time Jesus was baptized by John up to the day of his ascension, designated along with us as a witness to his resurrection. And after they identified their candidates, Joseph Barsabbas, nicknamed Justus, and Matthias they did two very significant things. They prayed that God would make known the one that they should choose to replace Judas who had thrown away his ministry when he betrayed his Lord. The next thing they did, which may seem strange to us who live in the Twenty-first Century, was to draw straws to see who the winner would be. Or as another Bible translation tells us, they threw dice to choose the winner! Matthias won and took his place with the other eleven apostles … and that is the last we hear of him!
Of course, we probably would not want to find new leaders in quite the same way in our day and age! Instead, we have discovered that the best way to raise up new lay leadership in the parish is through people volunteering for the various tasks that are necessary in a faith community by matching their skill sets with the requirements of the position. However, changes in leadership do not always go smoothly. Roger Nicholson writes “It is not unusual for a change in pastoral leadership to bring about changes in the lay leadership of a congregation as well. Sometimes extensive structural changes need to be made in the congregation’s way of doing things. … Most pastors develop a cadre of supportive lay leaders during their tenure. This is a normal phenomenon in human groups, much like choosing sides to play a game of ball. One of the problems is that this approach can lead to burnout among many (lay) leaders in churches. One interim pastor was told quite bluntly by an active lay leader that when the previous pastor left the church, he lost interest in serving on the church council. He was doing so only because of his friendship and admiration for a previous minister.
Frequently, a change of pastors provides a chance for new people to step forward into leadership roles. In happier, healthier congregations these shifts of leadership go relatively smoothly as some members retire from responsibility and others are invited to take over. But in conflicted and struggling congregations, such adjustments of leadership may well become power struggles. In these situations skillful management of change is crucial. … The time between pastors provides a congregation with the opportunity to honestly and lovingly confront such a picture of itself and hopefully bring about needed changes”. Temporary Shepherds; The Reverend Roger Nicholson, pp. 10, 11.
Let us all try to be clear on what our real purpose is in being the people of God in this community. When we focus on our weaknesses or problems, we tend to forget what that purpose is. During this transition between settled pastors we have five developmental tasks. If we let ourselves be immobilized when leadership changes are occurring, both clergy and lay persons, we may have difficulty working on the other four important tasks. Let’s allow God to be in charge of guiding us as we journey along.
We hope that you all will travel with us as together we continue on our journey!
Your faithful servant in the Lord,
The Reverend Barry Miller
