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:
Walk the board through what a pastoral search committee does, and who should be on it.
Give them some insights into what a healthy pastoral search process should look like.
Help them with 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.
Keep in mind that it may have been years or even decades since your church last looked for a senior pastor. Help them start the process.
"Our denominational leadership handles all of that."
Do they really?
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 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 other side of the search process. Still on the fence here? Most denominational leaders encourage the very process that we call out in the opening words of the page that is linked below. Click on the link and read through that "call out", and then tell us if you still feel comfortable with how your church's search for their next pastor will probably go down.
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 leadership may be among them, but do you know for sure that they are?
"I am not all that sure myself how to 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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