The longer I serve in ministry,
the more I am convinced of the validity and necessity of interim ministry. Contrary
to popular opinion, interim ministry is not about keeping the pulpit filled or
sustaining whatever ministerial momentum a church might have. Rather interim
ministry is all about church health. Much more could be offered in this short
blog article, but here’s a start.
In most
cases, there is some shadowy unpleasantness about a pastor’s departure. Sometimes
the departure is rancorous and outright painful for the congregation. A primary
task of the interim minister is to help the church come to terms with its past,
especially its recent past. A church may be justified in pressuring its former
pastor to leave, but even in the best of circumstances, such actions—justified as
they may be—creates baggage that needs unpacked and sorted.
The church
that goes through a long period of serious conflict with its previous pastor is
especially vulnerable to dysfunction. A recently divorced individual is likely
to project dysfunctionality into the next relationship if there is no
intervention between the previous marriage and the new relationship. A
specially trained interim minister helps restore health into the church’s
ministerial and decision-making culture so that church and newly called pastor
can bond without the baggage of the previous conflict.
A
congregation’s or a congregant’s general skepticism or lack of faith in church
leaders can be restored when the interim minister is seen working well with
leaders. The interim minister can compassionately hear a congregant’s complaints
about the way the previous pastor was forced to resign, weigh the complaint,
and address the issue with the church leadership as appropriate. This promotes not
only good process, but also the restoration of trust between congregants and
leaders. The interim minister is prone to encourage such trust.
The interim
ministry can promote financial health in the church. In protracted conflict, congregants
are less enthusiastic about attending services and prone to absenteeism. This adversely
affects offering. A good interim minister makes alienated members feel safe
about returning to church and fosters enthusiasm for worship attendance, and
offerings are likely to stabilize.
A major
problem with not calling an interim minister during a pastoral vacancy is that
a church is prone to self-deception about its financial situation. It gets accustomed
to having a financial windfall from paying minimal honorariums rather than full
salaries. Calling an interim minister establishes that the church can sustain a
called pastor’s salary. Besides, givers may get out of the habit of giving when
a church reduces such expenditures.
Much more
could be said. Churches that fail to utilize the interim minister very, very often make their next called pastor a de facto interim.
Posts
