Photo by Paul Skorupskas on Unsplash
“Who is wise and knowledgeable among you? Show by your good life
that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.” (James 3:13)
“Without knowledge of self, there is no knowledge of God. Our wisdom, insofar as it ought to be deemed true and solid wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. But as these are connected by many ties, it is not easy to determine which of the two precedes and gives birth to the other.” (John Calvin)
Intentional interim ministry is, in the grand scheme of Christianity, a recent development. Loren Mead (of the now-defunct Alban Institute) formulated five developmental tasks of the congregation during the in-between times (interim) of a congregation in the 1980’s. These tasks were viewed as being necessary for the congregation’s ability to detach from the departing Pastor and connect with the new Pastor. Congregations, like people individually, change when relationships change, and the five tasks (led by a skilled Interim Pastor) helped a congregation have a healthy letting go and embracing of the future.
In the past few years, a group out of Winston-Salem, NC (Center for Congregational Health, a ministry of Wake Forest Baptist Health’s FaithHealth Division.), has tweaked the five tasks into five “focus areas.” Rather than viewing interim work as a checklist, the focus areas encompass more laterally the way congregations (like individuals) work through transitions–more holistically rather than sequentially. In other words, interim ministry looks at the whole system of people changing, adapting to the transition. I follow the “focus areas” model.
•Heritage: Reviewing how the congregation has been shaped and formed.
•Mission: Defining and redefining sense of purpose and direction.
•Leadership: Reviewing the congregation’s ways of organizing and developing new and effective clergy and lay leadership.
•Connections: Discovering all the relationships and networks a faith community builds beyond itself.
•Future: Synthesizing the interim work, activating and training the pastoral search or call committee, and coaching the committee (as requested) to accomplish its work
I’ll say more about the common work we’ll do over the next few months in future posts. This is a challenging time for the church and also one rife with opportunities.