PASTORAL & CHURCH TRANSITION IN METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCHES

Pastoral & Church Transition SOME LESSONS LEARNED IN 40 YEARS Lay leaders and members love their church. Everyone wants the best for the church. Each person knows what is best. Conflict increases during a pastoral vacancy. Attendance drops during a pastoral vacancy. Offerings go down during a pastoral vacancy. Lay people who “share the pastor’s duties” during the pastoral vacancy usually leave the church within a year after the new Pastor is elected. New Pastor often must leave within 2-4 years after having been elected.

Pastoral & Church Transition CHURCHES DID NOT CALL FORTH WHAT THEY NEEDED IN THE “RIGHT” PASTOR Church moved too quickly to calling a Pastor due to fear Church did not understand its past or current realities Church was not unified in its direction for the future Church did not know what pastoral skills would be most appropriate to lead the church into the future

Pastoral & Church Transition PASTORS DID NOT FIND WHAT THEY WERE LOOKING FOR IN A CHURCH A church that is unified in its vision and clear about its purpose A church that is growing or has the desire to grow A church that is spiritually mature whose members are growing in spiritual depth A church that focuses more on its mission than on its “drama” A church whose members demonstrate a willingness to work cooperatively with one another over time to achieve all that God would have the church to do! A living wage

Pastoral & Church Transition The Tasks of Transition Maintain forward movement in the church’s ministry Manage the human dynamics Come to terms with our history and understanding of our current realities Build a clear sense of identity and purpose that is widely shared and owned. Build commitment for new directions in ministry.

Pastoral & Church Transition 1. MAINTAIN FORWARD MOVEMENT Continue offering quality worship Continue providing care for one another Continue providing care for others Continue tearing down walls of exclusion and injustice while building up hope for reconciliation and peace

Pastoral & Church Transition 2. MANAGE THE HUMAN DYNAMICS OF TRANSITION The Dynamic of Grief The Dynamic of Fear The Dynamic of Control The Dynamic of Hope

Pastoral & Church Transition 3. COME TO TERMS WITH OUR HISTORY AND UNDERSTANDING OUR CURRENT REALITIES Facilitate a process of conflict identification, mediation, and management related to the relationships with the previous Pastors.

Pastoral & Church Transition Conduct an organizational analysis and needs assessment to determine the internal and external factors that could contribute to the successful future of the church. Surveys / Interviews of congregants Review church documents, processes and systems, risk management audit Financial health assessment Demographic analysis Assessment of forces and trends that impact the success of the church’s ministry

Pastoral & Church Transition 4. LEAD THE CONGREGATION THROUGH A SERIES OF EVENTS TO HELP BUILD A CLEAR SENSE OF IDENTITY AND PURPOSE THAT IS WIDELY SHARED AND OWNED. Dialogue and consideration of the purpose of THIS church. Explore and experience various dimensions of congregational identity and purpose.

Pastoral & Church Transition 5. BUILD COMMITMENT FOR NEW DIRECTIONS IN MINISTRY Select the Pastoral Search Committee Agree on the Pastoral Search Process Conduct congregational surveys and forums Recruit the candidate Announce the candidate Candidate visits the city and church Congregation votes on the candidate

Pastoral & Church Transition The Tasks of Transition Maintain forward movement in the church’s ministry Manage the human dynamics Come to terms with our history and understanding of our current realities Lead the congregation through a series of events to help build a clear sense of identity and purpose that is widely shared and owned. Build commitment for new directions in ministry.

Pastoral & Church Transition TIMELINE: months (on average) 4-6 months – Coming to terms with our history and understanding our current realities 4-6 months – Creating a clear sense of identity and purpose that is widely shared and owned. 6 months – Building commitments for new directions in ministry (Pastoral Search process)

Transition Partners Local Church MCC Interim Pastor

Pastoral & Church Transition The Intentional Interim Pastor Long-term: months Is an interventionist, not merely the worship leader Facilitates the transition process Is highly experienced with particular skills Is appointed by the Office of Church Life and Health, in consultation with the local Board

Pastoral & Church Transition The Pastor is a duly ordained clergy person who has been licensed to practice. Though there are a variety of pastoral roles, in a local congregation the Pastor is elected to be responsible for the duties of teacher, preacher, and spiritual leader … All UFMCC churches are led by Pastors or Interim Pastoral Leaders. (MCC Bylaw V.B.4)

Transition: Roles and Responsibilities The Board of Directors assures continuity of leadership, administrative policy, and legal and fiscal viability Continues all of its routine fiduciary functions. Works with the Office of Church Life and Health to assure sufficient interim pastoral leadership, including a clear job description and contract Assures the continuing financial vitality of the church Addresses the additional financial needs of transition

Transition: Roles and Responsibilities The Church Staff (compensated and volunteer) assures the continuity of congregational life and ministries, including administration of the church.. Continues in their respective individual ministry roles and responsibilities under the supervision of the Interim Pastor. Provides spiritual leadership as examples of faithfulness to the mission, vision, and core values of the church. Facilitates intercessory prayer for the members of the Pastoral Search Committee, prospective candidates, and others with roles and responsibilities throughout the transition process.

Transition: Roles and Responsibilities The Office of Church Life and Health provides guidance, support, and direction in the overall process of transition. Appoints the Interim Pastor, in consultation with the Board. Consults with and coaches the Board, Pastoral Search Committee, and Interim Pastor throughout the transition process. Consults with the Pastoral Search Committee regarding prospective candidates for Pastor.

Transition: Roles and Responsibilities The Pastoral Search Committee presents a qualified candidate to the congregation for election as Pastor at a Congregational Meeting. Determines how it will approach the task Creates and adopts a process and timeline to complete its work Develops guiding policies, in writing, for how the committee will work together Develops and implements a plan for engaging the congregation in the process and communicating with the congregation Consults with OCLH staff throughout the process

Composition of the Pastoral Search Committee 7 Members of the Pastoral Search Committee 3 Members of the Board 4 Members elected by a Congregational Meeting

Pastoral Search Process Guidelines 1. All discussion and deliberation occurs when the PSC is meeting together either face-to-face or electronically (telephone conference call or Internet conference).

Pastoral Search Process Guidelines 2.Members of the PSC do not discuss PSC matters between themselves or in small groups of members of the Pastoral Search Committee.

Pastoral Search Process Guidelines 3.Members of the PSC do not discuss PSC matters through .

Pastoral Search Process Guidelines 4.Members of the Board of Directors do not discuss matters related to the PSC when the Board is meeting either in open or executive sessions.

Pastoral Search Process Guidelines 5.The entire PSC selects the Chair of the PSC.

Pastoral Search Process Guidelines 6.The Chair will guide the process, serve as the representative of and spokesperson for the Pastoral Search Committee, and assure transparency of process while maintaining appropriate confidentiality of content.

Pastoral Search Process Guidelines TRANSPARENCY OF PROCESS means that the congregation has a right to know what the process is, how to participate in the process, and what progress is being made in the process.

Pastoral Search Process Guidelines CONFIDENTIALITY OF CONTENT means that the congregation may not know who has applied for the position, the number of applications that have been received, the opinion held by the PSC or any PSC member regarding any applicant, or any other information regarding any of the applicants.

Pastoral Search Process Guidelines 7.The Chair should be the one to initiate and receive communication from the congregation regarding matters of the PSC and its process.

Pastoral Search Process Guidelines 8.The Chair should be the one to initiate and receive communication with prospective candidates for the office of Pastor.

Pastoral Search Process Guidelines 9.The Chair should be the primary contact between the OCLH staff and the PSC.

Pastoral Search Process Guidelines 10.All deliberations of the PSC are strictly confidential. Members of the PSC should not disclose the discussions, deliberations, or processes of the PSC with anyone outside the committee, except the OCLH staff and any others as jointly determined by the OCLH staff and Chair.

Pastoral Search Process Guidelines 11.The members of the PSC will hold one another accountable for such confidentiality and will remove from the PSC any member who breaches this confidentiality.

Pastoral Search Process Guidelines 12. The PSC will develop a budget for its work and submit the budget to the Board of Directors for approval. Postage and printing Conference calls for interviews Long-distance calls Background checks Candidating Week (transportation, housing, food, etc. for the Candidate and his/her partner)

Pastoral Transition Might your church want to choose to have an Interim Pastor?

An intentional interim pastorate? ** YES ** Office of Church Life and Health would begin recruitment right away. Interim candidate would visit for a weekend. Board would advise the OCLH staff if the candidate is acceptable to the church. Interim Pastor would guide the transition process and provide leadership for the church. ** NO ** Volunteers would take on additional responsibilities for up to two years. The PSC would immediately begin its work, based only upon results from congregational surveys. Congregational Meeting elects a candidate. Repeat the process in a very few years.