I pointed out Collin Hansen's great article on the Gospel Coalition website about succession planning last month. Hansen has posted on the topic again, this time with a video of three significant men in evangelical ministry today -- Tim Keller, Don Carson, and John Piper -- discussing aging and how is has impacted their own thoughts about succession planning.Congregations: do you have an aging pastor?

I've been doing a short series on the difficulties of moving far from "home" and family, and how some have dealt with it. (Read part one and part two.)Back to my friend "Brian" who lives in Colorado, and his family is in South Carolina. Here's another observation Brian had, this time about his children's relationship with their grandparents.Brian has several children, so naturally his parents (and

Carl Trueman posted a couple of shorter pieces on the Reformation 21 blog back in June (Some Questions and Thoughts on Ministerial Calls part one and part two), in which he challenged our usual approach and practice to identifying a "pastoral call" in candidates and churches.Trueman observes that the practice often is in conflict with similar practices in other parts of our congregational life:I have

At our recent General Assembly I spoke with several friends who had moved a long way from "home" and family, and gleaned some interesting comments and reflections on their experiences. (Read part one here.)Now let's consider a comment from "John" whose family is from Alabama, and who is now a pastor in California. Here's what John said:"The best advice I received was from [a seminary professor] who

The question of effective succession planning in the church is a vital one, and yet it is usually one of the topics that a congregation-- even the leadership-- most often neglects and ignores. Churches seem to settle quickly into the assumption that, now that they have a pastor, he's there for good! And some great churches have seen devastating results as a consequence of that neglect. On the other

Both of my long-time readers will know that, for quite some time, I've been working on a book that summarizes my research, my personal experiences, and other information about pastoral transition, particularly on the niche subject of transitioning from seminary into pastoral ministry.That book, now seven years in the making, is finally out! From M.Div. to Rev.: making an effective transition from seminary

At our denomination's General Assembly last week, I had the chance to speak with a few friends who have accepted pastoral calls a long way from "home." Over a few posts, I'll share some of their wisdom.First let me say this: I define "a long way from home" as meaning either simply too far to drive, or far enough that it requires several days (3 whole days or more) of driving to get from where you live

My son Jack goes through socks at a preternatural rate. One reason why is because he wears them, without shoes, all over the place-- in the yard, down the street, in the car. The other day I explained to him how sand and dirt working into the fibers of his socks aggressively advances the early demise of his socks, hoping this would stem the tide of our rising sock budget line.I thought of that this

Pastoral transition made the NY Times again-- this time, talking about how difficult it is for a single man to find a call as a pastor.A long time ago, I blogged briefly about a couple of struggles that singles might face (see "Singleness AND Carelessness?"); my aim, however, was not to fortify the underlying rationale that makes it difficult for singles in ministry, but to point it out as something

As my 10s of readers will surely know by now, my book From M.Div. to Rev.: making an effective transition from seminary into pastoral ministry will be published later this year (probably in the summer) by Doulos Resources. I posted my first endorsement from Dr. Rod Culbertson of Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte) back in January, and my second endorsement from Bishop Will Willimon in February.My

As I've mentioned before, my book From M.Div. to Rev.: making an effective transition from seminary into pastoral ministry will be published later this year (probably in the summer) by Doulos Resources. I've begun to receive endorsements from those who have gotten an advance look at the book, and I posted my first endorsement from Dr. Rod Culbertson of Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte) back

You may be aware that much of the content of this blog will soon be a book, entitled From M.Div. to Rev.: making an effective transition from seminary into pastoral ministry. The book should be out later this year.The first endorsement for the book has come in, from Dr. Rod Culbertson, Jr., who is Associate Professor of Practical Theology, Dean of Student Development, and Director of the Institute

My friend Adam recently forwarded an e-mail of the most recent (January/February 2011) 9Marks eJournal, from the 9Marks folks (they take their name from Mark Dever's 9 Marks of a Healthy Church). Knowing my interest in pastoral transition, he knew I would be interested in these articles.They are all very good. Here's a run-down of the articles included:Pastors LeavingLeaving Your Church Well: An Interview

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal looks at the problem of "Joblessness in the Pulpit".Here's a vital take-away from Joe Light's article for those who are in the midst of transition (interestingly, from my own denomination, the PCA): "Right now, the Presbyterian Church in America, which includes about 1,700 churches, has about five pastors looking for work for each of its 54 job openings,

By the end of the “decision-making” season of the candidacy process, you will either be ready to accept the call offered and begin the next steps of making an effective transition, or you will be facing the difficult and complex point of either having turned down an offer or having been passed over.If you find yourself in the second category, you will feel a wash of many emotions. Disappointment.

Winston Churchill once said that writing a book goes through five phases. In phase one, it is a novelty or a toy. But by phase five, it becomes a tyrant ruling your life. And just when you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling it into the public.~Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, Built to Last (New York: Harper Collins, 2002), p.ix.I resonate with that quote so strongly,

Pray that God would lead you in your search. Pray for wisdom and discernment. Pray that He would grant you awareness of key factors for your decisions. Pray that your priorities would be rightly aligned with His for your particular calling. Pray for clarity, and that He would make straight your path to fulfilling your calling in service to His church and Kingdom.Pray that God would lead the search

While I was at the PCA's General Assembly, I had opportunity to spend time with a number of pastors who were either in transition or preparing to enter into it. One interesting fact arose: the perception of a narrow window.Three of the men I spoke with indicated that they felt they were facing a barrier because they were "older" -- which, in these cases, translated into somewhere in their 50s -- and

There has been a good bit going on, writing-wise, and I wanted to give my tens of readers an update about it.To begin with, Doulos Resources released a book I wrote about six weeks ago: For All the Saints... Praying for the Church is a short book that I wrote for congregation-level reading, offering a guide to what specific ways people might pray for the church, the biblical basis behind each, and

Originally posted September 5, 2005The floor examination has a clear purpose: to test your readiness for ministry.Notice: I didn't say, “test your knowledge” or “test your theological acuity.” This is a test of how ready you are for the day-to-day, hour-by-hour work of ministry.A little background-- when a Candidate for Gospel Ministry pursues ordination in the Presbyterian

Ed Stetzer blogged recently about some wisdom he has regarding "interim" pastorates. Ed has some excellent advice for interims and churches calling them, especially when it comes to what it takes to BE an interim and what is reasonable to expect an interim to accomplish. I highly recommend his post on this. (Ed also suggests a couple of helpful other resources on interim leadership.)I, for one, think

First published September 5, 2005Most of the men I know who have remained in ministry for a number of years have done so through the friendships they made in seminary.In whatever way that it has materialized, these men (and often their families alongside them) have maintained friendships with a few very close friends from their seminary years. Those friendships have been a central factor in keeping

My friend and fellow TE in Covenant Presbytery, David Strain of Main Street Presbyterian Church, Columbus MS, offered some good advice for pastoral candidates on his blog today:Think long and hard about different social contexts and what language fits them.Read correspondence before sending it off!Practice humility.Be careful on blogs and Facebook.Tailor your application to specific churches.Cultivate

First published August 20, 2005...I don't know any seminarians who have lost weight or gotten in better shape during seminary.Don't get me wrong-- I do know a good handful of guys that find time to exercise. Even I have found streaks of a few weeks where I've been on the treadmill regularly. But my pitfall is, I would guess, the same as many of my fellow seminarians': some point in the semester (exam

In part one of this series, I addressed why a hand-off (where an existing Assistant or Associate Pastor becomes the new Senior Pastor) is valuable. In part two, I answered the question, "should the Assistant/Associate become the Senior?" In part three, we looked at some strategies for an effective transition of this sort.In this (final) installment, I want to think about planning for succession.The

Originally posted on August 5, 2005You think transition is hard on you? Wait until you see the fallout for your family.Any transition is difficult-- not just for a pastor, but for his wife, children, parents, siblings, former friends... no one is left unscathed. Some friends of mine recently felt the force of this as they moved to seminary: they were doing pretty well with it, until it finally caught

Originally posted July 30, 2005Anytime I'm left waiting in someone's office, I look at what is on the shelves: usually, the books capture my interest the most, though I was once fascinated to find a clean, yet broken, inner-race of a automotive constant-velocity (CV) joint on the shelf of a philosophy professor! (The CV joint is the amazing piece of a car's axle that allows the wheels to spin at different

I've come across a couple of helpful pieces lately that I'll pass along:Church Whisperers-- this group focuses on strategic interim pastoring, which is a sorely-needed ministry and an oft-neglected topic. I really like what this effort is doing. Check out the latest article: "Working Yourself Out of a Job".Congregations and New Pastors: A How-To Guide-- this is a great article for congregations on

In part one of this series, I addressed why this sort of hand-off is valuable. In part two, I answered the question, "should the Assistant/Associate become the Senior Pastor?"Now, let's look at some strategies for the newly named Senior Pastor for an effective transition into the new role. I recommend three essential steps toward moving forward into the new role as Senior Pastor.Deal with changing

Originally posted in July, 2005: Who are the people in your neighborhood?Sing along if you know it: Oh the postman always brings the mail, in rain or snow or sleet or hail...The Sr. Pastor I worked with in Roanoke had an interesting experiment going on when I started: he would stop for gas at the station less than two blocks from the church property and would routinely ask the attendant for directions

My friend Doug did an interview with me via e-mail about my process of candidacy and transition. Part one is here.Here is part two:8. Briefly describe your experience of transitioning into your role as pastor?It's still going on, in many ways: most studies have shown that pastors don't really become as effective in their ministries as possible until seven years in, and that they don't effect significant

Well, it is "new" in that it has just been posted here.A few years ago, I wrote a few posts on how a church can prepare for a new pastor; these posts were themselves the result of a series of sermons and Sunday School classes I taught on the subject at a church I was serving in pulpit supply at the time. After I had written these, and received a good bit of positive feedback on them, I re-formatted

I've been blogging for four and a half years, with well over 300 posts. Somewhere in there is some decent stuff-- and, while I'm still writing new stuff, I'm going to start occasionally re-posting some of the older ones, particularly when they are timely.And, since many who were seminarians a week ago are no longer seminarians, but now are seminary graduates, I'm going to re-post my series on making

In part one, we considered why the hand-off is valuable. In this post, I want to consider the question, "Should the Associate/Assistant become the Senior?"There are numerous circumstances in which the answer to that question ought to be a resounding, "YES!" and only a few in which the answer ought to be, "no." Think of it this way: below are some diagnostic questions about the Assistant/Associate Pastor

Some pastors are apparently being let go during this economic recession, because their churches aren't able to pay them anymore (or at least, they aren't able to pay them adequately). Thankfully, I have not encountered this personally, nor has anyone that I know, to my knowledge.However, I am greatly encouraged to see this: in my denomination (the Presbyterian Church in America), we have an "agency"

One of my "dreams" for the church is that pastoral transitions would go more smoothly for most, if not all, churches. I am convinced that one way for this to happen more frequently is if the transition is a planned "hand-off" of the outgoing Pastor's rather than a "from-scratch" restart of pastoral ministry every time the Senior Pastor (or any other pastoral staff member) leaves. I want to focus on

A friend of mine recently learned-- the hard way-- that he was in a type of position I call the "unintentional interim." Here's the lay of the land: the pastor that served this congregation before my friend was their pastor for several decades. He was beloved by his people, and served them faithfully. This isn't to say that there were not surely more difficult times, but over their many years together

It's been a long time since I've blogged about how churches can do a better job with their search processes. I admit that my focus has been on candidates (and even primarily on the transition from seminary to a first ministry) for some time now. I think my horizons will broaden over the coming months, starting with this post.I'm a big fan of writer Malcolm Gladwell; I think he's not only one of the

Many seminaries have held graduation ceremonies in the past week; others will be doing so in the coming week or so. I don't know how many of my tens of readers are still in seminary, but to all of you who have recently graduated: you have my deep and heartfelt congratulations. You have completed an accomplishment of no small substance, and I commend you on your work and diligence to see it through.Along

A few articles, posts, and other such have come to my attention recently that those in transition (or considering it) may find interesting. How a Presbyterian Minister Should Resign. Good thoughts here on the way that a resignation is approached-- not in a strictly businesslike manner, but with care and consideration for one's responsibilities as a Pastor and Presbyter. PCA Ministerial Glut. Back

My second key piece of advice for those in transition was to take time to get to know the people and businesses near the church.I'll stick with this advice, and think it is valuable part of a good transition. l will say, though, that the ways that these opportunities may manifest themselves are more than I initially suggested.For example: one of the best opportunities I've had to get to know the people

Back in the summer of 2005, I wrote a series of posts for those who had recently placed on the idea of how to start your ministry well. Having recently made a transition-- and having completed my first 90 days-- I thought it would be helpful to re-examine those sage bits of advice and see how much I still agreed with what I said back then!Transition tip #1 was to focus on building the relationships.

I was examined by the Credentials Committee of Covenant Presbytery today, and they approved me for recommendation for ordination. This is huge, and it really feels great to get this step behind me. My friend Michael compares the completion of ordination to the struggle that consumes the movie Poseidon Adventure-- not a bad analogy.Almost anyone emerging from seminary and entering ministry will be "ordained"

If you've read this blog for any length of time, you probably know that I started it as a repository for data, insights, and interaction with the research that I started in 2004 on pastoral placement. I initially did that research for personal reasons (e.g., I wanted to know how to place well!) but quickly became burdened for anyone who is going through a pastoral transition. As I've continued to study