Two Types of Transition

Every church needs to develop and maintain two types of succession planning documents, one for a crisis transition and one for a planned transition.

Crisis transitions are those that involve the death of a pastor, the disablement of the pastor, the burnout and resignation of a pastor, the moral failure of a pastor, or the rapid departure of a pastor after accepting another call.

The Crisis Transition (The Red Paper)

The “Red Paper” is the church’s crisis management document. It should state clearly and concisely the things that should happen if the pastor cannot continue in his ministry due to a crisis such as death, disease or disqualification from ministry. If a church does not have a crisis transition plan it can very easily slip into making rash and reactionary decisions that can damage the ministry of the church for years to come.

The Planned Transition (The White Paper)

The “White Paper” will lay out the processes that should be followed in transitioning the existing pastor out of the lead pastor position and bringing in the successor pastor. It will also detail the ministry changes that should be undertaken as the moment of transition approaches as well as the things that will occur after the transition is complete. It will address the departing pastor’s role in the church if he and the leadership agree that he will remain involved in some way.

For more information about developing these papers contact me using the form on this site.