Critical Transition Principles
Principle 1: No Pastor Lasts Forever
While it may seem counter-intuitive, it’s essential that both the founding pastor and the core leadership team of the church establish a common understanding from the outset that no pastor will pastor forever. Once this principle is accepted among the key players, it should become evident to everyone that succession planning cannot be ignored.
Principle 2: Long-Term Pastors Make a Unique Mark
The longer a pastor has served, the more profound his mark on the life of the congregation. This is especially true if the pastor is a founding pastor or legacy pastor (12+ years). While there are some similarities between founding pastors and long-term pastors, there are also some fundamental differences that must be taken into account if a congregation hopes to thrive through the transition from the founding pastor to the first successor pastor.
Principle 3: It’s Time to Plan for Transition Now
Planning for pastoral transitions needs to begin several years before the event itself in order to give time to the key stakeholders in the process to better understand the unique system dynamics in their church. For this reason, while its never too early to begin planning for the first pastoral transition, it can be too late.
Principle 4: Continually Recalibrate Your Ministry Culture for Smoother Transition
As a church gradually matures, its pastor and core leadership team need to be continually adjusting its organizational structures, policies, and ministry paradigms to create transition pathways that are built to withstand the powerful destabilizing forces that occur in the process of making a pastoral transition.
Principle 5: Transition Isn’t Over when the New Pastor is Installed
The installation of a successor pastor isn’t the end of the transition process, its just the middle. The next three years are essential to the long-term health and vitality of the transition and must be treated with as much care as was the search for the successor pastor.
Principle 6: Engage the Inevitable Loss in Transition
Every transition will result in some type of loss, either for the departing pastor, the successor pastor or the people who remain in the congregation through the transition from one to the other. This loss must be actively engaged lest it metastasize into anger, envy or grief.
Principle 7: Even in Difficult Transitions, Hope Remains
Churches that fail to plan for transition will inevitably face some kind of crisis that if left unchecked, could threaten their continuing existence. And yet, even in these circumstances it remains possible to endure a difficult transition and emerge on the other sided with a stable and healthy congregation.