From the archives: making a healthy transition, #4

Originally posted on August 5, 2005

You 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 up to them. Like the rest of us, they were hit with the troubles that transition brings.

I can remember how it was. Coming to seminary was difficult enough: moving all of our stuff, settling into a new home, meeting new people, looking for/starting new jobs, finding a new church, and undertaking a new degree program. While we didn't have any children at the time, I can only imagine that those who do find the difficulty to be increased exponentially. The seminary transition, as most of my readers will understand (I presume), is beastly.

Yet, it was also wonderful in its own way. The anticipation helps a lot; I can remember just as well all that I hoped for: learning new things, meeting those who will become life-long friends, interacting with professors, getting training and experience for the fulfillment of our callings...

No, wait. That's just me who would be doing all of that. Marcie would be working to put me through that. (Or working at home to raise our children.) She wouldn't really get to experience very much of that at all, would she?

Yes and no. Marcie has had a great seminary experience too.

But if you're married and in seminary (or if you were in seminary at some point), hopefully your wife has communicated to you some of the differences between what you are experiencing and what she is. Sometimes it is like night and day.

Don't forget this.

Keen awareness of this point will be essential information during the transition into pastoral ministry.

Because often, in ministry, the situation is surprisingly the same: you, the pastor, come in with great anticipation of all that will happen. You'll meet many wonderful new people who you'll call your flock and co-laborers. You'll be able to jump right into the hands-on work of ministry. You'll become familiar with the community, the town, and the places that will become your regular haunts. You'll begin to catch a vision for what the Lord may do with you there, and the excitement will be nearly overwhelming.

Meanwhile, your wife will be at home with the kids. Or starting a new job. Or looking for work. She'll be lonely, stressed-out, and tired. She'll feel the pressure to get the boxes unpacked while you're writing a sermon or visiting the home-bound. She'll be the one worrying about the family budget-- after all, she still hasn't found a job and you've already been there four weeks!-- while you're going out to lunch with an Elder.

Sunday will come, and you'll go in early, teach Sunday School, chat with the members you met earlier in the week, lead worship, preach your sermon, and accept an invitation to lunch with your new friends. What a wonderful Sabbath!

She'll wander into church uncertain of what class to attend, stand to the side and talk politely with folks she doesn't know, sit alone with the children during worship, and quietly eat her lunch while you talk and laugh, all the while worrying about getting the kids down for a nap. Was that even a Sabbath?

Brothers, as you're settling in to your new position, making new friends, and getting a vision for the ministry God has brought you to do, don't forget the co-laborer that He gave to you for life-- the one who knows you the best. Share her concerns and burdens. Pay attention to what she is struggling with. Help with the boxes. Watch the kids so that she can get coffee with an Elder's wife. Open your heart and mind to her by telling her about the vision God is giving you.

And take her out on a date very soon after the move. And regularly thereafter.

From the archives: making a healthy transition, #3

Originally posted July 30, 2005

Anytime 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 speeds around turns.)

You can learn a lot about a person from what is on the shelves in their office. In fact, you can learn a lot about them from the whole office.

Now, in spite of Tychicus' (valid and true) comments that motivated this post, I'm not going to post on “feng shui for the pastor.” But there is a psychology to the arrangement of a pastor's study that those in transition ought to pay attention to.

Take, for example, the shelves of books. Nearly every pastor or seminarian I know is a bibliophile, and most of us are somewhat proud of our book collections. Will my study be the best place to store all of my books? Inevitably, there will be those in a congregation who are intimidated by the scholarly nature of their pastor, and the fact that his study is entirely lined with books will not help the intimidation. Perhaps the avenues of ministry would be less congested if some of the books were housed elsewhere.

Obviously, there will be some books that are essential, or nearly so, to a pastor's ministry and therefore have a proper place in his study. But many will not: in my office at the last church I served, I had an entire shelf unit filled with my philosophy books, though-- oddly-- I never used them for youth ministry. They were a nice testimony to the degree I completed in that field, but probably hindered my ministry (and certainly didn't help it). At present, I would guess that 1/4 to 1/3 of my 2000+ books have no direct value to ministry whatsoever, and could be shelved at home when I transition into ministry.

Another aspect to consider is the desk and work space. It may take a while for a working system to emerge as the most efficient way of using the space you have, but let me make a few recommendations based on experience and/or reflection:

• Don't bother with the “In-box/Out-box” sort of arrangement unless you will actually use it. Since I never did, mine were always overflowing, which gave the impression that I was either overworked or never did anything!
• Keep file storage close-at-hand. If you have ready access to your filing cabinets, you are more likely to actually file things regularly. Filing is usually tedious anyway, so any excuse (e.g., “I don't want to bother getting out of the chair to walk across the room”) will be enough to prevent regular filing. [N.B.: for a good system to get this under control, I recommend “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” (David Allen).]
• If possible, place your desk so that it is visible from the doorway. When others walk by and see you working, it will affirm their sense of your work-ethic. Stated negatively, some congregants already suspect that a pastor loafs and slacks all week (“Pretty good pay for two hours a week...”), so if they can't see you working (or see the evidence of your work from the stuff on your desk), they may assume the worst. Obviously this only applies if you actually do work.
• An ancillary point to the last one: set up your computer so that the monitor can be seen from the doorway. Hopefully you're not tempted by pornography on the Internet, but if you are (or is anyone suspects that you are), this setup will provide accountability and dispel suspicion.

Also, if the door to your study doesn't have a window in it, insist that one be installed, or the door be replaced with a windowed one. This is for your protection, as well as for the peace of mind of those you counsel. Otherwise, your alternatives are three: leave the door wide open (which means anyone can hear you and your visitor); close the door but always have someone else sit in with you (which is not always possible, nor does it avail the privacy that counseling often requires); or close the door and be alone with them (which, at best, invites speculation...). Of course, a fourth alternative is that you could simply refuse to do any counseling (but don't bother unpacking the books).

The size, shape, and kind of furnishings in a pastor's study vary so greatly from one church to another that it is difficult to offer any concrete suggestions about how a study might be arranged. Here are a few thoughts. Make the space as inviting as possible. Have comfortable seating available apart from your desk chair (one pastor I visited kept metal folding chairs behind the door for guests-- no wonder he seldom had them!). Light it well, but not harshly; indirect, incandescent light has been shown to be both soothing and restful, while fluorescent lights can make the eyes tired. The perfectly arranged study is one that is comfortable and functional for long periods of time, both when you are alone and when others are with you.

As Tychicus suggests, the desk can become an unintended divider between the pastor and his people. I've seen a variety of arrangements that accommodate this, with one thing in common: all of them had a part of the study that was structured for sitting with others-- almost an ante-room of sorts in some cases, while others were just chairs or a loveseat placed behind the desk, so that the pastor could turn around and face his visitors.

Finally, acknowledge the impact of nomenclature. What is the difference between a “pastor's office” and a “pastor's study?” Psychologically and semantically, there is a world of difference. An office is used mainly for administration, meetings, and business. A study, on the other hand, is a place for reading, reflection, contemplation (in other words, for studying). Which of those two best describes your calling?

William the Baptist

Doulos Resources has recently released one of my latest projects: an updated edition of the book William the Baptist.

William the Baptist was published by James M. Chaney in 1877, and is a great book on Reformed, covenantal baptism. Some have called it the finest book ever written on baptism.

Unfortunately, it has been out of print for years, and the best copies available were simply facsimile editions that were often poorly printed. With Doulos Resources, I have updated this book for re-printing: the language has been gently edited to reflect 130+ years of linguistic changes; the Scripture quotations have been changed from the King James version to the English Standard version; Scripture quotes that were unattributed have been referenced in footnote; and a Scripture index is included.

I'm really excited about this, primarily because I have longed to see this book in print again for years. Check it out here:
William the Baptist

A couple of helpful links

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 how to receive a new pastor. The advice here is SO good. I'm really grateful to this Lutheran brother for his work in writing this.

I trust you will find these helpful, as I did.

Special Circumstances: the Assistant/Associate Pastor becomes the Senior, part three

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 relationships. The new Senior Pastor already has existing relationships with the staff, leadership, and congregation; that's one of the real benefits of this sort of hand-off. But those relationships have been defined, at least in part, by his former role as an Assistant/Associate Pastor. That role is gone, and the relationships MUST change along with his role. Sometimes this will mean frank conversations, or even open discussion of it in a congregational meeting, during Sunday School classes, etc. At other times, the leadership needs to proactively step in to run interference for him (for example, when someone wants him to continue to fulfill one of the duties of his former role). It may mean changes in leadership structure, and even leadership personnel-- in fact, it may even result in staff changes. The important part is that EVERYONE involved in leadership be on the same page about what the new Senior's role now is, how he will fulfill it, what the "chain of command" is, what things he won't do any longer, and other details such as these. I think it would be helpful for the new Senior Pastor to lead a retreat of his staff and leadership in order to work through all of these.
• Recruit mentors. The odds are good that the new Senior Pastor has never been in this sort of position before-- even if he has served as a Senior Pastor before, it has likely been in a smaller congregation with substantially fewer responsibilities. (Very few men who have been Senior Pastor of a medium or large church move into Assistant or Associate roles in other congregations.) It is reasonable, therefore, to assume that the new Senior will encounter questions, issues, and puzzles that he may need some assistance figuring out. A mentor-- a seasoned pastor of another congregation, for example-- may be invaluable in such a setting. They are also great for prayer support, general encouragement, and simple fellowship and accountability. In my Presbytery, our Church Care Committee has begun working to put these sorts of mentoring relationships in place with ALL newly-installed Senior Pastors. What is more, because this sort of transition (from Assistant/Associate to Senior in the same church) is atypical, it may be worthwhile to find someone else who has been through a similar transition. I e-mailed a leader in my denomination about this, and he provided me with a list of a half-dozen pastors who had made this transition. I'd be surprised if most of them (if not all) weren't willing to offer counsel to someone else venturing into these waters.
• Own it. As I pointed out before, one of the tangible benefits of this kind of transition is that there is no "honeymoon" period wherein substantial changes and progress are more difficult; instead, in this kind of transition the new Senior can hit the ground running. So he should. As I suggested in part two, if the church is moving in a healthy trajectory, then the new Senior ought to already be asking, "what's the next step down that road?" And he should be ready to lead the congregation in taking it. For example, a pastor I know recently made this transition, and he knew that the church that he served essentially needed revitalization (even though it is a larger congregation). Knowing that I have a particular interest in that subject, he asked me for some "summer reading" recommendations, and we also talked about the value of taking his staff and Session to a conference on church revitalization sometime soon. He's owning his new role, and leading them in the next step toward greater congregational health. Not every such church will be in such need of revitalization-- the next steps will be different for every congregation. But the important part is that the new Senior Pastor not tarry in owning and accepting the leadership that has been given to him.

I believe that, if the context is right (as discussed in part two), and the new Senior takes these steps, then all of the conditions are perfect for a thriving ministry as Senior Pastor. In part four, I'll address succession planning and how a congregation can prepare for this sort of hand-off effectively.

From the archives: making a healthy transition, #2

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 to our church!

When he first started this practice, the response was usually something vague, at best. “I've never heard of that place,” “Isn't that on ___ street [on the other side of town]?” and, “Sure-- it's a half-mile south of here [exactly the opposite direction]” were some of the answers he received. In time, it became a joke-- and not a very funny one.

Our church was fairly active in local issues, and though it would have been easy for my pastor just to explain who he was to the attendants, he wanted to see if they knew about the church by its reputation. I appreciate this desire, but I think that a new pastor can do great things for his ministry if he is attentive to intentionally building relationships with his neighbors, as well.

One of the aspects of transition that is probably overlooked more than any other is this sort of relationship-building outside of the congregation. Getting to know the physical neighbors around the church property (and around the pastor's home, as well) is definitely a ministry-builder, and an invaluable part of settling into ministry.

Here are a few things that such relationship-building accomplishes:

• It allows genuine fulfillment of the command to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
• It heals past hurts-- particularly those inflicted by other Christians-- by showing true care and concern.
• It is itself an exercise in hospitality, and it opens up further opportunities for hospitality.
• It creates a venue for the Gospel to be shown and told.
• It helps in future circumstances when civil and political difficulty may arise.

My pastor in Roanoke would agree with this: when Planned Parenthood erected a clinic directly across the street from our church property, he was the first one to extend a hand of hospitality (but not a hand of welcome, exactly, though the distinction is a fine one; make no mistake, he is strongly “pro-life” and was not supportive of what the clinic was built to do) and worked hard to build a friendship with the clinic's director. Rather than only showing opposition to the clinic's purposes (which he also did, in a loving way), he also led the charge to long for, pray for, and work for the salvation and redemption of those who work there. Those workers, it seems, are people too-- in need of a Savior, just like me.

Who are the people in your neighborhood? You don't have to try to meet them all in the first week or even the first months, but set some goals-- maybe you can get to know every merchant, businessperson, or resident on your block by name by the end of the first year of ministry. One new introduction a week would be fairly ambitious. Do you know your regular mail carrier's name, or the folks that make deliveries to your offices? How about the pastors of other nearby churches (more on this in a future post)?

Eventually, those station attendants did get to know us, and where we were. Not long before I left, my pastor can in from lunch beaming. “I stopped at the station like always,” he reported, “but when I asked if they knew where the church was, the guy said, 'You're there! It's just in the middle of the next block on the left!'”

They're the people that you meet each day...

Some LinkedIn help

Some time back, I mentioned Jibber Jobber-- an online tool for managing job search and career details. I've also mentioned LinkedIn before as a good tool for advancing your networking.

So here's an interesting confluence of the two: the CEO of Jibber Jobber, Jason Alba, has recently created a resource about how to make the most of LinkedIn for job-seeking. Here's an article that summarizes five of the suggestions that he offers.

Thanks, Jason.

Interview about placement and transition, part two

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 and lasting change in the first 2-3 years. So in many ways, I'm just approaching the threshold of that second season, with the first a long way off.

That said, transition has been about what I expected: I dug in with building relationships with my congregation, began teaching and preaching on what I believed would best fit a new pastoral ministry, and started learning what my patterns and routines would be. I had been planning how I would spend my transition time for months, so it was not hard to know WHAT to do-- mostly just HOW to do it.

9. What surprised you about it?

I was surprised by little things, the kind of things that hide from plain view but make a big difference. For example, I fully intended to not worry too much with getting my pastoral study set up, but to spend my first days heavily with members of my congregation. But I picked up on cues that suggested that they WANTED me to focus on my study and get it set up-- that was a sign of stability to them, and they needed a strong sense of stability in their new pastor. Similarly, I felt very encouraged to spend extra time at home in the first few weeks, helping Marcie to get our house established; they wanted to love us by helping us set up our home, and part of that was freeing me from pastoral labor to attend to that.

(All of this, by the way, is more the nature of the hospitable people I serve than simply an artifact of transition-- they continue to be generous with my time in these ways, even now.)

10. What are some helpful tips you would give to someone about to go through the process?

Don't try to do everything at once! You're settling into a (hopefully) long ministry, with plenty of time to encourage growth, teach what is in your heart, and accomplish your goals for ministry. Don't be in a hurry.

Also, it's not possible to spend "too much" time with your congregation in the first months. I'm in a fairly small congregation, so I set out to visit every household once in the first six months. That didn't end up being possible, but I DID get to see everyone who was a part of the "core group" of the congregation. I tried to include someone from the congregation in almost everything I did-- lunch, a project at home, helping me find a mechanic or specialty store, etc. That relational investment pays big dividends.

Finally, don't be in a hurry to change things. Some things will need changing, but most things can change much more gradually than your instincts tell you. Remember: they are already going through a lot of change just by bringing you in as their pastor, so don't push them too hard on change. A lot of guys will tell you that the "honeymoon" season is the time to change as much as you can; I think that is short-sighted. Such change is seldom lasting, causes the congregation to feel overwhelmed with change (and maybe no longer at home in the church they once loved), and suggests to them that you have no value of anything that happened before you came. If you want to be in transition again in a matter of months, this is a good way to set the stage for it!

11. What do you wish you knew heading into the first year at your current location?

I don't think there was any one thing (or set of things) that stands out as a gap in what I knew: I was pretty familiar with the demographics of the area, what the prospects for ministry were, and what the culture was like. I knew the church's recent history, and had been briefed on the important details of what had been good and what had gone wrong in the past, particularly with regard to the previous pastor. I knew of many of the ways in which the congregation needed healing, and also had a good starting notion of where they were spiritually strong. In short: I knew what I was getting into, both in the great ways and the hard ways. There have been difficult moments, and even weeks and clusters of weeks where I have been challenged by the circumstances-- but nothing that constitutes a "blind side".

I think most guys don't have the benefit of this. Either they are stepping into a situation that is much worse than they were led to believe, or they are entering a culture they really don't know, or something where there is a point that they think, "I'm not sure I would have taken this position if I had realized all of that!"

For those guys, first of all I would challenge them that they probably WOULD still take it, and that they SHOULD. But probably the biggest thing is to go into a transition knowing that there are going to be things that you didn't know about, and that you're going to get blind-sided. I may yet-- who knows? But most guys probably will, and they just need to be ready for it.

12. How has the transition been for your wife?

It has been good in many of the ways that it has been good for me; she has been encouraged by the love and hospitality of the congregation, just as I have. She has noted on several occasions how well our congregation loves our family. She hasn't been forced into a pre-conceived role of what the pastor's wife ought to do or be, and that has been freeing.

It has been hard, too, since she left behind her close friends from seminary and has not found as many friends of similar "age and stage" in our area until recently-- and those are just now budding relationships, approaching two years in. Meanwhile, I've made friends with some other pastors in the area, and don't feel as much need for friends of the same age or life-stage as me anyway-- so it has been harder for her to see me find fulfilling friendships when she hasn't. She has dealt with that very well, but it hasn't been easy.

New resource posted

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 them into a single article form, and added a few things as well.

That article, entitled "When the Pastor leaves...", is now available here, via the Doulos Resources Transition Tools section. It's in PDF format, and you are free to copy and distribute it in quantity to your congregation, if you wish. (There is information about the Creative Commons license on the Transition Tools page.)

I hope this will be helpful to others. I have had it posted on another website that I'm associated with for several years, and it has consistently been one of the most popular downloads on that page. I thought it would be good to make it available here as well.

[Download "When the Pastor Leaves..."]

From the archives: making a healthy transition, #1

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 an effective and healthy transition into a new ministry opportunity. Starting now.

Originally posted in July, 2005:

Start your ministry by stacking your boxes of books by the door of your office. Now leave them there for the next two weeks.

It should be no surprise that, if I am convinced that the key to placement is relationships, I am also sure that relationships are the key to good transition. If one of the key questions for placement is, “Who do you love?” then surely one of the key questions for transition is, “How do you love?”

Forget the boxes of books, the adjustment to the new places, and the sermon you have to preach next Sunday. (No, not completely; but don't you have a few sermons you could re-work and save some prep time?) Begin your new ministry strong with a heavy focus on relationship-building. Let the logistics of the new position take care of themselves-- or at least wait a while.

In one of the positions I served, I went the other way: I jumped into the logistical details during the first weeks of ministry. I spent time setting up my office, unpacking books, organizing my schedule, and establishing mobile phone service. Looking back, it was a big mistake that hurt my ministry for the long-term.

After all, ministry is not about those things. Not about cell phones, bookshelves, or offices. Not about the contents of the books on the shelves or the appointments on the schedule. Not even about the sermons you preach-- not essentially. If no one is listening, it won't matter how good you preach, how many appointments you make, or how many books you read. And once they decide that you're interested in things other than relationships with them (whether that is the truth or not), they stop listening.

Jump into your new ministry with both feet by building relationships. That doesn't mean you can't do anything else; obviously you must have something to preach on Sunday, and you should take some time to prepare for that. But let the bulk of your time be spent with people. And make sure they can see that this is your priority; if you can, see to it that everyone in the church knows that they'll get time with you soon. Maybe not this week, but based on how much time you're spending with others...