There is a unique role within congregational ministry, occupied by many yet only truly fulfilled by some. It’s the role of the Interim Pastor. The interim pastor serves between called pastorates in congregational life, as a search team is active guiding the church toward identification and call of its next pastoral leader. In this sense, interim work is liminal in nature – existing in a threshold space in which the interim pastor is helping the congregation look both backward and forward.
Today the position is given additional names like “transitional pastor” or “acting pastor”, but I prefer the term “interim”. Interim clearly identifies, from the beginning, that this is designed as a temporary role. From the moment you say “hello” to a congregation as their interim pastor, you know you will sooner than later be saying “goodbye”. And, if you do your work well, you will leave them prepared for their next chapter.
In order to do this, interim pastors do far more than simply fill the pulpit on Sunday. If you only have someone doing that for your church, you have a supply pastor, not an interim. The work of the interim pastor extends beyond the preaching task, though through preaching much of the work can be addressed, but not if the preacher is only a Sunday guest.
In their notebook on the tasks of Interim Ministry, American Baptist Churches USA list these five objectives interim leaders should help a congregation work through:
- Coming to Terms with its History
- Discovering a New Identity
- Shifts of Power
- Rethinking Denominational Linkage
- Commitments to New Leadership and a New Future
In my own interim ministry I tried to champion each of these tasks in various ways including through worship/preaching, Bible study, and working alongside congregational leadership. I’m not sure how successful I was in achieving these tasks to the degree that I had hoped, but at least those in leadership knew they were part of the objective of our shared time together.
In this reflection, however, I’d like to speak to some other level learnings from the interim experience. One might call these the “softer” or less objectified learnings that can take place in such a crucial time in the life of a church. So, here are some of things I learned while serving as an Interim Pastor:
• People need to be seen, heard and loved. At the close of every pastorate, no matter how long, how successful or beloved that last pastorate was, there are people processing how to move on. Some are feeling betrayed by the leader who left for a new call. Others may be feeling relieved, ready for new leadership and a new voice. It’s not the interim’s job to agree or disagree with the evaluations offered by congregants on why the past chapter came to a close. It’s the interim’s job to listen, to insure that people (from those in leadership to those in the pews) feel heard as they process their feelings and thoughts.
In this respect, interim leaders help create space in a congregation for reflection. They acknowledge the transitional feelings and thoughts common to a change in leadership. They help a congregation grieve, if needed. And they help a congregation become hopeful. The best means of doing these things, in my experience, include being available to listen, see, and lovingly affirm the church.
Sometimes it’s a blow to a church’s confidence to lose a pastor, especially if that pastor is well-loved. People begin to wonder “what did we do wrong?”, or “will we be able to attract anyone to come and serve with us?”. Good interim pastors are process people. They allow the group to process what needs to be sorted through. The best way of doing this, in my experience, is to be present without being overly present. What do I mean? I may be on my own in this thinking, but the role of an interim pastor IS NOT to hog the spotlight. It’s not to overwhelm or make it all about him or her. In this respect, interim ministry is supportive, humble and gentle – not overbearing.
• People need to see competency in pastoral leadership. Like it or not, interim pastors are representative to congregations of their colleagues. We are place holders who stand in the gap until the next pastor is called. It behooves us to do this well! This isn’t a time to recycle old sermons or fall back on our tried and true tricks of the trade. The work of the church in this time is so important it deserves our best efforts. Good preaching, solid leadership, compassionate pastoral care – these are the pastoral duties deserving of competence. We model what it looks like to bring professionalism to the office, while at the same time doing so in personal and relational ways.
Inevitably, if one does this work well, you will begin to hear comments like: “I wish you would just stay and be our pastor.” But this isn’t the goal of the interim period. We are not auditioning for a job, we are fulfilling a role that is all about preparation for the one who will follow. So, boundaries will have to be reinforced, and polite declinations extended to such well-meaning words.
• People need hope consistently delivered overtime. If the primary focus on the interim period is “what’s wrong” or “what needs fixed”, these messages tend to drown out hope for the future. Yes, there may be some things that need to be addressed and improved, but one earns the right to address those along the way by first being present and hopeful.
Many churches today, especially if they are smaller in number, are discouraged. The pews are not as full as they once were. More gray heads occupy the seats and offices than the congregation would like. Budgets are stretched. People yearn to “go back” to what they remember as the “glory days” of the church.
Yet God is not done with the church! I firmly believe that the church of today and tomorrow will continue to look a bit different from yesterday’s appearance and need to adapt to new challenges. But I also believe God will continue to work through the Church until such time as Christ returns. Much of the interim pastor’s work is to help the congregation embrace such hope.
• People need permission to reinvest in faith and ministry. It is likely that an interim period offers some congregational leaders the cover they’ve been looking for to take a break. People get tired and often use a change in pastors to step away from roles they’ve poured themselves into. At the same time, others tend to step forward during such liminal periods. This may happen formally or informally as volunteers stand in to fill various roles.
Let’s think of this phenomenon as a “reinvestment” in faith and ministry. For some it may be permission for renewal and refreshment – the remembering of your first love, to use biblical language. For others, it’s encouragement and support as they step into roles they’ve not before held.
A savvy interim leader will soon discern who is standing back out of fatigue or burnout and who is standing on tiptoe just waiting to be useful. Such observation takes time and understanding. Yet it can become impactful in the lives of both individual disciples and congregations as a whole.
• People need to be pointed toward the future. Nostalgia is an oft present companion in congregational life. It is also sometimes a detriment to a healthy future. The interim leader’s efforts to help people envision a new day and embrace the future are essential toward thwarting nostalgia’s paralyzing effects.
By voicing prayer for the congregation’s connection and mission to it’s community, and celebrating it’s efforts (old and new) to foster such connection, the interim becomes a cheer leader. By tying the church’s historic story of mission to today’s ongoing need for mission, the interim becomes a storyteller that brings dreams and visions to minds. By preaching the Gospel’s living word of love, grace and outreach, the interim pastor helps unleash the Holy Spirit’s movement in the midst of the people.
All of this is preparatory work – preparing the soil for the one who next come to till and cultivate it. It’s pay-it-forward work. It’s investment in the future work. And it’s needed work.
Just as John the Baptist, in Isaiah’s wake, prepared the way for Messiah, a good interim pastor prepares the way to hand off the work to another. Such focus makes saying “goodbye” not sad but gratifying.
© Daniel M. Cash 2024
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