Hello everyone, and I pray you've had a great Easter season so far! My guess is that you have already heard that I am being moved to another church after merely one year in my current appointment. This is an unusual case, because neither the church nor the pastor requested any move; but the bishop strategically moved a few things around in order to better minister to our shared parish. So I am going to begin to talk about pastoral transition over the next couple of weeks through our devotionals. Today I want to begin by discussing the nature of relationships in the church.
First I want to admit that pastoral transition is rarely easy for churches. Even if the church has asked for their pastor to leave, it doesn't mean the transition from one to the next is any easier. And even in larger churches with multiple pastors, the transition of any one clergy person can be difficult on the hundreds of people to whom he or she has ministered. Pastoral transition is difficult because so much of the church's structure is tied to the pastor. The pastor is a teacher, a preacher, a mentor, a caregiver, a friend, an advocate, a missionary, and an administrator, to name just a few different roles! So there are few areas in a church which will go unchanged when the pastor changes. How does the new pastor speak? How does the new pastor connect with people, and with what kinds of people does the pastor best work? What are the new pastor's priorities, and what is the new pastor's life experience?
Perhaps we could summarize the role of a pastor in all of the above scenarios as an individual who serves a church so as to bring them and God closer together in relationship. I mean, what good would a pastor be if he or she did not at least attempt to inspire the congregation to come into closer relation with Jesus Christ, to be his close disciples and to live in accordance with the Holy Spirit? And how could we serve in this role if we were not passionate about the fact that our God cannot stand being so far apart from us human beings, that this God is one who stops at nothing to enter more deeply into our lives? Well, if this sounds at all accurate, then it goes to show that the pastor's focus on relationship between humans and God naturally establishes that our energy is focused primary on relationships. Almost everything a pastor does and should do is geared towards forming and strengthening relationships so as to create a community bound together in love for God. (For, at the same time, the Holy Spirit is both drawing us as Christians more deeply into Christ while also convicting us to reach out to others to draw them into the fold. A pastor's job is primarily to foster this.)
All of this goes to say that pastoral transition is a time when relationships change significantly in the body of Christ. With the exiting of a pastor, the relationship between the now former pastor and the church will be different, because he or she will no longer serve in all of those roles mentioned above. Furthermore, he or she will no longer be working to develop relationships within that particular congregation, but instead someone else will arrive to fill the job. This means that nearly all of the systems and relationships built by the previous pastor will be subject to change based on the knowledge, experience, personality and faith of the new pastor. And this creates anxiety because we are never certain about how well the new pastor will forge relationships with us in the church, or with those outside of its walls. What if the new pastor doesn't mesh well with us?!
So relationships, and the fact that the pastor's primary job is inherently relational, are a big reason as to why pastoral transition can be difficult and even painful, particularly when it is unplanned or sudden. However, there are some facts we need to discuss when dealing with relationships in the body of Christ.
First, the (positive) relationships formed by the pastor of a church should not be credited to the pastor, but instead to the Holy Spirit who guides us and flourishes the church. I know we say this all of the time, that it's not us, but God; however, while this fact is easy to understand, it is difficult to feel. Even though we know God is behind everything, still we feel a sense of loss when a person moves away, because we sensed God working through that person, and God developed the relationship we had between one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. In fact, it was God's intention that we would grow to love and trust one another, as it is between all human beings. And if that love and trust has developed, than glory be to God, for his will has been done on earth as it is in heaven. However, we must caution ourselves against crediting the pastor with being the agent of this relationship. If you have formed a strong, constructive bond with a pastor before, then you have clear evidence that God loves you and wishes to draw you into his fold. And even when the pastor leaves, this God will not leave you, but rather will continue to abide with you just as strongly as ever.
Secondly, don't write the pastor off in your life!! A pastoral transition does signal many changes for the local church, its relationships, and its administration, but it does not jeopardize your friendship in Christ with that pastor and his or her family!! It is important during a pastoral transition that the outgoing pastor not interfere with the ministry of the incoming pastor, so that new relationships may be formed through the Holy Spirit. But, even though a pastor leaves, that doesn't mean the pastor is gone forever; this pastor is still your friend, your brother or sister in Christ, and quite possibly even a neighbor still. Transition doesn't mean erasure of past relationships; it means God is doing something new in our midst.
Finally, we must come to a place where we attend a church not because of the pastor in charge, but because of the God whom we serve and adore, and the community of faith with whom we share in service and adoration. While a pastor functions as a conduit of relationships in the congregation and with God, the departure of a pastor does and should not jeopardize any other relationships already forged by the Holy Spirit. We are the church! And we work, socialize and witness together for the edification of the Kingdom of Heaven in our local communities! We already know that God will never leave us, and we have formed together as a church in relationship with one another; the fact that a pastor is leaving and another is arriving changes none of that. The momentum gathered by the Holy Spirit to begin new ministries and projects; the way tasks are delegated to individuals with particular gifts; and the way that the congregation has formed into an extended family is all carried over into the next pastorate, by the grace of God. Simply stated, the church continues its work as before, its mission unchanged, and its witness clear.
It's also worth discussing how the one individual who is at the highest risk of emotional baggage from pastoral transition is the pastor. These transitions are never easy for a church, but they are twice as difficult on the pastor, who must answer to the church, to his or her family, and to the bishop (in the case of our United Methodist Church). Moving to a new area usually means starting over, not only in the day-to-day affairs, but in forging relationships with others. It can be difficult for a pastor to make long-lasting friendships due to the fact that he or she moves often during a lifetime. And unlike in most vocations, the pastor rarely has the majority say-so in such moves.
I continue to pray for our churches which are undergoing transitions this year, as many do every year. And I ask you to do the same, both for congregations and for pastors like me.
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