I recently interacted with a pastor who was contemplating a transition to another congregation. The one he was considering had a number of markers of need for "revitalization" and my colleague wondered, "how can I know if they are ready for true revitalization?"This is an excellent question, because a number of churches will recognize the need at some level, but will not be ready for it. I asked him:

A friend recently shared this reflection with me, and I thought it offered great insight into this sort of situation-- when you're not sure if you should be looking for an opportunity for transition or not. I posted a version of what he wrote, but he wanted to re-work it a bit after I posted! Here's his updated story:Ed, I hope the following reflections on my transition are helpful for some of your

As I highlighted in my last post on this subject, the core factor here is, are you called to serve in pastoral ministry? If the answer is "yes" then nothing-- not economic crises, not the reality of more seminarians to "compete" with for a position, not the length of time since you began earnestly seeking placement-- NOTHING should keep you from continuing to pursue the fulfillment of that call.How

A seminary graduate recently wrote to me, asking for advice. He graduated from seminary over two years ago, but has not yet found placement into a pastoral call. He has made it to the "short list" a few times, and actually beyond that once or twice. He feels the pressure of the fact that every semester more seminary-trained men enter the ministry field, and he knows that the economic pressures on churches

A friend of mine recently learned-- the hard way-- that he was in a type of position I call the "unintentional interim." Here's the lay of the land: the pastor that served this congregation before my friend was their pastor for several decades. He was beloved by his people, and served them faithfully. This isn't to say that there were not surely more difficult times, but over their many years together

Here are a couple of new resources you might be interested in:Covenant Discipleship Communicant's Curriculum. My good friend and colleague, Richard Burguet, and I have been working on this together for years, and have finally seen it come to the point we've been hoping for. You can learn about about it, and order it, through Doulos Resources (which is a new ministry I'm involved with, and this blog

One added benefit of the [Elmbrook Church] Study Center became evident over the years as more and more people who would never have gone to seminary completed the training we offered (all the time supporting themselves in their secular jobs and pursuing their ministries in the church. This meant that when we had a vacancy on the staff or an opportunity to develop a new ministry, we didn't have to look

The last thing you must do to prepare well for the transition while in seminary is to make a list: who will your mentors be in ministry?You will inevitably face circumstances that you won't know how to handle, or will need some basic orientation for. Your first wedding or funeral; the first time you do a hospital visitation; the first Session meeting you moderate or Board meeting you oversee. You may

So you're getting a seminary degree... what does that mean to you?For many (most?) of us, it was an accomplishment that we were/are pretty proud of. It means a lot of hard work: difficult study, learning new languages, writing papers, reading mountains of books. It also means building new friendships, getting to know some amazing professors and others, getting to study the Bible and other wonderful

A few articles, posts, and other such have come to my attention recently that those in transition (or considering it) may find interesting. How a Presbyterian Minister Should Resign. Good thoughts here on the way that a resignation is approached-- not in a strictly businesslike manner, but with care and consideration for one's responsibilities as a Pastor and Presbyter. PCA Ministerial Glut. Back

My second key piece of advice for those in transition was to take time to get to know the people and businesses near the church.I'll stick with this advice, and think it is valuable part of a good transition. l will say, though, that the ways that these opportunities may manifest themselves are more than I initially suggested.For example: one of the best opportunities I've had to get to know the people

[This post was originally written on Oct. 14, 2007]It's been a crazy week. As I mentioned a few days ago, we got to Tennessee very late. On Wednesday, we met our realtor for the walk-through of our house, then went to set up utilities. After lunch, we met our realtor again and drove to closing. We closed on the house and then went back to the hotel, where I bumped into a member of our new church! (He

For the two of you who still check my blog, I'm still here!Sorry about the shortage of content-- actually, since late spring. I have a lot of blog posts in mind, and I will get them here eventually, I promise. There is a little bit going on right now: packing, studying for licensure, trying to finalize a contract on a house, and seeing everyone we want to see in St. Louis before we move is keeping

Any regular readers (are there any readers left?) should know that I have been actively seeking placement since last October. I occasionally have asked you to pray for my candidacy efforts, including once recently while I was actually on the trip.That trip was the ticket-- the Spirit was strongly at work that weekend. In the following days, that congregation voted to call me as their pastor, and as

Just what I need is another "series" of posts to keep up with, right?One of my oddities related to my overactive interest in pastoral transitions is my collection of "rejection" letters. (I have a whole file full; if you have a good one you'd like to share with me, please send me a copy! It will go to good use.)Here's a letter that I acquired recently that is about as good as it gets. I've removed

I had a telephone interview last week with a church that is approaching the placement process differently from the church I mentioned a few weeks ago: they are considering one candidate at a time, and focusing only on him. They have been without a pastor for 14 months, and I am the third candidate they have had interaction with; we've been in dialog for about 6 weeks.What strikes me about this church

I've already blogged about how the interview begins the moment the plane touches down. But when does it end?Rands, the Silicon Valley manager I've mentioned before, suggests that the interview really lasts for 90 days past your first day on the job. And I think he's right.Look folks can't evaluate you accurately by just your information packet-- and neither can they really assess your value during

I friend whose church recently completed a search for Senior Pastor told me about his conversation with the search team leader about two weeks before the final candidate was announced."How is the search going?" my friend asked. "I mean, I know you can't tell me any details-- but how are YOU doing with the search?"The team leader told him candidly: "I'm really tired. In the past two weeks I've listened

A friend and classmate from seminary reminded me of an important set of priorities a few days ago. He said:"Remember that place is more important than timing."This is good advice, and important to keep in focus. When you're in the midst of transition (as I am), it is natural to want to place as quickly as possible-- and when you have an opportunity near at-hand, the temptation to be ready to jump at

One of the sales reps that provided me with a quote called me today. I have to confess that I was annoyed at first, thinking he was just trying to put the screws on me about committing. I soon found out how wrong I was!He was actually calling to let me know that a new schedule of discounts had been published, and he took the liberty of running a new quote for me-- this one at 69% instead of 68%. 

A few days ago I wrote on things to know about moving.  One of the companies I mentioned was ULINE, a company that sells shipping supplies and has a great (and affordable) selection of moving supplies.Two things deserve follow-up about ULINE.  First, they regularly have special offers, monthly specials, and overstock sales.  If you're buying, you should check the Specials section of their website

...here are some things you need to know:Find help on changing addresses, forwarding mail, etc. at the Postal Service's Moving page.An alternative to the traditional two options for moving (full-service and rental trucks that you drive) has become a very popular option; they call it "self-service" moving.  The idea is that you pack your stuff onto a 60-ft trailer (as in, 18-wheel tractor-trailers),

Most Pastors I know vehemently claim that they plan to work until they die.  Thus, they really don't need to invest much in terms of retirement savings.That's good, because most of them have done a terrible job at building up any retirement savings.  I actually know men in their 50s who have little or no retirement funds set aside.The problem is, there may come a day when they do want to retire--

The guys at Church Marketing Sucks (I know, the name is suspect, but the intention is pretty great) did a quick post that has long implications: Church Staff Free Agents.Their post raises some very good questions quickly in my mind: How should we view transitions like those they mention (all semi-known names moving to work with other semi-known names)-- as the work of good, thoughtful ministry team-building

Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing, has written a good post on his blog about what to do before you quit your job (to leave for another).  Since I recently "left" my job, I was interested to see some of his ideas.Hyatt's thoughts are more relevant in a corporate/secular job setting than within the church, but still there are some good take-aways.  Maybe the best thing he offers is a reality

I did another installment of my sermon series on "Preparing for your new pastor" Sunday evening. This one may be the last in the series.The title this time was, "What will YOUR pastor do?" It was a reflection on portions of Ephesians 4:11-16.What is clear from this passage is that the goals of church life (and of ministry) are:Unity among the brethrenKnowledge of the Son of GodMaturity of faithGreater

Those of you who have been tracking my placement progress for these many months may be interested to know that I have accepted a position!As I've implied before, the work I've done for Wildwood Christian School this year-- originally intended to be a one-year interim position-- has opened up an opportunity for me to remain in a permanent position there. I'll continue to teach, but I will also have

The floor examination has a clear purpose: to test your readiness for ministry.Notice: I didn't say, “test your knowledge” or “test your theological acuity.” This is a test of how ready you are for the day-to-day, hour-by-hour work of ministry.A little background-- when a Candidate for Gospel Ministry pursues ordination in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), he will be

Most of the men I know who have remained in ministry for a number of years have done so through the friendships they made in seminary.In whatever way that it has materialized, these men (and often their families alongside them) have maintained friendships with a few very close friends from their seminary years. Those friendships have been a central factor in keeping them in ministry, stable, and focused

It is peculiar, just a little bit, how much transition happens (or doesn't happen) based on the season.I regularly (read: daily) check the vacant pulpit listings for my denomination, and I noticed an odd affirmation of this seasonal dependence recently. Over the past month, only four new listings have been added to the main listing, yet the “last updated” date changed at least twice a

I don't know any seminarians who have lost weight or gotten in better shape during seminary.Don't get me wrong-- I do know a good handful of guys that find time to exercise. Even I have found streaks of a few weeks where I've been on the treadmill regularly. But my pitfall is, I would guess, the same as many of my fellow seminarians': some point in the semester (exam time, a major paper due, a break

How long will you live in your new town, serving your new church, before you seek out and befriend other pastors in the area? Will you even refer to it as your “new church” by then?My guess is that most pastors put this at the bottom of their priorities. After all, one group that every pastor can be certain will never join their church are other pastors in the area! And there are already

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

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

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

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

This is more of an announcement than anything else: for the next two months, I will post once a week on the transition into ministry. This is for three consecutive reasons (all of which are pretty big assumptions):I am assuming (presuming?) that I have a readership-- and what is more, that at least some of those readers are actually seminary students who have been in the candidacy process recently.I'm

As important as understanding a pastor's calling and work is, that is not the whole story. If we do not also recognize the importance of our own calling and work, we have not really prepared for our new pastor. I'll finish this series with some reflections on what it means to be called as a church member, and what the work of lay-people is.First, let's look for help in understanding our calling as

Here's a sidebar to the “preparing for a new pastor” issue. As I discussed the importance of protecting a pastor's sermon preparation time, one of the folks in the Sunday School class (one of the Ruling Elders, no less!) asked the following question: aren't there computer programs for Bible study that make the work a lot easier? In other words, with the tools of computer software available,

The next step in preparing for a new pastor is to understand the pastor's work. That is, if we know with confidence that he is called to be a pastor, what does that mean that he is called to do, practically speaking?Pastors, the Scripture tells us, are “Elders” and “Overseers” of the church. As such, they have duties distinct from other roles of leadership. For example, in

I might mention that, in preparing to teach on this idea of preparing for a new pastor, I have a personal stake in it. The church that we are members of here in St. Louis is going through the very beginnings of transition right now: our Head Pastor of 15 years is leaving, as is our Youth Pastor, who is the primary “second” for preaching and general leadership. Thus, when I think through

How should a church prepare for a new pastor? I decided to take on this question as the topic for a Sunday School lesson I taught today. I preached at a church not too far from St. Louis-- a church I had preached at several times before-- and they request that visiting preachers also teach the adult Sunday School class. Since I knew that they were seeking a new pastor, and had been for some time,

It sometimes seems like we may never leave St. Louis! The latest change has been in the works for a while, but I'm only now starting to get the word out.With the extension of our graduation to December, I began to explore what my work options were for the summer and fall. I have been teaching full-time at a small Christian school to pay the bills, and they are, understandably, unexcited about me

“Pray expectantly that God will lead you-- even if it means that you will take 'the lower seat' in terms of your own ego and agenda...”What a great quote. This one came from one of my surveys, and was part of the impetus behind one of the big ideas I mentioned earlier: humility and submission about the placement process. This process is simultaneously humbling and self-aggrandizing, and

This is starting to get long-winded, and I don't want that. From here on, I'll recap my candidating history in considerably briefer form.After the trip to Florida, my next trip was a whirlwind out to Texas. I went by myself, because they indicated this was just an exploring visit, not so much an advanced interview (they would bring me back for that, if need be). I left my house very early (around

When we left off, I had gotten the position at the small two-Elder church; as I mentioned, I worked there for four years. In my third year there, shortly after Marcie and I were married, I had a strange sense of restlessness. I could never explain it much beyond that, but I had this feeling that God was stirring my heart up to prepare me for a change-- and I was confident that this change would take

It seems it might be helpful to recount my candidating history. Although I am only set to finish seminary this year, I have a surprising amount of experience with candidacy, and even placement; perhaps this is why other students seem to appreciate my thoughts and advice. At any rate, I'll give my history in increments, because it would be a long post indeed if it were all in one. While I was in