Imagine that you are a “successful” pastor. You are called to a church and are faithful to that place of ministry for decades. Under God’s direction, you have navigated countless crises, business meetings, weddings, and funerals. You have made thousands of hospital visits and shared countless meals at every restaurant in town.
But beyond those more formal times you have spent with people are the deep relationships you have forged. You've been with families when they are at their best and when they are facing the deepest emotional chasms of life. You’ve attended high school football games and town parades. You’ve celebrated the joyous births and the tragic deaths. These shared experiences have brought you into a close relationship with many in the church. In some important ways you are closer to some families in your church than you are to some of your family members. You are now at the end of your ministry and can look forward to years of retirement with the self-satisfying knowledge that you have been faithful in all things.
But you have one more ministry task before you.
You must leave this church.
Bob Campbell, former BGCT president and long time Houston pastor has written a piece for the Baptist Standard arguing that a retired pastor can remain at his home church if he adopts some specific guidelines. While each of his guidelines are reasonable, I think that they are also overly optimistic. A retired pastor will always exert an effect on the church, no matter what steps he, the new pastor, or the church may take to prevent that from happening.
If things go exceptionally well with the new pastor, there are still issues. If the retired pastor excuses himself from business meetings and is both publicly and privately supportive of the church’s leadership, he will still be on the new pastor’s mind as someone who would (at least tacitly) need to be included in the loop on certain decisions that involve changing long held traditions. Even with a successful transition to a gifted successor, the retired pastor will still occupy an important place in the hearts of many in the church. When the retired pastor says that he will do no funerals or weddings “unless asked by the new pastor”, it still puts an inordinate pressure on the new pastor to include him. “Well, Brother Smith, I will not participate in your wife’s funeral unless asked to by the new pastor.”
And it things go bad for the new pastor they will go worse with the retired minister in the background. He will serve (even against his wishes) as the individual around whom opposition will coalesce. Not only will people speak nostalgically about his past ministry, they will also wonder about what he might be able to do again. If the new pastor leaves, the former will likely be asked to ride in as a knight to restore stability.
It is a sad irony that the place where a pastor has invested so many of his years is the one place to which he cannot retire.
The retired pastor has sacrificed himself for his entire ministry. He must make one more sacrifice.
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6 comments:
I wonder if it's possible for a retired pastor to leave the church for about a year and then come back after the new pastor has had a change to establish himself?
That would be better than no period of transition. But I think it would still be difficult. Prompting this post was a couple of local churches who have had various difficulties in dealing with this issue.
The church handling a retired minister the best in our area is one where the pastor of a few decades retired and immediately began to serve as a traditional interim. He still has an office at his old church, but isn't around much on Sundays.
Two years ago I followed a pastor who had served here for almost 30 years. He did take a year off but is now back. we have shared almost 30 funerals and not the first wedding! He teaches a Sunday School class and sings in the choir. He has publically stated on more than one occasion that the reason he is behind me in the choir is to watch my back. We may be the exception rather than the rule and the reason would be due to his commitment to seeing the new guy make it. In our first meeting our consensus was that it was in his best interest for me to be succesful and he has done everything possible to ensure that end. We have grown a great deal, many older folks have died and newer families are stepping in. Good topic.
By the way, how bout them Cowboys???
DD in Redskin territory
DD,
Thanks for sharing. Most of the stories I hear don't turn out as well as yours has. I think that you and the church are fortunate.
This issue is such a problem, that in our case study for the Intentional Interim, it involved a pastor who never left after he retired.
I've enjoyed the football season very much:)
We could do a large number of case studies that would show the dangers of pastoral succession. Across the SBC the old guys are retiring and it is a struggle to find new folks to step up. Then, if the old guard doesn't like the new direction and the former pastor remains a viable contact, problems just get started.
It really grieves my heart to see the churches that implode over this issue. I don't know the answer, but I do think that future success lies in the former guy blessing the new guy and by staying out of the thick of things. However, we are an ego driven bunch and that is easier said than done.
Say a prayer for V, her dad had a major heart attack in Mexico and she is on her way to be with him.
DD
DD,
I will pray for her and her father. (And for you as Mr. Mom)
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