Transitioning Well
I hope I don’t sound boastful in saying this because it’s not a boast as much as it is gratitude. I am overwhelmingly blessed because every day I have the esteemed privilege of coming alongside pastors to assist them on their journey of delivering high-quality, next-level ministry wherever they are. As a matter of fact, everything we do is for pastors and helping pastors to serve well. I absolutely love this work!
One of the things that I’m passionate about is helping pastors transition well. I think about this often, one of the things we haven’t done so well as Adventists is that we haven’t helped pastors and their families, as well as the churches that they serve to be efficient and effective in the midst of a transition. They are some tools and keys; some “Best Practices” (if you will) that will help to ensure a fruitful transition. I want to share a few of those keys with you here. And would you know, as I was thinking about this I realized that I need to acknowledge some of our own team members who are in transition. This is just yet another indicator that this is an area where we could use some growth.
Michaela Jeffery
Michaela most recently contributed her tremendous gifts as the Managing Editor of our Best Practices Newsletter. The ways in which she melded noteworthy creativity, intuitive and informed awareness about the needs of pastors, and superb management ability was a providential Godsend. We are grateful for her exceptional contribution.
Heather Crews
Heather served our team with exceptional skill, care, and committed focus. Her insight and input have been invaluable as we have sought to develop new resources and expand the services of the Ministerial department. Heather has accepted a call to serve as the Associate Director of the North American Division Evangelism Institute (NADEI). I am confident that her contribution there will be first-class, and instrumental to helping NADEI to continue its legacy of impactful work empowering pastors as frontline evangelists.
Christopher Thompson
Christopher comes with extensive experience in media and communication, publications and as a local church pastor. He will serve as the new Managing Editor of Best Practices, and I am confident that he will continue to help us equip pastors through this resourceful publication.
Gerardo Oudri
Gerardo has a wealth of experience as a pastor and denominational leader and also as a theologian and scholar. He is going to be instrumental in helping us to think deeper about the church, the core qualities of pastors, and how pastors as resident theologians can each work in distinctive ways to equip their congregations.
We have been blessed over the years with tremendous leaders who have aided in our mission of supporting pastors. Those who are transitioning to new roles elsewhere still continue that mission in their own right. Those who are joining us help us to continue to progress along that same path. With every transition, the task is still the same: to position oneself effectively to serve best those in your care. So as I close, I want to share with you three key competencies that will help to make every transition a smooth one.
Communicate clearly. - Your family, your conference administrators, your new church members, the church you are leaving, church leadership teams, etc.: All of these groups of people need to hear clearly what you need during a transition. They need to see and hear you clarify what the next steps are in this process. If you don’t know next steps, then say that. Keeping the lines of communication open is always the best policy.
Listen carefully. - Just as you have needs, each of those groups has a distinct set of needs and expectations too. They need to know that you are interested in what’s important to them just as they need to value what’s important to you. You have two ears and one mouth. Listen carefully. Then, listen again.
Proceed cautiously. - An old seasoned pastor looked lovingly at his young mentee after he had laid out all of his extensive and elaborate plans. He then replied in quiet, and low tones saying, “Advance on your knees.” We might have grand and amazing plans for the new role, but remember, this is not a race. Seek God’s wisdom, and then advance with a prayerful and observant posture. Rome was not built in a day, neither was your church.
One of the guarantees of Adventist ministry is transitions. Nevertheless, if you apply these time-honored principles, I am confident that you will prove to be the kind of leader that churches love to see come, and hate to see go.