Don’t Wait until the Pastor Leaves
Planning for Ministerial Transition Helps Ensure that One Successful Minister Follows Another
Written by Michael Durall
Book Review by Rev. Alan Mead
Although it doesn’t appear by the title to be a book of interest to interim professionals, I found “Don’t Wait until the Pastor Leaves – Planning for Ministerial Transition Helps Ensure that One Successful Minister Follows Another” by Michael Durall (CommonWealth Publishing) to be a good read and an excellent addition to any interim’s library. “Michael Durall is principal of the CommonWealth Consulting Group. The hallmark of his work is helping congregations develop tailor-made plans for the future. He leads board retreats, hosts long-range planning sessions, conducts growth seminars, and is a frequent speaker at regional and national events.”
As I began reading the book I had the feeling that, although intended to be a resource for interim ministers, it developed into a book that, while valuable for transition professionals, is useful for congregational leaders and ministers generally. A quote from the Introduction says it clearly: “The subject of this book is about transitional ministry, but it’s much more than that. It’s also a book about how people from all walks of life can create congregations of enduring value for themselves, for those they love, and for those who are lost and lonely. This can occur no matter who the pastor is, whether an interim minister, a settled minister, or the many variations in between.”
Durall speaks of interim ministry today as being “an indefinite state of affairs,” where “Interim ministry is a calling that has gained credibility due to increased professionalism, higher educational standards, and training in this particular craft. Yet interim ministry today remains a jumble of inconsistent standards, ranging from an optional accreditation process to no additional education or training whatsoever for an ordained minister who wishes to assume an interim role.” A time of transition can be a time to challenge, a time to renew, or a time to stagnate. Duvall looks at a variety of options, including some large, often specialized ministry churches that that use a succession model, choosing the next pastor while the current pastor is in place so that momentum and direction is not lost. Durall, an experienced consultant, shows different models and their usefulness based on the situation, and is clear about the many situations where a trained, experienced interim specialist is important, including “frequent clergy turnover, sadness or sorrow, declining membership, poor stewardship, lack of mission and purpose, struggles in recruiting leadership, and a sense of passivity, aimlessness or ambiguity about the future.” (p.44) Durall mentions that congregations with severe conflict or other great distress may find this book helpful; but there are many other, excellent resources to help.
I found Durall’s book to be good source to understand better some of the challenges facing congregations and everyone concerned with healthy congregations, whether interim or settled. Chapter 6, “Is Interim Ministry the Best Choice?” and Chapter 7, “Succession Ministry, Transition Planning, and Redevelopment Ministry” offer thoughtful analysis and a variety of ways for congregations to move forward. Other chapter titles include, “Obstacles to Change, That Old Time Religion, The Sacred Cow Roundup, Money in the Church, Power and Authority in the Church” and others with intriguing headings.
In chapter 7 Durall urges all congregations to think ahead regarding pastoral transitions and as a beginning, develop an emergency plan answering such questions should, for example, “What happens if the pastor gets hit by a bus?” In other words, develop a plan in case of crisis, including, contact information, a communication system, diocesan and national church numbers to call, what happens to spouse and children, who are the back up leaders, what are the congregation’s responsibility if death occurs, and so on, with a checklist following of “necessary items in introducing transition planning to a congregation.” (p.61)
In conclusion, I found the book interesting, filled with helpful analysis and tools that can easily be adapted and used in a variety of interim situations. Durall uses humor and writes clearly and simply, using many examples from his career as a consultant. The “Ten Essential Financial Questions” listed in the Appendix is a gift and should be a helpful tool to many congregations. I recommend buying and reading this book and, perhaps introducing lay leaders to it as well.
This book review appeared in the March 3rd, 2017 issue of the IMN E-letter.