There is this instant in the relay race where everything hangs in the balance. Even if every runner does their best job, they can lose it all in a heartbeat if they fail to make the hand off. So, it is with pastors and churches in pastoral transition, everything you worked for and hoped for can go terribly wrong if you fail to make a good hand off.
For the runners at the track meet, the hand off is not something they practice all year long. Each runner is an individual track star in their own right and they spend most of their time perfecting their individual events. At some point as the track meet approaches, their coach will pull the four runners together and say something like, “I want the four of you to run the relay. So we will need to spend some time on our hand offs.” Only then do they start to practice this odd function of the relay hand off.
There are some valuable lessons to be learned from the track team.
- The runner with the baton is in control.
- The runner giving the baton must look and place the baton in the receiver’s hand.
- The runner receiver must not look, but rather wait for the baton to hit their hand.
- The runner passer must run hard until the handoff is complete.
- The runner receiver must firmly grab the baton and run full speed.
How does this translate to pastors? It is surprisingly similar. First the pastors won’t know who is coming until a few months before the change. We don’t practice the transition until we have to do it. Communication between the incoming and outgoing pastors can be critical to making a great transition. Often you will find yourself in both roles simultaneously, handing off one church while grasping for a new church. Learn to do all of it well.
1. The Outgoing Pastor is still leading the church and has to control the transition. First, they must continue to lead the church they now serve. If they are also transitioning to a new church, they will find this takes an increased amount of energy, but it is necessary. (See my article on Leaving Well.)
It is important to recognize that the current pastor will also control everyone’s attitude about this transition. If you are the current pastor you should try to keep your excitement or disappointment in check, put aside how you feel about any of it personally, it is important to remain professional. Be optimistic and encourage everyone else to be optimistic as well. Speak highly of the new pastor to everyone you meet.
If your church owns a parsonage remind the Staff Parish Personnel Committee that it may need a bit of attention to certain items to be made ready. A reception for the new pastor must be planned. Perhaps they will need some people to help unload the truck and carry furniture if the family is moving themselves. Perhaps food can be brought in the first several nights so they don’t have to cook while pots are still in boxes.
Do everything you can to make their transition go well.
2. If you are the outgoing pastor make every effort to put the baton firmly in the new pastors hand. Don’t wait for the incoming pastor to ask. Invite the incoming pastor to meet with you at the church. Walk them around the facility. Show them the hidden secrets: the circuit breaker panel that most often needs to be reset, the best place to park, the best bathroom to use on Sunday morning. Introduce the new pastor to the worship chair, the head usher, the communion steward, the Sunday school teacher(s), the church staff, the chair of Trustees and Finance, etc. Give the new pastor a contact list for those people, plus any others that are key leaders in your church listing: Role, Name, best Phone number and email. Also, give the new pastor a church directory if you have one.
Arrange to meet safely several times before the transition or connect on a video call. Important things will come to mind and important questions will be asked. What situations are likely to be unresolved when you leave and might require immediate attention?
Ask the incoming pastor if there are several key things you can do to help them assume leadership. Perhaps the most important is to secure the team they will inherit will stay for at least one year. Take a hard look at your key leadership, staff and laity, who are the people that are most important to the strength of the church? Personally request each one of them to commit to staying in their position for a full year as the new pastor transitions into the leadership. Are there people who are likely to be difficult to work with going forward, is there a way to gently nudge them aside so a more positive person could fill that position? Now is the time to fill any holes in the operations. Make sure the operation is as ‘turn-key’ as possible so there is nothing that needs to be fixed for at least a year.
As you leave, tell the congregation how pleased you are that this new person will be their pastor. Encourage them to call the new pastor and get to know him/her. Encourage them to use the new pastor when life hands them emergencies as this is a great way to get to know them well. As you leave, remind the congregation that though you will always love them, you can no longer function as their pastor, and you will decline any invitation to do so for a full year, and after that year only at the request of the current pastor.
Place the mantle of authority firmly on the shoulders of the new pastor and press the baton into their hand. When they take it from you, stop running, it is their race now, not yours.
3. The hardest role is the receiver runner, the incoming pastor. For the runner they must start running, hold their hand back while keeping their eyes forward, and wait for the baton to be slapped into their palm. Then they must instantly grasp it firmly so as not to drop it and run as fast as they can.
For the incoming pastor it is harder still. Some outgoing pastors, when told they are moving, simply drop the baton and walk off the track. They are not able to hand off the leadership of the church to another pastor. Weak ego’s, hurt feelings, denominational disappointments, previous transitional trauma, all play some part in the reluctance of some pastors to make good transitions.
I know of some pastors whose anger at leaving a church caused them leave relational, financial and institutional land mines all over the old church. The new pastors arrived to find the whole place blowing up before their eyes. Unfortunately, there is no penalty for doing this. The denomination has done its job when the appointments are made, the Bishop and Cabinet are off to their summer vacations, no one is there to do triage or even first aid. You are on your own.
In my opinion this is despicable and unprofessional behavior. As pastors our first duty is to care for our churches. We take authority to preach the word, administer the sacraments and organize the church. It is not about us and our needs. It is always about the body of Christ, the church, and its needs. When the moment comes that you are asked to pass the church into the hands of another pastor, do your best to hand it off well.
So, as the incoming pastor, if you are lucky enough to have an outgoing pastor who is willing to do all the things listed above under #2, take them up on the offer. Make the effort to learn everything they have to teach. Some of it is wisdom gained at great expense to them, cherish it. Some of it is trash, dumped on them and now they are dumping it on you, see it for what it is and don’t pick it up. Learn, enjoy, get excited, get ready. (See my articles on Your Next Church.)
If you are the incoming pastor, the transition period is a great time to learn all you can about the new church, community, county, etc. Call other former pastors and get their take on the church. If you feel comfortable to do so, you might call a former superintendent and listen to anything they might share about their dealings with the congregation. (Don’t believe everything they say. However, it is valuable to check some of those stories with church members when you arrive. Truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.)
4 & 5. The moment! The moment that one lets go and another takes over.
When done well, this is artistry; one pastor hands off the authority and another picks it up. Both are working hard to make it happen. Both are going full speed until the moment of transition. Neither can coast into it.
If the handoff goes poorly, the church will be upset, the new pastor will be unhappy and may feel unwelcome. There is a distinct drop in speed and a complete loss of energy. Now to make things go forward again, you have to start from a dead stop to try to regain the momentum lost.
If the handoff goes well, the church can transition quickly to the leadership of the new pastor, and the church will be well served. There is no down time, new leadership brings new energy.
Take the time. Be professional about it. Make the perfect hand off!
Copyright 2021 by Steve Petty