{"id":30770,"date":"2022-09-10T15:03:52","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/how-to-pass-the-baton-to-the-next-pastor-a-qa-with-bryant-wright\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:03:52","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:03:52","slug":"how-to-pass-the-baton-to-the-next-pastor-a-qa-with-bryant-wright","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/how-to-pass-the-baton-to-the-next-pastor-a-qa-with-bryant-wright\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Pass the Baton to the Next Pastor: A Q&A With Bryant Wright"},"content":{"rendered":"
Braden Collum photo – Unsplash <\/p>\n

If you’re thinking about retirement, leading a church through change, or going to be the next pastor, it matters how the baton is passed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Carol Pipes<\/em><\/p>\n

Today the average clergy member is 57 years old, compared to 50 years old in 2000, according to the 2020 Faith Communities Today study. In the next 5-10 years, a wave of Boomer pastors will reach retirement age. Unfortunately, few churches plan for pastoral succession. And that transitional period is often difficult.  <\/p>\n

Bryant Wright, the former long-term pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, faced this issue. After decades of serving his church, the Lord led Wright to carry out a succession plan. His book, Succession<\/em>, captures that journey from the first conversations about stepping down to the final sermon he preached before becoming president of Send Relief, an international relief organization that partners with local churches to provide help to those affected by a disaster or crisis.<\/p>\n

In the next 5-10 years, a wave of pastors will reach retirement age. Unfortunately, few churches are ready for that transition. Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

Whether you can see retirement on the horizon, you\u2019re leading your church through a season of transition, or you\u2019re being called to be the successor to follow a long-tenured pastor, Wright has helpful insights for leading your church through seasons of change. We got to sit down and ask him a few questions about his experience creating and implementing a succession plan. Here\u2019s a look at our conversation:  <\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n

Why do you think so few churches have a succession plan for their senior leadership? <\/strong>  <\/h4>\n

Bryant Wright: I read Bob Russell\u2019s book, Transition Plan<\/em>, where he says that when the pastor goes to the elders to talk about a succession plan, it\u2019s a succession plan. But when the elders come to the pastor to talk about a succession plan, it\u2019s a firing plan. A lot of pastors are hesitant to bring it up, wondering if the lay leadership will think, \u201cWell, if you\u2019re bringing it up, then it might be time for you to move on.\u201d A lot of lay leaders in churches are hesitant to bring it up to the pastor because they love their pastor and don\u2019t want him to feel they\u2019re ready for him to retire. <\/p>\n

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Why is it so difficult for a pastor to leave a church? And leave well? <\/strong> <\/h4>\n

It\u2019s difficult because most pastors love their churches and the people of their churches. The longer you\u2019ve been there, the deeper and richer the love. So, it\u2019s hard, humanly speaking, for the pastor to let go. It requires a supernatural grace from God when that time is right. <\/p>\n

What are some traits of pastoral transitions that don\u2019t go well? <\/strong> <\/h4>\n

Number one, the senior pastor, the long-tenured pastor doesn\u2019t have a clear ending date and has a hard time letting go. That\u2019s usually a major reason why it doesn’t go well. Second, the retiring senior pastor isn\u2019t supportive of the pastor who\u2019s following him. Thirdly, the wife of the retiring senior pastor has a hard time letting go. Fourth, the successor doesn\u2019t show proper respect and honor to the long-tenured pastor they\u2019re following. <\/p>\n

How does a pastor know when it\u2019s time to leave a church? <\/strong> <\/h4>\n

You just know. I remember asking my father as a young man, \u201cHow do you know you\u2019ve met the right girl to marry?\u201d He said, \u201cYou\u2019ll just know,\u201d and that really irritated me because that didn\u2019t tell me anything. But then I met my wife, Anne, and I just knew. And it\u2019s very similar when God is leading you\u2014when the timing is right. But secondly, I experienced a lack of vision for future plans and direction of ministry. A lack of vision for the future certainly helps a retiring pastor know it\u2019s time. <\/p>\n

The best advice I can give current pastors is to ask yourself, \u201cWhat are my gifts? What are my passions I want to focus on when I retire?\u201d \u2014\u00a0@bryantwright Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

How do you know when it\u2019s time to tell the lay leaders of your church and the congregation? <\/strong> <\/h4>\n

I spoke to the elders about developing a succession plan long before I was ready to retire. That\u2019s the first step in the process to develop a general game plan for succession. Then, continue to be in prayer. When it\u2019s time for the senior pastor to let go, he first tells the lay leaders, and then determines when and how to tell the congregation. It\u2019s extremely helpful to the congregation to hear from the senior pastor\u2019s wife, as well as him. This will assure the congregation that God is leading both of them. <\/p>\n

How would you recommend that current pastors prepare themselves for the next ministry assignment or season of life? <\/strong> <\/h4>\n

Concentrate on your areas of passion. I was sure I was to retire from Johnson Ferry and hand the ministry off to a younger man, but I was not ready to retire from ministry. I wanted to continue to do what I was called to do\u2014to preach the gospel, to preach the Word. The best advice I can give current pastors is to ask yourself, \u201cWhat are my gifts? What are my passions I want to focus on when I retire?\u201d<\/p>\n

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See also  How Can Pastors Build Healthy Church Relationships?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Experiment with some things before you retire to see if you could sink your teeth into something or do something that would be fulfilling when you retire. Having an idea of what to focus on is vitally important to helping current pastors prepare themselves for that new season of life. <\/p>\n

You mention in the introduction of your book that all pastors are really \u201cinterim pastors.\u201d Can you unpack that a bit?<\/strong> <\/h4>\n

If any church is going to last (and you sure hope it is), you realize that church is going to be around a whole lot longer than the tenure of any pastor. Whether it\u2019s an interim pastorate for six months or an interim pastorate like I had for 38 years, we\u2019re given a stewardship where God entrusts the leadership of a church and a congregation to us. It\u2019s for a period of time. It\u2019s healthier to see ourselves as interim pastors wanting to make the most of that role and lead faithfully in God\u2019s will in that interim as long as He allows.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s an interim pastorate for six months or an interim pastorate like I had for 38 years, we\u2019re given a stewardship where God entrusts a church to us. It\u2019s for a period of time. \u2014\u00a0@bryantwright Click To Tweet <\/p>\n

If pastors think they own <\/em>the ministry of the church rather than lead <\/em>the ministry of the church, it can <\/em>set them up for unnecessary pain. How do a pastor and his wife come to realize they don\u2019t own the ministry?<\/strong> <\/h4>\n

One, have a weekly Sabbath, where you let go for a 24-hour period once a week. Do that on a regular basis. The Holy Spirit has a way of whispering in a still, small voice in that Sabbath saying, \u201cThis isn\u2019t your church, Bryant. This is My church.\u201d Having vacation and sabbatical times are tremendous helps in realizing it\u2019s God\u2019s church.  <\/p>\n

You and your successor, Clay, had a time of overlap in the transition. A lot of churches don\u2019t plan for that. How important do you think that time was to the health of the church? <\/strong> <\/h4>\n

Extremely important! <\/em>Clay and I shared the pulpit and did a sermon series together, throughout the four months we overlapped. There were a few other things that also happened. Number one: I moved out of the office\u2014the pastor\u2019s office\u2014before Clay got there. I wanted the congregation to see Clay as the new pastor.<\/p>\n

Secondly, we had a game plan where I led meetings for the first month, and Clay would see how I did it. The next month, we led meetings together with each of us having specific responsibilities for that meeting. In the third month, Clay led the meetings while I was in the room. The fourth month, Clay led the meetings, and I wasn\u2019t there. The congregation was able to see a transition take place. On the last Sunday, Clay and I did the sermon together. I gave him one of my preaching Bibles. It was a picture to the congregation we wanted to continue to be a people of the Book and for Clay to continue to preach the Word. Then the elders and I laid hands on Clay asking for God\u2019s blessing on his ministry. So, we painted a clear picture for the congregation of the transition occurring. <\/p>\n

What is the departing pastor’s role once he\u2019s stepped down from leadership to help the church and its new leader move forward? <\/strong> <\/h4>\n

It\u2019s important that I\u2019m not there that much. In two and a half years, my wife and I have attended about six Sunday mornings. We try to come in just a little late to sit in the back, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. Obviously, that\u2019s not always possible, as you see people and they gather to speak. But that helps the church move forward. Clay is there, and I am not. I always try to let people know how much I appreciate Clay and am excited for him to be the pastor. I think it\u2019s key for me to affirm Clay for the church to move forward into the future. <\/p>\n

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Carol Pipes<\/h2>\n

@CarolPipes<\/p>\n

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Carol is director of corporate communications for Lifeway Christian Resources.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n