The Importance of an Intentional Interim Pastor

Ken Moberg Chairman, IPM Board of Directors

The intentional interim pastor can help provide the stability needed during the uncertain days of the pastoral transition. His ministry experience, coupled with training specific to the interim period will make him a valuable partner in the journey. We call the person an intentional interim pastor for a couple of reasons. First, he will come with a set of tools that will help your church work through key issues during the pastoral transition he will do more than run a maintenance ministry. But beyond that, we have found that when a church rushes into finding its next pastor without taking the necessary time to process issues and answer questions, the next pastor often becomes an unintentional interim pastor, and his ministry however promising it seemed at first, lasts only a short time, often ending with great disappointment for the church and the pastor alike. The presence of an intentional interim pastor helps to avoid that mistake. The intentional interim pastor also takes some of the heat off of the pastoral search team. When there is a steady stream of different speakers each Sunday, congregations grow impatient and put pressure on the search team to hurry up and find someone. By contrast, the intentional interim pastor provides consistency in the pulpit and a familiar voice at the other end of the phone, and the congregation grows to understand itself and its needs for the future under his care. This enables the search team to do its work carefully and without undue pressure. Often the pastor that a church calls and falls in love with wasnt available when they started their search had they rushed into a hasty search, they would have settled for less than Gods best. A good intentional interim pastor can help raise the kind of questions that only a set of experienced eyes coming from outside your church can raise. We are often blinded by familiarity to the issues that keep the church from being as effective as it can be. An intentional interim pastor can put his finger on those issues and help the church leadership move toward resolving them. This article is an excerpt from Kens book AskSeekKnock, a step-by-step guide for pastoral transitions. (see book information below) Next Month: Part 3 of 4: What degree of intentionality is needed in the interim pastor you choose?

Ken Moberg is the founding pastor of Highland Community Church (EFCA) of Wausau, Wisconsin, where he served for 16 years before becoming Superintendent of the Forest Lakes District of the EFCA, a post he served for 9 years before returning to Highland as Executive Pastor. He has been married to his wife Tina for 35 years, and they have two grown daughters and three grandchildren. Ken and Tina enjoy sailing, gardening, reading, and playing with their grandkids.