7 Reasons Your Church Should Start Thinking About Succession
Perhaps your church is brand new. Perhaps your pastor is super young. The idea of needing to think about replacing your current leader is years, maybe decades, away. Right now you have other things to work on -- like building projects, hiring staff, expanding ministry and more.
Maybe your church is established -- you've been around awhile -- and things are going great! The idea of succession is unnerving. You hope your pastor will stay forever.
Here are the facts:
Most churches wait way too long to begin having this conversation.
Many churches face a leadership transition sooner than they planned (death, debilitating health issues, resignation, scandal)
Most churches mess up the succession process, and it takes years to recover.
I believe there are 7 reasons (well, really 8) when it might be the right time to begin talking about succession.
The church was growing at one time, but is now in decline. This doesn’t mean the current senior pastor is failing. It just means there might be a need for new vision or energy in the lead pastor chair.
The congregation is growing older. It’s often been said that a pastor attracts people to the church who are about 10 years younger and older than he or she is. I’ve never seen any stats to back this up, so not sure if it’s true. But pastors tend to relate best with those in their phase of life. A younger pastor connects with young families because they relate well to having babies at home, struggling with finances, managing teens, or sending kids to college. An older pastor relates well to those who are dealing with retirement, health issues and aging parents.
The pastor has lost his passion or energy. I am 56-years old. I don’t have the energy I had at 46-years old. I’m guessing when I’m 66, I’ll have even less than I do today. Although there are exceptions, it’s the nature of growing older. Sometimes less energy translates into less passion. The drive to tackle big problems and go after a big vision just isn’t there anymore.
Staff turnover. If you are losing quality staff over a sustained period of time, that could be a sign there is trouble at the top. It’s possible the lead pastor isn’t letting others lead. It’s possible the younger staff members don’t understand or buy-in to the vision, or even more common, the vision is muddy so isn’t pulling people to stay.
The Lead Pastor has other things they want to do. I talked to a pastor in Louisiana who wanted to pursue a position at a seminary. I talked to a pastor in Washington who wanted to spend his remaining years pouring into missionaries. If you are a lead pastor, and your excitement and energy is increasing toward things outside the church--then it’s possible your congregation would benefit from a leader who has 100% of their passion focused on the church.
You have a really strong successor on staff. Every week I talk to associate or teaching pastors who are on staff, ready and called to be a lead pastor, and they would love to do that at their own church. The senior pastor has said, “Someday, you are going to be my successor.” But “someday” could be two years or ten years. No one knows. Without a conversation, this church will lose their up-and-coming leader who is ready to be a lead pastor.
Age of the pastor -- I talked to a 69-year old pastor who was retiring, and asked him, “Why now? Why not 5 years ago or 5 years from now?” He was healthy and still leading strong. He said, “Tim, I just couldn’t see this church with a 70-year old pastor. It is time.” There is no magic age when a pastor is no longer effective and relevant. But it is a factor.
Those are all signs that you should begin the conversation about succession if you haven’t already.
However, here is the real answer:
You should begin the succession conversation the day your new pastor arrives at your church.
I've talked to hundreds of young church planters, and hardly any of them are thinking about the day they leave their church. When you begin leading a church in your 30's or 40's -- rarely are you thinking about your "retirement." And those who are my age think they have another 15 or 20 years. Even if you shudder at the idea of leaving, the day will come when you are no longer leading your church.
I hope you are an effective leader well into your sunset years. But eventually, it will end.
"Every pastor is an interim pastor."
-- William Vanderbloemen, NEXT: Pastoral Succession That Works
While it might be unsettling, the planning is absolutely necessary. It's never too soon to begin the succession conversation.
I have a huge passion to help church leaders and boards get this right. In fact, I'm partnering with Vanderbloemen as their Premium Partner for Succession Consulting (check out my recent conversation about this transition with William Vanderbloemen). Reach out to me at LeadingSmart or to Vanderbloemen to start a conversation about how I can come alongside your team to put together a succession plan.
It's not only smart--it's the most loving thing you can do to care for the future of your church.