Pastor Search #10 Intentional Interim

Last spring I planted potatoes in our garden. This is a new garden space provided to us by a kind neighbor. He plowed it for us and told us to treat it like it was ours. I got my tiller and went to work preparing the ground for the potato seed. Occasionally I would find a sprig of johnson grass sticking its head through the plowed ground and I ignored it thinking it wouldn't be a problem. The rains came and my seed began to sprout and soon I had some good looking potato plants. In addition to the potato plants I had johnson grass growing. I ignored it again thinking it could be managed. It was too late to spray weed killer so I just ignored it and thought the potato plants would outgrow the johnson grass and smother it out. Not so!! I soon had johnson grass that was five feet tall smothering out the potato plants. Well, it took about seven hours of work in the extreme heat in order to pull each bed of grass out by the roots. When that was done the potato plants were visible and it seemed that the johnson grass was conquered. There was a problem with that thinking. Deep beneath the surface were johnson grass roots that would spring up after a shower and I would have to pull them up again. I will dig potatoes tomorrow if the weather permits and we will enjoy the fruit of our labor. This would not have turned out nearly as well had I not spent the time and pain to pull up the johnson grass by its roots and stay on top of it until it was all gone. That plot will now be ready to plant anything I want for next year and we will not have to worry about the pesky johnson grass.

Our church is looking at an Intentional Interim position to help us refocus and redifine who we are. We have allowed some johnson grass to grow untouched for a few years and now it must be dealt with in order to pave the way for our next pastor. I believe most churches could benefit from an Intentional Interim position. Working alongside the Transitional Team he can force (pulling by the roots) the church to define what has brought us to this point, determine who we are, declare our market by demographic studies and other methods and delight in our new vision.

Unfortunately, most churches keep the problems buried under the surface and never really address them. The church family does not know who they really are, so they can be easily changed when a new pastor comes and preaches the latest and greatest. Often the source of power in the church is so in control that their only goal is to retain control. As one person said recently, "we just need a preacher to preach for us and let the few people who have made the decisions for years run things. That has worked fine for twenty years." This church has never faced its past to determine what has brought them to the point of needing an Intentional Interim. Like most things in life, power is a good thing and a bad thing. When applied properly power can be wonderful. I love to push on the gas pedal and feel the power of my engine pulling my car. Our heating and air service technician was replacing a capacitor on our furnace and touched the contacts with his pliers and sparks flew scaring us all. In that case power was bad. He had failed to flip the breaker. Churches are like that. So many people wanting to be in control. The Intentional Interim will be able to help channel the power in the right areas and sometimes, like the furnace guy, will see the sparks fly because he crosses the wrong people.

It is imperative that churches adress the issues before calling a new pastor. After the Transitional Team has determined who we are and what direction we should go, the church can then find a person that will be a fit. At http://www.ministrytogether.com we provide a 54 point matching system to match prospective churches with prospective pastors who have the same theological beliefs and skills so that they will be able to smoothly go forward with the vision of the church. Too many pastors today have to spend their time pulling johnson grass and never get to harvest the potatoes.....I believe strongly in the Intentional Interim position.
Preacherman