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When a senior pastor abruptly exits a church, damage and turmoil begin to reverberate. Everyone experiences, to some degree, the combination of an earthquake and tsunami. People are first deeply shaken, then swept into the current of strong emotions. Myths about what the leaders should do next abound.

Typically, the church leadership team has not been prepared, or trained, to handle painful pastoral transition. Some act with wisdom and seek counsel because they suspect they don’t know what they don’t know about leading in this kind of environment.

In the first 90 days there are crucial decisions to make and subtle myths to avoid!

It’s a season of uncertainty and not unusual for confidence to be in short supply. Not only are there crucial decisions to make for the sake of the church in the first 90 days, there are also widely accepted myths that must be avoided at all costs!

After over 35 years of pastoral ministry and 7 of those years as an intentional interim pastor working with churches experiencing abrupt pastoral transition, let me give you my top 5 leadership myths. Each one of them will hinder a church from recovering well when the senior pastor abruptly leaves.

Myth #1: The sooner we can get another pastor in here, the better off we will be.

This is a business model being imposed on the church. It’s the mind-set that we can “hire our way out” of this problem. The church is not a business, but a body of believers, a family who is responding to the pastor’s departure like the death of a spouse. Believing that all the church needs is a new pastor, is like telling a widow whose husband died in a car wreck that getting a new car will make everything fine.

Myth #2: We can fix this and quickly move on. 

This myth sees the abrupt exit of the senior pastor as simply a problem to fix. But the grief reactions of the church are not problems to solve but wounds to heal (click here for more insight). The pastor’s hasty departure throws the whole church into a season of grieving transition. That season cannot be rushed or denied –it needs to be shepherded! For hopes, dreams, trust, and expectations have painfully died. People will need time and help to work through their grief.

Myth #3: The moral implosion of our former pastor is our only issue (otherwise we’re just fine).

The pain of what the former pastor did makes everyone want to distance themselves from the issue. The hard truth is that even though he is fully responsible for his moral choices, the church environment contributed in some measure to the sin. The transitional season is a good time to take a deep breath and with courage honestly evaluate the spiritual environment of the church and the leadership team. To accomplish that kind of healthy assessment the leadership team often needs to be guided by a trusted set of outside eyes.

Myth #4: As a leader I need to be strong for the church at this time.

The church does need strong leadership, but they also need to see that their leaders are deeply grieved by this. The pastor’s sin revealed that a cover-up in some form was occurring. All “looked” well in his life, but it wasn’t. Trust has been broken, and the need is for the church’s leaders to be transparent. Don’t hide how this has deeply hurt you. Let others see how you are a grieving leader. Lean on the promise of Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me”.

Myth #5: We shouldn’t publicly address grieving the loss of our pastor, for that just makes it worse.

1 Thessalonians 4:13 tells us, “…that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” Many have misunderstood this to mean the followers of Jesus don’t grieve. But that is not what Paul is saying. We do grieve, but we grieve with hope! To lament the harsh experiences of life is to be human and authentic in our relationship with the Lord. This season is a time to help those don’t know how to grieve to learn to do it in a biblical way. When we deny our grief, or try to just move on, we miss out on the wonderful opportunity to grow in our intimacy with the Lord.

Myths are attractive, for they offer a way of “making sense” of that which is puzzling and painful. They are also tempting, for they appear to give direction when uncertainty blankets our choices.

But myths are nothing more than traditions at best, and illusions at worst. Resisting these 5 as you lead your church through pastoral transition will position you, and the body you serve, to recover well and be ready for the next season of Christ-honoring ministry.

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