Photo by Chen Yichun on Unsplash

One of ironies of leading a church through change is that it can be either the source of our greatest joy, or the cause of our deepest misery.

The experience of change can bring either pain or pleasure….change is behind why sometimes we throw confetti and other times we grab for another Kleenex.

When a church experiences an abrupt pastoral transition, it quickly enters a painful season of change. And for the leadership team, dealing with the aftermath, this season can be confusing and threatening. The change has thrown you into the dark, and it feels as if we’re groping our way forward blindly.

As I’ve explained in my last 3 blog posts (here, here, and here) it’s critical to see that the church has entered into a VUCA season. It’s a time when the issues and environment appear volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.

Obviously, the abrupt departure of a senior pastor impacts each church uniquely. No two churches will have the exact same VUCA issues. But you can count on one thing: the more abrupt the departure (especially if the issues behind it were sinful choices by the pastor), then the more disruptive it will be for the church. As a result, the VUCA elements will be much stronger.

The more abrupt the senior pastor’s departure….the more disruptive it will be for the church.

I’ve had a front-row seat as an intentional interim pastor with 4 churches over the last 8 years. Here are some of the common characteristics I’ve observed that church leadership teams face when the senior pastor pulls a quick exit. How many of the following are true in your situation?

VOLATILITY

• The strong and powerful emotions of people facing the loss of their pastor and their accompanying grief.
• The quick or impulsive decisions by people to leave the church, or for staff or leaders to resign.
• The quick nature of people to judge the decision(s) of the leadership team without fully knowing the supportive facts.
• The significant drop in giving, attendance, or volunteers willing to serve.
• The passionate declaration by some attenders that trust has been broken with the church’s leaders.

UNCERTAINTY

• The wondering by each member of the leadership team of the role they are expected to fill during the pastoral transition.
• The questioning of job security by staff in anticipation of a new senior pastor eventually coming.
• The average church attender’s concern about the future of the church, and how much change is going to continue to occur.
• The indecision by leaders, after an abrupt departure, over what issues need to be addressed, and what issues should just be ignored.
• Leaders not knowing how to help others grieve the loss of the pastor, and at the same time not ignoring their own need to grieve the loss.
• The doubt about how honest the leadership team is being with each other (and the church) concerning what they knew ahead of time about the pastor’s behavior, what they had heard from others, and what they may have suspected.

COMPLEXITY

• How the abrupt departure of the senior pastor reveals the true nature of the leadership team’s dynamics.
• How the senior pastor’s sin reflects on the church environment in which it occurred (e.g. how responsible is the leadership team for what happened?).
• The divergent responses by mature believers to the abrupt departure of the pastor (from ‘let’s just move on’ to ‘it will never be the same around here again’).
• The divergent solutions from mature believers on how to deal with the abrupt departure, and how to move forward from here.
• Distinguishing the practical difference between forgiving someone who has hurt you, and rebuilding trust with someone who has hurt you.

AMBIGUITY

• The leadership team being unsure of how much they know to be true about the abrupt departure of the pastor is then told to the church.
• The uncertainty of how much of the facts does the leadership team really know about what happened?
• Wondering how grace, mercy, and love integrates with appropriately addressing the pastor’s sin?
• The question of whether the issue with the senior pastor extends further into the church (e.g. are others involved, how have others been impacted?).
• The lack of a clear path concerning the when and the how of seeking reconciliation and restitution for all parties involved?

My point in identifying the specific VUCA characteristics is not to discourage you with how bleak it can get or feel, but to help you realize that your church isn’t weird or necessarily falling apart when these things happen. An abrupt departure is disruptive, but these issues are normal!

Face the VUCA elements

It’s critical for the leadership team to be able to name the issues. It’s important to identify what is volatile, what is uncertain, what is complex, and what is ambiguous. Doing this work as a team reduces the potential panic by the assurance that what you’re facing is normal and typical.

Now, an abrupt departure still hurts, and the problems won’t automatically go away. But understanding the VUCA elements brings a framework for the leadership team to admit what they’re facing and how it feels. It also allows them to specifically confess their need for the Lord to bring His wisdom, healing, and redemptive work to this body of believers.

Transition Resource Ministry is committed to coming alongside church leaders so they can have confidence in this season of uncertainty. Others have been this way before you, and there is practical help when the way forward appears unclear and the choices confusing.

Click here to see some of the options that are available to you from TRM.

Please give me, and others, your feedback. If you’ve been through an abrupt departure by your senior pastor, what other VUCA elements did you face that I’ve not listed? Use the Comment section below.