This is the fourth episode in a series about the conversations I’m having with our leadership at Christ the King Lutheran Church, where I serve as pastor. I’ve been thinking seriously about retirement and what that might mean for me and for our congregation. I hope these conversations will help us to plan together for the transition from this current ministry to the ministry of the next pastor.
Our conversations are based on the book titled “NEXT: Pastoral Succession that Works.” (As always in this series, in the shownotes I’ve included links for the book as well as for the ministries of both Zach and Mark Zehnder). In today’s episode, I want to focus on the fifth chapter, “Deciding When It’s Time to Leave.”
CHAPTER 5: “Deciding When It’s Time to Leave”
By now we’ve kind of become accustomed to hearing about people who “retire,” but don’t really “retire.” There are folks who “retire” and then take another job, or a series of jobs, because they just can’t seem to sit still. They may be jobs with different employers, or even completely different industries, but they’re always “working.” Then there are folks who “retire” from the same career several times in succession, until we begin to wonder each time they announce their “retirement” whether they’ll ever stop playing us for fools. This seems particularly true with high-powered professional athletes, some of whom “retire” from their sport only to re-enter the sport a year or so later with a different team; or those who tease their fans by saying “I’ll probably retire at the end of this season” only to come back later and say “I changed my mind - I’m staying.”
I’ve heard of - and even known - pastors who do the same. I’ve known pastors who’ve just kept going at their church until they basically dropped. I’ve known pastors who have “retired” from serving their church, only to spend the next several years substituting for other pastors who are still active in ministry (that will probably be me, by the way). I’ve known pastors who have “retired” from serving their church, only to stick around and be a nuisance to their successors as they second-guess everything the new guy tries to do. I’ve also known churches where the board has basically had to tell the pastor “We think it’s time for you to retire.”
Chapter 5 of the book NEXT suggests that it might be helpful to identify several broad types of ministry transitions. In practice, there are two large types - unexpected, and expected. Unexpected transitions occur when there’s some kind of unforeseen or sudden emergency (the pastor’s long-term illness or even death); when the pastor is involved in something that disqualifies him for ministry (moral failure, or physical competencies); or when the pastor is forced to leave (i.e., he’s been fired). Expected transitions include times when the church and pastor decide to enter an entirely new phase of ministry, or when the pastor accepts a call or position at another church, or when he retires. But the focus of the book and these conversations is on retirement.
So here are ten “Ways God Might Show You It’s Time to Move On” (NEXT, pages 86-87):
I’ve only served in churches of 100 or less in worship attendance, and I know how true the statement about the small / relational church is. I’ve cherished not only the time I’ve spent in the pulpit, but also the time I’ve spent in hospital rooms or living rooms, in Bible studies or in individual counseling, in formal meetings and in parking lot conversations, sharing tears of laughter or tears of sorrow. I think many of the people I’ve served have cherished these times of ministry too, but not only because they are times of ministry but also because they are times of real friendship.
I still don’t know what my exact “retirement date” will be. At the church where I am still the pastor, there is still quite a bit of work that needs to be done before that happens. These notes and conversations are part of that work as we all get ready bit by bit not for the “end of the Cahill era” but for the move into the next phase of ministry into which the Holy Spirit is leading Christ the King Lutheran Church.
I’ve often said to people that when I was in college I didn’t really have the pastoral ministry in mind as a career path; I always resisted the suggestions of everyone around me that I should become a pastor, until finally there didn’t seem to be any other choice. I’ve said for a long time that I didn’t have a sense of a “call” into ministry; it seemed more like the Holy Spirit dragged me, kicking and screaming, to the seminary. Now, after 43 years in the ministry, I don’t clearly see any of these “Ways God Might Show You It’s Time to Move On” in my life or ministry right now, but that’s not to say that they aren’t there. I hope I’m more aware of the moving of the Holy Spirit this time, so that He doesn’t end up dragging me kicking and screaming OUT of the ministry.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SHOWNOTES
Our conversations are based on the book titled “NEXT: Pastoral Succession that Works.” (As always in this series, in the shownotes I’ve included links for the book as well as for the ministries of both Zach and Mark Zehnder). In today’s episode, I want to focus on the fifth chapter, “Deciding When It’s Time to Leave.”
CHAPTER 5: “Deciding When It’s Time to Leave”
By now we’ve kind of become accustomed to hearing about people who “retire,” but don’t really “retire.” There are folks who “retire” and then take another job, or a series of jobs, because they just can’t seem to sit still. They may be jobs with different employers, or even completely different industries, but they’re always “working.” Then there are folks who “retire” from the same career several times in succession, until we begin to wonder each time they announce their “retirement” whether they’ll ever stop playing us for fools. This seems particularly true with high-powered professional athletes, some of whom “retire” from their sport only to re-enter the sport a year or so later with a different team; or those who tease their fans by saying “I’ll probably retire at the end of this season” only to come back later and say “I changed my mind - I’m staying.”
I’ve heard of - and even known - pastors who do the same. I’ve known pastors who’ve just kept going at their church until they basically dropped. I’ve known pastors who have “retired” from serving their church, only to spend the next several years substituting for other pastors who are still active in ministry (that will probably be me, by the way). I’ve known pastors who have “retired” from serving their church, only to stick around and be a nuisance to their successors as they second-guess everything the new guy tries to do. I’ve also known churches where the board has basically had to tell the pastor “We think it’s time for you to retire.”
Chapter 5 of the book NEXT suggests that it might be helpful to identify several broad types of ministry transitions. In practice, there are two large types - unexpected, and expected. Unexpected transitions occur when there’s some kind of unforeseen or sudden emergency (the pastor’s long-term illness or even death); when the pastor is involved in something that disqualifies him for ministry (moral failure, or physical competencies); or when the pastor is forced to leave (i.e., he’s been fired). Expected transitions include times when the church and pastor decide to enter an entirely new phase of ministry, or when the pastor accepts a call or position at another church, or when he retires. But the focus of the book and these conversations is on retirement.
So here are ten “Ways God Might Show You It’s Time to Move On” (NEXT, pages 86-87):
- God gives you a clear sign.
- Your leadership (council, board) speaks.
- Your part of the mission is complete.
- You lose heart.
- Others confirm it.
- You receive a new call.
- A mismatch develops.
- Collaboration ends.
- The church begins to show a lack of confidence in your vision and/or leadership.
- You reach physical or emotional limits.
I’ve only served in churches of 100 or less in worship attendance, and I know how true the statement about the small / relational church is. I’ve cherished not only the time I’ve spent in the pulpit, but also the time I’ve spent in hospital rooms or living rooms, in Bible studies or in individual counseling, in formal meetings and in parking lot conversations, sharing tears of laughter or tears of sorrow. I think many of the people I’ve served have cherished these times of ministry too, but not only because they are times of ministry but also because they are times of real friendship.
I still don’t know what my exact “retirement date” will be. At the church where I am still the pastor, there is still quite a bit of work that needs to be done before that happens. These notes and conversations are part of that work as we all get ready bit by bit not for the “end of the Cahill era” but for the move into the next phase of ministry into which the Holy Spirit is leading Christ the King Lutheran Church.
I’ve often said to people that when I was in college I didn’t really have the pastoral ministry in mind as a career path; I always resisted the suggestions of everyone around me that I should become a pastor, until finally there didn’t seem to be any other choice. I’ve said for a long time that I didn’t have a sense of a “call” into ministry; it seemed more like the Holy Spirit dragged me, kicking and screaming, to the seminary. Now, after 43 years in the ministry, I don’t clearly see any of these “Ways God Might Show You It’s Time to Move On” in my life or ministry right now, but that’s not to say that they aren’t there. I hope I’m more aware of the moving of the Holy Spirit this time, so that He doesn’t end up dragging me kicking and screaming OUT of the ministry.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SHOWNOTES
- Zach Zehnder is author, program leader, and President of the Red Letter Challenge at https://redletterchallenge.com/; along with Chris Johnson, Zach cohosts the Red Letter Disciple podcast at https://redletterchallenge.com/red-letter-disciple-podcast/
- Mark Zehnder recently retired as the senior pastor of King of Kings Lutheran Church in Omaha, Nebraska, and currently ministers at https://www.alwaysforwardministries.com/ to pastors, boards, staffs, and churches as they work through periods of leadership transition.
- The book “NEXT: Pastoral Succession that Works” by William Vanerbloemen and Warren Bird is available at Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Next-Pastoral-Succession-That-Works/dp/080100571X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=SF9EGP9KPD3&keywords=next+vanderbloemen+bird&qid=1681756932&sprefix=next+Vand%2Caps%2C97&sr=8-1