Sunday, February 21, 2016

Part-time Pastoring

First of all, I need to say that part-time pastoring is a poor title -- both for a blog post and as a description of a pastor's duties. Good pastors are always pastors. Some of them have other jobs that help to support them, but it doesn't mean that there are times when they are not pastors.

Bi-vocational pastor is the term commonly used today.
In my case, interim pastor is a position that I am being considered for.
After brief phone conversations with about a dozen people whose names were given to a church by our state convention, the church committee has decided to ask four of us to submit resumes for consideration to serve as interim pastor while they search for a full-time permanent pastor.

A year ago, I took the state course in interim pastoring. Unlike most of the men in the class that week, I had never served as a church pastor. (Okay, I was the only one that had never served as a pastor!) The majority were retired pastors, pastors nearing retirement or pastors that had been recently let go from their previous churches.
In spite of this lack of pastoral experience, I feel that I could serve some churches well during a transitional phase from one permanent pastor to another.

If you are a praying person, I would appreciate your prayers for the church committee that will be considering us. The ultimate goal is not for me to have a position, but for the people of God to be served by the person that will help them to grow and flourish, and will guide them in their search for a permanent pastor.

Thanks,
John <><

4 comments:

Mike said...

Why were people that were pastors taking an interim pastor class?

John A Hill said...

They were retired pastors or pastors nearing retirement from fulltime ministry.

Interim pastoring is a different ministry. Often churches are pastorless due to conflicts that need to be resolved before calling a new permanent pastor. Sometimes the transition between a long time pastor and a new pastor can also present challenges that an interim needs to help the church body address.

eViL pOp TaRt said...

Best wishes to you John, in your desire to serve. I'll pray for your cause. God bless!

Kevin Gilmore said...

I'll have you and the church committee in my prayers, John.