The emptying of our nest of 4 beautiful children has allowed us to reset our lives by living light for the sake of spreading the Light through the local gospel ministry of the Stillwater Community Chapel. (https://stillwater-chapel.org/) This blog is the musings and ministry of the Wolfgangs as we have gone wherever God leads. May we always live light and in the Light, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
The life of an intentional interim pastor
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Here is a shot of Chicago as I was stopped in traffic traveling to the IPM (Interim Pastor Ministries) Summit conference. The international interim pastor is someone who is always traveling somewhere. From the conference I will continue traveling north to a church in Waushara County, Wisconsin called Waushara Community Church. The closest town is Wautoma, Wisconsin. After a candidate weekend that affirmed on both sides the working together through a process to gain greater spiritual health and seeking who God has called to be their next pastor, "I loaded up the truck and we moved to Beverly, Hills that is..." That last ditty really dated me.
I served 28 years in a denomination that appointed you to one of their churches. When I left that denomination, I sought out a church that I would have to candidate at rather than appointed to. This is something I had never done before. It is usually an extended weekend that involves a lot of mental power and I usually go silent the week after because I have talked so much and to so many people in a short amount of time. Now I help churches plan the candidate weekend for potential candidates and I experience it over and over and over again from both sides of the fence. I walk through what the next pastor will experience before he gets there.
It also involves a stand alone sermon to present yourself, your preaching style, and most importantly edification and instruction from God's word. Here is the sermon I preached on Sunday, June 5th at Waushara Community Church. It is titled Transitions. What do we do when we walk through a transition where unknowns are yet to be discovered? My selected text is Acts 1 and I focus on the actions of Peter and the disciples after the ascension of Jesus. What did they do while they were waiting?
An intentional interim pastor is always learning names, present church constitution, bylaws and structure and seeking God's guidance to lay out a plan that the leadership and congregation can understand to move forward on together. We walk into situations where the us and them groups have emerged and we need to help the church get back to the singular we group again. It is a noble cause because the unity of the church is essential for the forward movement of the Great Commission that Jesus gave to each local church to be busy about. This mission is the same no matter the size of the church. We walk into churches looking at who God has assembled together and barring any obvious unrepentant sin that needs to be handled Biblically, we start working with who we have around the fellowship room table, in the elevated church office, standing in the foyer before, between and after services and packed in the sanctuary pews. (Maybe packed is a future term to a church going through a pastoral transition.)
Being an intentional interim pastor involves asking a lot of questions; listening to a lot of answers; and then, at times, saying things that need to be said that haven't been addressed for a long time. But...it is more than just saying it, it is also walking with them through it. It is not a point and run situation. It is a point and participate relationship. Whatever I bring up to say I need to also be willing to see through using the guidance of the Scriptures that God has given us. We always get in trouble within a church body when we stray from what He has said.
Lastly, but probably more is coming on this subject, being an intentional interim pastor is saying hellos for the first time and goodbyes until we meet again over and over again. The adjustment is something to get used to. One moment you are in the thick of it with this group of people and the next moment you are traveling away to waves that you might not see again. Your skin needs to be tender enough to touch the congregation but tough enough to leave them to another shepherd and for another congregation that is walking through a transition.
Quote to leave with you I just learned from Karl Vater at the conference I am attaining (not verbatim).
"When things are calm, the leader needs to aspire others to continue to grow.
When things are turbulent, the leader needs to provide personal stability to stand firm."
I heard this phrase today along with another that if you connect a bit of Scripture with a bit of life, it will end up effecting all of your life. This came up in my study of the book of James and specifically the verses dealing with not just being a hearer of the Word but also be a doer of the Word. It is all about application. I can't look at preaching the Word without giving steps of applying the Word. It really is an incomplete sermon if I don't. Many times I think it has to be big and many points and given cute aliteration that makes it snappy and I think easy to remember and fun to write down. Reality is, if I would make it a bit of Scripture connected to a bit of life and just that it would probably accomplish much more. How much time I spend on the opening statement and lame joke and research and introductions and how many points and the closing statement and so little time on connecting the bit of Scripture to the bit of life. So I guess I ha
Another week closer and it involves some more travel for the Wolfgangs. I feel like the Willy Nelson song, " On the road again... " I don't know if I agree with the next line though. " ...I can't wait to get on the road again. " One of the members of the church in Wisconsin calculated that I will travel well over 10,000 miles to make this transition. Traveling mercies prayers please. Last Sunday we will look at Paul's final words to the churches in Galatia. He brought them the gospel (good news) message of Jesus and what resulted were churches forming throughout the region. The letter is to defend that message that our salvation comes from and is in Christ alone. Christ's sacrifice on the cross was sufficient for the forgiveness of our sins. The summary statement of the letter is found in Galatians 6:15 (LSB) . " For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. " Translated another way earlier in Ga
James 4 has brought up some interesting study. First, "the quarrels and fights among you." Those are usually worse than you think even though we try to minimize them. The source is simpler than you think because it is coming from within you. The solution is easier than you think because the solution that James gives is that we need to humble ourselves before the Lord. Any sincere resolution is specific and brief. Beware of lengthy resolutions that usually include explaining it away or excusing some of the behavior. As I have seen before, the words are a sign of the heart. I read this week that if we have a critical heart we usually start by speaking evil of another to ourselves. Then we progress to speaking evil of another to that person with a running tally in our heads of all their wrongs. Finally, we speak evil of another to others and broadcast in a way that we are thinking that we are helping. Giving judgment is always easier than giving mercy. I
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