Coaching For Interims

Many smaller congregations these days are struggling to find effective pastoral leadership, or, for that matter, any pastor at all. Interestingly, there is significant evidence that congregations that are less dependent on having a pastor at the center of things all the time are better able to adapt to a changing environment. Put differently: being more congregation-centered than pastor-centered can enable them to be more nimble an...

You've looked ahead and realized that, before long, there may not be enough people to sustain your church. Is there any reason for hope? Absolutely. Realistic hope doesn't deny hard realities—it faces them with honesty and faith. It's the kind of hope God blesses because it frees us from clinging to the past and releases the energy and joy to become the best church we can be today. And that's all God asks of us. In this episo...

When planning your next multi-day mission trip, ever have someone grumble, “Why do we always have to go far away? Why don’t we do something local? Doesn’t our own community have needs too?”

In this episode titled, “What We Learned about how to Run Effective Local Multi-day Mission Trips,” Rev. Joe Motz shares his innovative approach to creating local multi-day mission trips that really do change ...

When the tension goes up, do some people in your congregation speak in hurtful ways? Do others seem resigned to accept this bad behavior and its fallout of damaged relationships and poor quality communication? If so, listen in.

In this episode titled, “What Has Enabled My Congregation to Communicate Better in Moments of Tension,” Rev. Alisa Dickhoff shares her direct experience with bully behavior in meetings, and what ...

As a Sunday School teacher or youth group leader in a smaller congregation, do you feel stuck juggling 10-year-olds and 18-year-olds all together in the same room and wondering how to reach them all without overlooking anyone?

If so, you're not alone—and you're not without options. In this episode titled, “Fostering Authentic Faith Using a One Room Schoolhouse Context,” Rev. Marissa Rapoza shares why she actually ...

It seems that Settled Ministers and the Interim Ministers who preceded them don’t often have much to say to each other. Such conversations can be tricky, as expectations, turf, and egos all must be negotiated.  And yet, there are many benefits to be had.

In this episode titled, “Crucial Conversations and Interim Ministry,” Rev. Doug Bixby, the settled Senior Minister at First Church of Christ in Longmeadow, M...

Is creating content to communicate about lots of different things around your ministry taking up too much energy? Do you wish you had more administrative support? If so, this podcast titled, “Using AI in Church: How It Lightens My Administrative Load,” is for you. Reverend Tom Hathaway, a solo pastor with no administrative staff support, shares his innovative use of ChatGBT to streamline church administrative tasks such...

Creating a clear, simple statement of mission or purpose for a congregation is no easy feat, and the envy of every pastor I know is that their parishioners embrace it so well that they can share it by heart in their own words in a variety of situations.

In this episode titled, “How We Developed a Communication Plan to Clarify Our Congregation’s Mission,” small church pastor Rev. Tom Hathaway shares how they discov...

Multigenerational thriving is the dream of every pastor for their congregation. And yet, it doesn’t happen simply by bringing people together. Rather, it results from having evolved a good strategy through careful listening and negotiating the needs and interests of people in their various stages of life.

In this episode titled, “Building Multigenerational Community: How We Found the Balance,” part 2 of the multig...

Many pastors say that multigenerational worship is important, yet admit that finding a healthy balance between togetherness and separateness is elusive. In this episode titled, “Multigenerational Worship: How We Found the Balance, and What It Looks Like,” Rev. Allison Palm and Sadie Kahn-Green of the Unitarian Universality Church in Nashua, NH, share their journey of innovation and discovery to finding a format that wor...

As fewer congregations are able to afford a full-time trained Interim Minister, working with an Interim Consultant on a part-time basis is proving to be an effective way that congregations in transition can have access to the change leadership skills and knowledge so valuable during such times. In this second of two podcasts about the emerging role of the Interim Consultant, Rev. Dr. Ruth Shaver shares from her direct experience se...

Increasingly, congregations find themselves in a transition period – often when a pastor has left – and struggling to find someone with the change leadership skills and knowledge who can help them move forward. This is particularly true for congregations with diminishing resources. Trained Interim Ministers are in short supply and are often already working elsewhere. To this need, a new role is emerging, that of the Int...

Talented pastors know that a vision is essential to the congregation’s vitality. They also know that ownership of the vision by the people in the congregation is necessary for it to be effective. And yet, it’s not always clear whether the people own the vision, or if it’s really the pastor’s vision and the people are accepting it because they want to make the pastor happy. In this episode titled, “A Vi...

Transitional ministry has many of the tasks of settled ministry, but with more urgency, especially if the congregation is anxious. This can lead the transitional minister over functioning by doing things the congregation can do themselves. And yet, effective transitional ministry that leaves the congregation in a healthier place, requires that the congregation have ownership for ministries past and present, as well as new ideas. In...

For a pastor who admits having been burned out early in ministry, embracing the bonfire metaphor for her ministry now seems dicey. Yet, Rev. Liz Miller offers this bonfire metaphor to describe a vibrant new stance and perspective for her ministry where she’s close to the heat of things, but no longer consumed by it; paying full attention, yet not holding tightly to particular outcomes. Listen to her lessons learned and new wi...

Many pastors give a lot to their ministries – much of their life and identity – in their efforts to be a “good pastor.” It works well…until it doesn’t. But then what? In this episode, Rev. Liz Miller speaks to what she discovered after experiencing severe burnout – what she calls “laidback” ministry. It’s a peak into her recent insightful book title, “Only Work Sund...

An important part of the work of an intentional interim minister entering a congregation is to assess its health.  In this episode, “Guidance for an Incoming Interim Minister: Assessing the Long-term Health Prospects of a Congregation from the Legacy Perspective” Legacy Church Specialist, Charlie Kuchenbrod, offers helpful parallels with what we’d look for in people: Are there acute life-threatening illnesses...

Every local church congregation, like the people who comprise it, has a natural life cycle. Some last longer than others, but they all pass through the same stages – formation, adolescence, adulthood and completion. And just like many individual humans, congregations often struggle to come to terms with the end of their natural life. Consequently, people are unfairly burdened, precious resources are wasted, and opportunities ...

Congregations, like people, have natural lifecycles, and when they forget this by presuming their local church will last forever, it doesn’t turn out well. People are unfairly burdened, precious resources are wasted, and opportunities for celebration and recognition of faithful ministry are missed. In this episode, Legacy Church Specialist, Charlie Kuchenbrod, shares from his depth experience with congregations facing the lik...