Everything You Need to Know (and then some...) About Interim Ministry

books:


	• Temporary Shepherds: A Congregational Handbook for Interim Ministry Alban Inst, 1998 - 205 pages average customer review:based on 2 reviews view larger image
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All you need to know

This book offers a wealth of information for the person considering Interium Ministry. Interium Ministry is a different kind of "call" that "settled" ministry. The tasks associated with Interium Ministry are different, and there is a much shorter window in which to accomplish the tasks. Nicholson prvides a comprehensive overview of the taks and in the appendix has an abundance of resources. If you are or are considering being a temporary shepherd this is the book you should own.

Everything You Need to Know (and then some...) About Interim Ministry

As a lay leader in a UCC congregation, we were faced with searching for an Interim Senior Minister for our congregation last year. We committed to an Intentional Interim Process -- that is, to address thoughtfully issues of our history, more recent past, and present -- that might be holding us back from living into our congregational potential. This is the book my
brother (a UCC minister in Colorado) recommended, and it is a gem!

I bought a copy for every member of our Personnel Committee as well as our Moderator and Vice Moderator, and we made additional copies available to other members of the congregation. We each read it and refer to it frequently. It helped us identify an excellent trained Interim Minister who used this book in his Interim Training at the Alban Institute, and to know what to expect from the Intentional Process.

Although lay leaders may find there is more here than they need or want to know, we agreed that understanding the full picture equipped us to best serve our congregation. It helped us explain to our congregation that an Interim Minster is NOT just someone to occupy the pulpit while we search for a settled senior minister, that he is a "consultant" to help teach us about organization aspects, and how to deal constructively with change.

One recommendation for other lay teams to consider is the idea of establishing a "listening support team" for your incoming Interim, as a resource for him/her during their tenure, both as a feedback mechanism as well as to help them gauge how some pretty pointed change management is being embraced (or not). I wish we had done a better job of this.

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Effective interim ministry depends on strong partnership between the interim minster and congregation. Lay leaders of congregations preparing for such a transition will value the expert guidance provided by over a dozen experienced interim pastors. What is interim ministry all about? What needs to happen during the interim? What should leaders and members expect from the interim pastor and themselves during this transition? What other resources are available for congregations?