Coaching For Interims

How I Helped Initiate a Shared Ministry Project - Rev. Gail Irwin. Episode 7

Helping a cong. accept the reality that they can no longer afford a full-time pastor and leading them into new territory in creative and hopeful ways is vital work. This episode relates the creation of a shared culture when two congregations decided to share a pastor, including the key things that made it successful.

My 4 or 5 Key Questions to Help a Congregation Discern Their Future - Rev. Chris Mereschuk. Episode 5

Getting a declining congregation to think more deeply about their future can be very challenging. Magical thinking abounds. And yet, we know that realistic and creative thinking often turns up paths for new life that otherwise wouldn’t have been seen.
Rev. Chris Mereschuk, a thoughtful and savvy transition minister, shares a few of the key questions he uses with a congregation to keep an anxious conversation about its future going in a fruitful direction.

Assessing the Capacity of a Congregation to Be a New Church - Rev. Dr. Jonathan New. Episode 4

Many churches declining in vitality say they want to renew – want to be a “new church.” Listen to how seasoned interim minister, Rev. Dr. Jonathan New, thinks about the church’s capacity to be and to do church, as well as his 5 things that bear directly on a congregation’s capacity to be / do church in, “Assessing the capacity of a congregation to be a new church”

After 40 Years, Here’s Why I Still Believe in the Parish - Rev. Dr. Rochelle (Shelly) Stackhouse. Episode 3

Amid all the talk about pastor burnout due to frustration with the church, it’s refreshing to hear a new perspective. In this honest and plain-spoken testimony, Rev. Dr. Shelly Stackhouse, shares her reasons as to why she continues to serve in ministry in, “After 40 years, here’s why I still believe in the parish.”

Navigating the Nonsense in Transition - Rev. Doug Bixby. Episode 2

The interim transition time between settled pastors holds great potential for congregations to do needed work around identity, governance, purpose and healing. Unfortunately, interim ministers often encounter resistance – in many forms. In his several books, Rev. Doug Bixby has written eloquently about the “nonsense” as he calls it. Listen as he speaks specifically to the interim time in – “Navigating the Nonsense in Transition.” 

How A Small Church In A Small Town On The Verge Of Closure Gained New Life - Rev. Dawn Adams. Episode 1

Most small churches in decline want new life. It won’t happen for all of them. But it can happen for some. It isn’t fast. It isn’t magic. But it can happen. Savvy small church pastor, Rev. Dawn Adams, shares the practical step-by-step story that began with a 20-hour-a-week Designated Pastorate with sagging energy, to the current 30-hour-a-week settled pastorate with new energy.