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State of the Heart 2008
Passing the Baton
At the State of the Heart celebration recently, I talked about what a succession planning might look like for us at CVC.
If
you weren't at the meeting, the audio of the message is at the bottom of the page.
And here are the notes that I used as I shared with our
people:
I want you to know that I’m just as excited as ever
about what God is doing in and though my life. I’m just as excited as ever about
what God is doing in and through CVC. I’m just as excited as ever about what God
is doing in NE Ohio. The call of God on my life to NE Ohio and CVC is strong. I
am fully committed to what God is doing here.
And I’ve been thinking
about and praying about our future. I’m 54. I think I still have a lot of energy
and vision. There are areas of ministry where I’d like to focus more time and
attention – mentoring, leadership development, missions, evangelism, coaching
church planters, and writing. But I’d have to say that the role that I play
sometimes blocks some of that. Those 4 weekend services do take a toll. Every
week, Saturday night gets here fast. And the overall leadership position of
Senior Pastor sometimes keeps me from spending time in some areas where I have
giftedness and passion.
So, as the Elders and I have prayed about the
future, we think it’s time to start some succession planning. Dynamic churches
engage in leadership development and succession planning. A long time ago, I
heard someone say, “There’s no success without a successor.” I’ve never
forgotten that. So, over the last several years, I’ve been thinking about who
the next Senior Pastor of CVC might be.
This is something that is
biblical. The story of Samuel anointing David teaches us that God chooses his
leaders and helps other godly leaders to find them. As you survey the Bible, you
can see a variety of scriptural precedents: Moses to Joshua, Elijah to Elisha,
Paul to Timothy. And in a sense, isn't this what Jesus did? He spent three years
living with, teaching, and mentoring a group of men whom he had hand-picked to
carry on his earthly ministry.
A few months ago, I was reading Numbers
27. It’s the story about God leading Moses to pass the baton to Joshua. And
here’s Moses’ prayer. “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh,
appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in
before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of
the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd” (Numbers 27:16-17). Here’s
what I wrote, “This verse comes at a time when we are talking about succession
planning. What a prayer! It is the Lord who must appoint the man. The Lord told
Moses that it was Joshua – a man he had been mentoring (v. 18). The new leader
is to be a God-appointed, deeply spiritual, shepherd-leader who is a faithful
example to the flock.”
Think about it. Every current Senior Pastor of a
church is on the way to becoming the former Senior Pastor. It’s “the elephant in
the church boardroom.” At CVC, we recognize this fact and want to be proactive
in dealing with it.
So, we believe that it would be in the best interest
of CVC for us to begin the process of searching for a Co-Teaching Pastor who,
God-willing, may one day be my successor and the Senior Pastor of CVC.
We will be asking God to provide the funds for this position through the
regular operating budget of our church. Right now, our staff is doing a good job
spending below budget. And CVC has been generous. We are meeting the budget with
our giving. So, the financial picture is solid.
What might the ideal
candidate look like? We’re working on finalizing the job description. But it
looks like someone who is a passionate follower of Christ and who wants to help
people grow to be passionate followers of Christ. It looks like someone who
loves God, loves others, and loves the world and who wants to help others do the
same. We’re looking for an excellent communicator. We think finding someone who
is in the 35-40 year old range might be good. We’d like to find someone with
senior level leadership experience. We’d like to find someone with a Masters of
Divinity degree.
We’re asking God to send us someone who will protect
the family feeling we have at CVC. The elders and the staff feel confident about
the direction of the church – to help people grow to be passionate followers of
Christ who love God, love one another and love the world. We feel like
challenging people to grow in these areas happens best in the context of
community. So, as we look for someone, we’re looking someone who shares this
vision, this philosophy. We feel led by the Lord concerning the path we are
on.
We’ll put together a search team, finalize the job description, and
begin the search. We don’t have our eye on any particular candidate. It’s wide
open. We believe that the right person with the right gifts and experiences and
relationships is out there. Just like God has brought a great staff together
here at CVC already, He’ll do it again. We have learned that the length of time
it may take to find such a senior-level leader like a new Co-Teaching Pastor can
last as long as 9-12 months, and even take longer.
Now, let me be quick
to say several things: I am healthy. Several months ago, I had a routine
physical and the doctor gave me a clean bill of health. And as I said before, I
am just as passionate as ever about the vision, the ministry, and the mission of
CVC. And as the Elders have talked about his over the last six months, even
after a new Senior Pastor is in place, the Elders and I anticipate that I will
stay on staff here at CVC and focus on the things I’m most passionate about -
mentoring, leadership development, missions, coaching church planters, writing
as well as teaching whenever I’m asked.
Let me reiterate. I still feel
led by God to stay very actively engaged, long-term, through the ministries of
CVC. The Elders feel the same way about my long-term involvement.
This
isn’t to be seen as an 8-10 year process or even a 5-7 year process. Don’t hold
us to this timeline. We don’t know what God’s timing will be. But it will
probably take a year to find God’s man for the position. We’ll share teaching
responsibilities for a while – maybe a year or so. If it’s a good fit for the
man and for CVC, then with the guidance of the Elders, we’ll begin the process
of transitioning the leadership responsibilities. So, this feels more like a 2-4
or 3-5 year process.
I want to have some time to invest my life into the
life of this next leader. The Elders want me to have an opportunity to spend
some time grooming, coaching, and mentoring this person.
I’ve been
thinking about what I hope this transition feels like. Lots of church
transitions are like light switches. One pastor leaves, the light is turned off.
The new pastor arrives, and the switch is turned on. It’s abrupt and obvious.
But I’m praying that this transition will feel like lights on dimmer switches.
As one is dimming down, the other is brightening up. The ambiance of the room –
the culture of the church – protected.
We’ve seen models where this kind
of thing has happened before and it’s been a positive thing for the churches.
Close-by: The Chapel in Akron where Knute Larson was Senior Pastor. Fellowship
Bible Church in Chagrin Falls where Lud Goltz was Senior Pastor. Hudson
Community Chapel where Jim Colledge was Senior Pastor. Further away: 1st Baptist
Church in Jacksonville where Homer Lindsay was Senior Pastor and Elmbrook Church
in Wisconsin where Stuart Briscoe was Senior Pastor.
As I have talked
about this with my friends and mentors, some have said that having the old guy
hang around just doesn’t work. But I made an appointment with Lud Goltz, the
former senior pastor of Fellowship Bible Church. He passed the baton
successfully and stayed at the church in a different role. He said that this
will work if three things are true. 1) The former Senior Pastor is spiritually
mature enough to let go of the reigns. 2) The new Senior Pastor is spiritually
mature enough to not be threatened by the former Senior Pastor’s presence. 3)
The congregation is spiritually mature enough to welcome new leadership. If we
are truly are abiding in Christ and LG, LOA, and LTW this should work
well.
You might be thinking, “But why, Rick. Why?” The best answer I can
give is “love.” I love you. I love this church. And I love the mission God has
given us here in NE Ohio. I think it’s much, much better to do this now rather
than to wait until it’s overdue.
Therefore, the Elders think it is wise
to begin implementing a long-term succession plan while CVC is stable, healthy,
and growing. We believe that this can, God-willing, enhance the ongoing growth
and progress of the gospel through ministry of CVC. We are confident that by
God’s grace, this process will be handled in a prayerful, orderly, deliberate
way that protects the unity of the church and advances the Kingdom of
God.
In Christ,
Pastor Rick Duncan
What you can do:
- Pray for God’s blessing, protection, and
guidance for CVC.
- Pray for the future leaders of CVC and that God will
raise up the right people at the right time to accomplish His will.
- Pray
that God will continue to use CVC to help people grow to be passionate followers
of Christ who LG, LOA, and LTW.
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