In May 2019, I became the Senior Pastor of the church I had been attending for 21 years and working at for 9 years. A lot of prayer, planning, and preparation went into this decision and transition. It was not done lightly or quickly.

The transition went as well as anyone could have hoped. The former Senior Pastor was incredibly supportive. The elders and staff of the church were supportive. The congregation was supportive. The situation could not have been better.

I was the Senior Pastor for 2 years.

I ended up being an Interim Pastor.

That was not the plan.

And yet, that is the reality for all of us in leadership. We are all interim leaders. Whether it is sooner or later, a handful of years or many, all of us will step out of our leadership roles and hand the responsibility over to someone else. In fact, for many of us, someone else handed that responsibility to us.

Knowing that should provide each of us with perspective and humility.

The time we have to lead our organizations is a privilege and a stewardship. We get to cultivate our organizations while they are under our care. We get to accomplish some good, important things. We get to guide and develop others as they grow and mature in their skills, abilities, and experience. If we are fortunate, we get to form some friendships, too.

If we can remind ourselves of the temporary nature of our leadership, it might also allow us to enjoy and appreciate the experience while we are in it.

It isn’t easy to consider ourselves Interim Leaders in the midst of meetings and deadlines and pressures and decisions, but it is important.

You won’t always be the leader.

Someone will take your place.

Therefore…

How are you using your time as an interim leader?

How are you preparing for the next leader?

What are you doing now so that the organization is as healthy as possible when the next leader assumes responsibility?

What small steps could you take to be grateful for and enjoy your time leading?

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