Bad Words in the Church: "Succession"

This is the seventh and final in a series on “Bad Words in the Church.” It seems only appropriate to conclude this series with the word “succession.” Whether you want to think about it or not, your tenure as senior pastor or executive director (or the tenure of your organization’s leader) will come to an end some day. The problem is that many first chair leaders and leadership teams choose not to think about it or don’t know how to think about it. In business, succession planning is an accepted practice. The board knows that they must put someone into the first chair when the CEO retires. They also know that they must be prepared for the unexpected – a sudden resignation or a health issue that incapacitates the leader. They have the advantage of developing their bench, internal candidates who could potentially step into the top role. Many churches (and other ministries) are not large enough to have someone on staff who could step into the first chair role but that shouldn’t keep them from having the right conversations. The pastor (or executive director) should be willing to talk openly about his or her time frame to retirement. The board should periodically discuss how the organization will operate if its leader departs suddenly. And whenever possible, they should all come together to plan for an orderly transition. I’ve written this blog in my typical, matter-of-fact, unemotional style. And yet, as I’ve seen in a number of situations, this issue is rarely straightforward or unemotional. Whether you think of a congregation’s attachment to a pastor or a leader’s reluctance to turn over the reins to the ministry he or she helped to build, the transition is packed with feelings that defy logic. We should acknowledge this reality, but it’s no excuse for avoiding the conversation. The root word of succession is “success.” That’s what we all want, but if we treat “succession” as a bad word and refuse to discuss it, we’ll never reach that goal.]]>