After 35 Years, John Wagner’s Ministry Path Leads Back Home
If you’d told John Wagner years ago he would end up leading the church he grew up attending—First Christian Church in Union, Mo.—he never would have believed you.
Pastoral Transitions & Succession
Pastoral Transitions & Succession provides guidance for churches and leaders navigating seasons of change. Explore biblically grounded resources on preparing for pastoral transitions, developing succession plans, and leading congregations with clarity, care, and unity. You’ll find practical help for search processes, interim seasons, staff and elder alignment, communication with the church, and supporting incoming and outgoing leaders. Whether you’re planning ahead, experiencing an unexpected transition, or helping a new pastor settle in, these articles aim to promote healthy leadership handoffs and long-term congregational stability.
Ellsworth’s Farewell Sermon On Hold Until Church Can Gather Again
By Chris Moon Tom Ellsworth jokes that his “crystal ball” must have been broken when he announced last year his plan to retire at the end this month. Ellsworth has put in nearly 40 years of service as pastor of Sherwood Oaks Christian Church in Bloomington, Ind. He’s seen the church grow from an attendance of about 80 people to more than 3,000 on two campuses. But 40 years is a good biblical number, and Ellsworth had his 65th birthday earlier this year. The church began working on a retirement plan a couple of years ago, and Shawn Green was
February 12, 2020
Longtime Kentucky Pastor Makes Leap to Greater NYC Church
By Chris Moon From Keavy, Ky., to Long Island, N.Y. The change in environment and culture—at least within the United States—probably doesn’t get more drastic than that. And that’s exactly the jump that Tommy Lanham made. The longtime Kentucky pastor is now in his fifth month as co-pastor of Glen Cove (N.Y.) Christian Church, a small congregation on Long Island, about 15 miles northeast of Queens. Lanham says the culture shock wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. “We always had heard that New Yorkers are rude,” he told Christian Standard. “That has not been our experience at
November 27, 2019
Bycroft Serving Oklahoma Church after Long Ministry in Kansas
By Chris Moon Retirement didn’t last long for David Bycroft. “That’s a little bit of a joke,” he told Christian Standard. Bycroft retired from Tyro (Kan.) Christian Church in September 2017 after a long ministry—47 years in all—that saw the church grow in average weekly attendance from 40 people to 950. And that was in a town of just 250 residents. The church attracted people from towns all around the area. Not long after preaching his last sermon in Tyro, Bycroft was contacted by the leadership at East Bartlesville Christian Church, located in Bartlesville, Okla., about 30 miles south
August 20, 2019
Ellsworth Plans to Retire from Sherwood Oaks; Green to Replace
Tom Ellsworth plans to retire as senior minister with Sherwood Oaks Christian Church next spring after serving the church since January 1981. During his ministry, the Bloomington, Ind., congregation has grown from 80 people to nearly 3,000 people across three locations. “What a joy it has been to lead Sherwood Oaks Christian Church and to serve the Bloomington and Bedford communities,” Ellsworth said. “It’s been an incredible journey, and I’m excited for all that is ahead.” Ellsworth and his wife, Elsie—who will be retiring as Sherwood Oaks’ marriage coordinator and premarital counseling coordinator—say they want to take their years of
Henry Retires after Serving First Christian in Kenosha for 40 Years (Plus News Briefs)
Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman Brian Henry, 66, preached his final two sermons Sunday and retired after serving 40 years with First Christian Church, Kenosha, Wis. Through the years, Henry served as preaching minister, senior minister, and minister of pastoral care. Nancy, his wife of 45 years, “closed her classroom down last week,” Brian Henry told the Kenosha News. “She taught kids her whole life since she was 12 years old”; closing out her ministry “was devastating for her.” Henry talked about the changes and tough decisions First Christian has made during his tenure there, including leaving their
January 29, 2019
The ‘Package Deal’: How to Choose a New Church Leader and His Wife
By Melissa Brandes After many months, the search committee finally zeroes in on their top choice for pastor. The formal interview goes very well. He seems a perfect fit. “Trial sermon” Sunday arrives. He preaches a solid biblical message with a great application. Later that afternoon, church leaders’ spouses take the potential pastor’s wife out for coffee while the men go boating on a lake. That evening, an elder asks his wife about the candidate’s spouse, but she hesitates. “She’s interesting,” the elder’s wife finally says, but not enthusiastically. “I guess she’s pleasant enough. Honestly I just don’t know her
Making an IMPACT in Indy
By Jim Nieman On June 24, the Fairfax Christian Church family in inner-city Indianapolis celebrated their final weekend of worship together under longtime minister Tom Richason, and on July 1, the church became the newest site of Mount Pleasant Christian Church’s IMPACT Ministry. Chris Philbeck, senior pastor of Mount Pleasant—a church of about 4,700 located in Greenwood, Ind., about a dozen miles south of Indy—says MPCC hopes to “bring renewal to this new ministry opportunity.” Fairfax voted unanimously to transfer ownership to MPCC on Feb. 25, but no ministry changes occurred until the first of this month. Like many urban
Resources for Succession Planning
By Kent Fillinger Books for Church Leaders and Churches “¢ Next: Pastoral Succession that Works by William Vanderbloemen and Warren Bird (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2014) “¢ Passing the Leadership Baton: A Winning Transition Plan for Your Ministry by Tom Mullins (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2015) “¢ The Elephant in the Boardroom: Speaking the Unspoken About Pastoral Transitions by Carolyn Weese and J. Russell Crabtree (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004) “¢ Transition Plan: 7 Secrets Every Leader Needs to Know (for Kindle) by Bob Russell and Bryan Bucher (Minneapolis: Publish Green, 2010) “¢ Before You Move: A Guide to Making Transitions in
Trading Places: Learning from a Unique Staff Transition
By Brian Jennings Dave Dunson and Brian Jennings didn”t exactly exchange places on their church staff. But Dunson gave up the senior ministry to move to another staff ministry position while Jennings moved from youth ministry to become the lead minister. Here”s why and how it happened. Highland Park Christian Church has been ministering to people in the heart of Tulsa, Oklahoma, for almost 60 years. In 2004, we first began talking about a future staff transition. Everything about our situation felt unique; we weren”t planning on anyone leaving or retiring. Dave Dunson came to the church as senior minister
What I”ve Learned about Ministerial Changes
By Ken Idleman I call it “ecclesiastical matchmaking,” playing cupid to help a local church get together with a minister or a minister together with a church. Part of the experience involves coaching leaders and churches through the courting/calling process. And I”ve done quite a bit of it. After decades of church consulting, including 30 years of helping churches and leaders as a Christian college president, I”ve logged some experiences and come to some conclusions about ministerial succession in local churches. Here are my observations. Defining Terms First let”s define some terms. Pastoral transition and pastoral succession are not the same
We Have a Plan
By Steve Reeves For the two weeks leading up to this year”s Super Bowl, the most asked question where I live was, “Will this be Peyton Manning”s last rodeo?” (Will he retire after the Super Bowl?) Truth is, that kind of question is being asked someplace almost every week, whether it concerns the long-tenured coach, college professor, or corporate executive. It”s also a relevant issue for well-known musicians and politicians: “Will this be their last concert, election, or board meeting?” Frankly, I don”t know how long the issue of ministerial retirement and succession has been such a major topic of conversation,
First Look Inward (Part 2: The Place)
By Jason Yeatts Succession depends on the interior world of everyone involved. If a person”s interior world is out of order, then failure is inevitable. When fear, pride, or indifference take up residence inside a church or parachurch organization, conflict and confusion emerge and grow. A succession process has little hope of overcoming these roadblocks unless another attitude, humility, prevails. Paul said, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (Philippians 2:3, 4). This starts with
First Look Inward (Part 1: The Person)
By Gary Johnson The interior world of the outgoing leader is a key factor to transitions that succeed. While each of us knows about different kinds of journeys, I”m exploring a journey that is unique. This journey involves Christians in a local church or parachurch organization, and it is called succession. It happens when the senior leader leaves and a new leader arrives in his place. Just as every person in the plane, on the train, or in the car travel together, this journey involves everyone in the particular church or parachurch organization. Succession involves more than one minister leaving
Everybody Leaves Sooner or Later
An Interview with Warren Bird, coauthor of Next: Pastoral Succession that Works By Kent Fillinger What are the key points from Next? The first is the sobering reminder that we”re all interims. A reality of life is that whatever our role is, someone is going to come after us unless Jesus comes back before then. We try to unfold that in the book. And there”s a theology behind that. Jesus had a succession plan, so shouldn”t you? Moses had a succession plan. And look at how, from Moses to Joshua, it worked so well. But Joshua didn”t have a successor, and
6 Pointers for Leaders Getting Ready to Retire
By LeRoy Lawson While admitting there is no sure-fire formula for success in succession, I have learned a few things from retiring and watching others retire. Here”s my advice. “I wanted you to do well. I didn”t want you to do this well.” I had been away from my 20-year ministry with Central Christian Church in Mesa, Arizona, for more than a year when Cal Jernigan, my successor, invited me back to preach one weekend. It was already evident the church was prospering under his guidance. All I had hoped would happen in that first year after my departure had
November 29, 2015
Moving On
By Bob Mink I had the privilege of planting Discovery Christian Church (originally Moreno Valley Christian Church) in 1984 in a small but rapidly growing distant suburb of Los Angeles. I was 33 years old at the time, and our family moved from the Greater Philadelphia area. On our 30th anniversary in 2014, I stepped down as senior pastor. Looking back, I now realize the transition began in 2011, when one of our associate pastors left our church to become campus minister at his alma mater. I was fully supportive of the move, but after almost 27 years, I was worn down and
Dave’s Gone–Now What?
By Joe Boyd Popular culture shows us who we are. It”s a mirror that reflects what we are becoming. So what do we make of Fallon”s rise in the wake of Letterman”s departure? Regardless of how we feel about it, popular culture is a dynamic force that shapes the lives of most Americans. Music, sports, and entertainment are power players that inform the worldview of millions of people both inside and outside the church. It”s simply the reality of the world we live in. The job of the Christian, in my opinion, is to know the culture while understanding that
One Life at a Time
By Kent E. Fillinger Ralph Mehrens served as senior minister at Calvary Christian Church in Bellevue, Nebraska, for 25 years. Mehrens wanted to transition well, so he planned a 15-month succession process and laid a strong foundation to help the congregation follow the next minister. Scott Beckenhauer transitioned from an eight-year youth ministry with the church to the lead minister position in 2008. “I knew the church family and they knew me, so the trust was already built,” said Beckenhauer, who became only the third lead minister in Calvary”s 42-year history. Attendance declined slightly as Beckenhauer gained his footing the
December 21, 2012
Examples of Collaboration, Sacrifice
By Jennifer Johnson Earlier this year, as part of a project with Kairos Legacy Partners, I researched stories of dying churches that merged with another congregation or recycled their resources and energy into a new church. Many, like Central Christian Church in Tampa, FL, were once-thriving churches that had declined due to aging members and changing neighborhoods. Others, like Capital City Christian Church in Raleigh, NC, knew major change was needed to reach a young, growing community. In each case, the story was worth telling because the church wanted to be part of something bigger than slowly dwindling while hanging
