January 1, 2026
Leading Through the Hand-Off: Lessons in Pastoral Transition
With careful planning, clear communication, financial foresight, and sensitivity to personalities, churches can not only survive transitions, they can thrive through them.
Articles for tag: Succession
January 1, 2026
How Do You Retire When Your Successor Ain’t Ready?
If you’ve spent your career walking with Jesus, your last days should be your best days, not your worst. Jesus’ last moments before his death were spent pouring himself completely out for us.
January 1, 2026
Succession and the Church
Few churches handle lead minister succession well, but there are four steps for an effective succession PLAN (Prepare, Look Ahead, Assess, Navigate).
Elders! Help Put the “Success” in Succession!
If succession is not done effectively, it may result in the loss of momentum, people, resources, and more. Fully engaged elders help put the “success” in succession.
Succession: When It Works, When It Doesn’t
Perhaps the greatest single benefit of succession success is that when it works, succession success honors God and results in positive momentum in the church as well as in the larger community.
Think Outward
Every church will tell you they have an outward focus because they know that's Jesus' Great Commission, but the truth is that many are not.
January 1, 2026
Succession: The Things You Need to Know but Others Won’t Tell You
We need to start thinking and planning for succession earlier rather than later, knowing that the stakes are high, the process takes time, and that we are following a biblical mandate.
November 5, 2025
When a Plan Comes Together
A sermon should be long enough to adequately exegete and apply the main point of the passage, but short enough to leave mature Christians willing to listen a few minutes longer.
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
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
May 17, 2016
Succession Success: The First Step
By Mark A. Taylor I was right, and I didn”t mind saying so. The decision-maker in this program was giving flawed direction and providing inadequate resources for me and the others serving in the ministry. I saw this whether anyone else did or not. When I complained to the person handling logistics for the ministry (he wasn”t the one making the decisions I didn”t like), he replied with a Scripture: “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
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
