Giving It Away: A Workshop On A Biblical Model Of Succession Inthe Congregational African American Church

James L.  Betner

Etd

Giving It Away: A Workshop On A Biblical Model Of Succession Inthe Congregational African American Church

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MLA citation style (9th ed.)

James L. Betner. Giving It Away: A Workshop On A Biblical Model Of Succession Inthe Congregational African American Church. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/74c7bd2c-2da0-4e2b-8fce-10c8f1f995d6?locale=en.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

J. L. Betner. Giving It Away: A Workshop On A Biblical Model Of Succession Inthe Congregational African American Church. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/74c7bd2c-2da0-4e2b-8fce-10c8f1f995d6?locale=en

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

James L. Betner. Giving It Away: A Workshop On A Biblical Model Of Succession Inthe Congregational African American Church. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/74c7bd2c-2da0-4e2b-8fce-10c8f1f995d6?locale=en.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

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James L. Betner

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Abstract

Nothing stays the same. This inevitability of change and transition should promptevery active lead pastor to understand that the place you stand in today may in fact be theplace another stands in tomorrow. To be fully cognizant of that reality aids in the pastor’sability to be able to see beyond the present and to begin thinking about and perhaps evenpreparing for the unavoidable future of the present ministry. Pastoral enmeshment and theimproper views of competition in ministry must be countered with a clear understandingof the pastor as a steward who is called to build the Lord’s kingdom, not a personal one.Succession planning, then, must include a theology of leadership development and a clearunderstanding of what a healthy pastorate looks like. There must be a mutual synergy ofpastor and people who can appreciate yesterday and today and yet still anticipate withgreater affection the possibility of tomorrow. This work identifies biblical models forsuccession and offers practical methods to prepare the pastor and people for eventualtransitions.Without attention to succession planning, a church and its pastor succumbs tobeing reactive at best, and negligent at worst, by waiting for a crisis to unfold as a resultof inevitable changes in leadership. However, when a proper perspective of succession isdeveloped for the church and the pastor, it adds stability to the mission of the church andfrees the pastor to willingly give it away at the right time.At the core of this project is the process of the development of a succession planfor the Delaware Valley Baptist Church of Willingboro, NJ in particular, and successionin the Protestant congregational church in general.

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