Transition from Founding Pastor to First Successor Pastor: Every Pastor Is an Interim Pastor

Christopher A. Polski

Etd

Transition from Founding Pastor to First Successor Pastor: Every Pastor Is an Interim Pastor

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MLA citation style (9th ed.)

Christopher A. Polski. Transition From Founding Pastor to First Successor Pastor: Every Pastor Is an Interim Pastor. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/9478ab3d-4dca-4d58-8375-73b93f2be55c.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

C. A. Polski. Transition from Founding Pastor to First Successor Pastor: Every Pastor Is an Interim Pastor. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/9478ab3d-4dca-4d58-8375-73b93f2be55c

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

Christopher A. Polski. Transition From Founding Pastor to First Successor Pastor: Every Pastor Is an Interim Pastor. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/9478ab3d-4dca-4d58-8375-73b93f2be55c.

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

Creator

Christopher A. Polski

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In Copyright

Abstract

Stories of conflict, loss and congregational collapse are far too common during seasons of pastoral transition and especially so when the transition in view is the transition from the founding pastor to the first successor pastor, a circumstance that presents a highly unique set of challenges that often prompt a crisis of identity within a still young congregation. The purpose of the study is to explore how church leaders describe influential factors in their process of transitioning from a founding pastor to a first successor pastor. This study made use of a qualitative design utilizing semi-structured interviews of founding pastors, first successor pastors and key church leaders who were involved in congregations in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) that had recently undergone a transition from a founding pastor to a first successor pastor. The literature review focused on surveying insights and principles related to transition in the following fields of inquiry: Core Ministry Practices, initial Biblical leadership transitions, leadership transitions in stepfamilies, leadership transitions in business, and leadership transitions in churches.This study revealed that there are seven key principles that must be considered in relation to a first pastoral transition:Principle #1: Every Pastor Is an Interim Pastor Principle #2: Founding Pastors Make a Unique Mark Principle #3: Plan for Transition Now Principle #4: Continually Recalibrate Your Culture for Smoother Transition Principle #5: Transition Isn’t Over when the New Pastor is Installed Principle #6: Engage the Inevitable Loss in Transition Principle #7: Even in Difficult Initial Transitions, Hope RemainsThe long-term hope for this study has been to give founding pastors, church planting core groups and church sessions working alongside a founding pastor, tools to heighten their awareness surrounding the complexity and inevitability of an initial pastoral transition.

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