Your Pastor Left. Why the Next Step Is a Pause

Episode Overview

When a pastor leaves, a church can feel enormous pressure to find a replacement immediately. In this solo episode, Brian Miller, president of Coach Approach Ministries, draws on his experience serving four interim pastorates to explain why he encourages churches to pause first. A coach approach gives congregations time to grieve, discern their direction, and take responsibility for their future before beginning a pastoral search. Brian explores how that preparation can help a church find a pastor suited to its shared vision while growing closer to Jesus throughout the transition.

Key Ideas & Takeaways

• Make room for grief before moving forward. Whether a pastor dies, retires, or leaves amid conflict, the congregation experiences loss. Brian encourages taking time to acknowledge that hurt while carefully addressing a few obvious problems.

• Help the church discover its own direction. An interim pastor can facilitate discernment by asking what people long for in their church and community. Brian emphasizes trusting the congregation to do this work and moving beyond familiar answers toward a clearer picture of the church it hopes to become.

• Give leaders space to think together. Brian describes taking church leaders on a retreat several months into the transition to clarify vision and goals. The process helps them name where the church is now and where they want it to go.

• Explore what the vision requires of everyone. Once the direction is clear, the congregation needs to consider what must change, where to begin, and what losses those changes may involve. Coaching helps people hear one another and recognize their own responsibilities in the work ahead.

• Clarify how decisions get made. A church that has relied heavily on its pastor may lack clear leadership roles and decision processes. Establishing those systems helps the congregation navigate the search and support a healthier working relationship with its next pastor.

• Let shared direction guide the search. Look for a pastor whose skills, gifts, and desire fit where the church has agreed to go. Brian connects congregational ownership with willingness to work alongside the pastor toward those goals.

• Keep returning to Jesus. For Brian, transition should deepen the congregation's relationship with Jesus. He describes preaching through Matthew as his way of keeping Jesus central while helping people reflect, ask questions, and discern their future.

Memorable Quotes & Ideas

• "You've got to trust people to do the work." 

• "Help people hear one another and consider what their hopes would require of them, not just of the next pastor." 

• "We're looking for somebody who has the skills, giftedness, and desire to lead us toward where we said we want to go." 

• "They just had no say in the conversation of where they want to go."