Nebraska Synod Interim Ministry Resources

Pastor Lynn Parsons
Interim Pastor
St. Paul Lutheran Church, Missouri Valley, Iowa

In 2004, my family was told that my mother would soon die.

While the struggle went on for several weeks, each of us siblings and our families began to grieve. Each person grieved at the thought of mom’s passing in different ways. Some were in denial. Others were angry, confused, or in the bargaining cycle of grief.

This type of grief is not unusual for families who are faced with a loved dying. This type of grief is called anticipatory grief. As a chaplain in a nursing home facility, I had seen anticipatory grief many times. As a chaplain gets more acquainted with the dynamics of end-of-life measures, you become more sensitive to grief among the family, staff, and other professionals. What was surprising to me is to experience anticipatory grief in a systemic way.

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Pastor Lynn Parsons
Interim Pastor
St. Paul Lutheran Church, Missouri Valley, Iowa

The fifth developmental task of the congregation during the interim time and process is the commitment to a new direction in ministry. If we understand the developmental tasks as a process, the fifth task of new ministry direction will naturally occur.

The Transition Team or Call Committee, Church Council, and Interim Pastor have teamed with the congregation on a journey. The congregation has come to terms with their history and worked through differences, brought to closure issues with former pastors, have discovered a new identity, allowed for shifts in leadership, and has become reconnected or strengthened in their ties with their denomination and synod. In this process, the congregation has also discovered new gifts of ministry.

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Rev. Sylvia High Karlsson
Interim Pastor
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Chadron

A Higher-Level View

When you serve as an interim minister, it’s often the case that you are a “faster pastor.” This clever phrase comes from the approach often needed early in an interim’s appointment to a congregation.

Using this phrase helps me envision a tangible difference between the interim pastor and the called or settled pastor. Of course many tasks within congregational ministry are similar for both, but there is a different perspective. And it should be different for the two styles of ministry. It’s up to the interim pastor to help the congregation prepare the way for a successful pastorate for the new pastor.

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Pastor Gail Madson
Interim Pastor
Calvary Lutheran Church, Scottsbluff

A key piece to interim work is selecting a transition team. The church council gave me names suggested for the call committee who were not elected to that position. Transition team members should not be on council, the call committee or the personnel committee, but they should be trusted leaders.

The first task of the intentional interim process is coming to terms with our history. All churches have good times and rough times. In order for members of a church to move forward to meet Christ’s calling for ministry in their community, they need to share memories - positive and painful - with each other. Only then can people change their focus from the past to a hopeful future.

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Pastor Bob Oleson
Interim Pastor
Lord of Love Lutheran Church, Omaha

Below is Pastor Oleson’s message to his congregation shortly after beginning his interim work there.

In his book “Critical Moments of Ministry,” Loren Mead talks about this serious work that interim pastors do. He lists five areas of focus. They are:

• Coming to Terms with History
• Discovering a New Identity
• Allowing Needed Leadership Change
• Strengthening Denominational Ties
• Commitment to New Directions in Ministry

I would like to bring to your attention one of the important tasks of the interim pastor. “Strengthening denominational ties” is one of the ways interim pastors help congregations establish and maintain a healthy life.

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