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The following excerpt from an interview conducted with Bishop Peter D. Weaver, then head of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church, discusses the appointment of Reverend Fred Day to the position of Senior Pastor to The First United Methodist Church of Germantown. Q: Would you talk about how a new minister transitions into a new congregation? Bishop Weaver: That’s an interesting process in any congregation. It becomes even more interesting when the previous pastor is well loved and has had a long pastorate. Fred Day is a wonderful, gifted pastor but obviously each pastor is different from any other pastor. So when a new pastor comes with his or her gifts, he needs to learn how to adjust and receive those gifts and I think FUMCOG has been trying to go through that process. Our process in the United Methodist Church is that pastors are appointed by the Bishop but it’s done in consultation with the local church so that there was an interim period of time after Dr. Loder left as pastor, and that congregation, through a process with their pastor parish committee, did some reflection, was in conversation with me and with our decision-making process around the appointment of the next pastor and that committee was very supportive of the appointment of Fred Day as the new pastor. They shared with us particular kinds of strengths and gifts that they were seeking in a pastor. I’m grateful to Fred for going in because it is always a challenge when there are these kinds of transitions. Q: Isn’t part of this process to have an interim minister that comes for a short period of time to help the congregation sort out their direction and then that minister leaves and another one comes? Bishop Weaver: Typically, in our system, that is not the pattern. In the United Methodist Church, because pastors are appointed by the Bishop rather then called by a congregation, you typically will have your outgoing pastor in the pulpit one Sunday and the next Sunday you will have your new pastor. Now that doesn’t mean that we don’t pay attention to transition issues and try to help that congregation say good-bye to their previous pastor and do welcoming of their new pastor. We certainly encourage and help facilitate with consultants a visioning process that helps a congregation, typically before the old pastor leaves, identify the gifts and qualities that they believe are needed to partner with their gifts and qualities in that congregation for the sake of ministry in the neighborhood or the community. That’s the bottom line. It’s not just a pastor serving a church; it’s a pastor and a church serving the community. That’s the ultimate goal. And in the case at FUMCOG, because of the long term pastor there was an interim period that unfolded of about a year and a half, and I think that was a healthy period for that congregation, in my judgment. It’s both a tribute to the previous pastor, Dr. Loder, and that congregation and Fred Day, that all have tried to participate in a healthy way in that transition process. Q: We have watched this transition and one of the lay ministers stated that he felt the congregation had a “disconnect” and that they needed to have a listening session. They called in, I actually think at Reverend Day’s suggestion, facilitators. Can you give us some insight as to why one calls in facilitators? Bishop Weaver: I think it’s easier for an outside consultant to come in and help facilitate conversation because that person can come with the skills and theory of enabling conversation as well as sometimes help people see a bigger picture than just what they’re thinking or feeling and encourage people to be open and honest with each other. The consultant will often be able to help a group begin to determine some next steps for the future. An outsider doesn’t come with the same vested interest, or frankly level of emotion, into that conversation. It’s not unusual for us to use consultants in our congregation, both around conflict situations as well as visioning situations where there simply needs to be someone to come in and create an environment of open and honest conversation. Q: There were a few people during this year’s time that were dissatisfied with Reverend Day and were thinking of having him removed. I believe that isn’t the process, is it? Reverend Day can’t be removed by the congregation. Is that correct? Bishop Weaver: That’s ultimately correct. Let me try to say that ultimately only the Bishop has the power to appoint or to remove a pastor from the United Methodist Church. But in these days, we do it in full consultation with congregations. They have been involved in the process that led to the selection of Fred Day and my appointment of him there. They have continued to be involved in the process of sharing with us, that is myself and those with whom I work around, this kind of evaluation, the concerns as well as the celebration of strengths that Fred Day has brought and like in most congregations, there’s both. Q: Do you think that some of the issues that this church is discussing are similar to many other congregations? Bishop Weaver: Well, FUMCOG is a unique congregation. They have some marvelous gifts there and they have had the ability to draw a community of persons that have some unusual gifts. So to say that it’s like any other church’s transition is probably not quite accurate but there are many of the same dynamics of grief, of letting go of a pastor, the uncertainty of welcoming a new person, the adjustment to what might be new ideas or new directions and meshing that with the identity and the personality of the congregation as it’s evolved and matured across the previous years. To that extent, that’s a similar process with other congregations. Q: Do you think FUMCOG faces the same common themes of change that face many of congregations? Bishop Weaver: I think one of the common themes that relates to that is the challenge of change into the 21st century and that’s not to say that the ministry of the 20th century was inadequate or should have been different back in the 20th century. But in the 21st century, the reaching of young adults is a new ball game and there are some significant changes that many of our churches are struggling with in the style of worship, in the style of their community. Many of them are moving towards having many more small groups in the life of their congregation. One of the great things about FUMCOG has been a congregation that has been open to the new and trying to cross boundaries and I believe that that basic core DNA in that congregation will service it well as it tries to move into some new ways of being church. In my view, that’s not to any way depreciate the great way they have been church previously but every congregation in the context of the change of the 21st century and particularly in the context of the changing urban neighborhoods and environment needs to continually be asking the question, how do we really reach out in this community? What are the tools that we need? What are the styles that are appropriate to sharing of this wonderful spiritual journey and this new day? And any change for any of us creates some uneasiness and letting go of some things and welcoming some new things. But there again, I think that fundamentally, the FUMCOG congregation has demonstrated across the years their ability to change.
Essay on Pastoral Change (by Prof. Carroll, Duke University Divinity School) Copyright © 2004 Video Vérité. All rights reserved
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