Time Moves at a Necessary Pace

Please read Luke 19:11-27

Time is one of the things that we as humans hate to abide due to the fact that we are unable to control it. Since we have no way of manipulating time, we naturally see it as our adversary, when in fact, it is a supernatural tool used by the almighty to help us grow and develop into the individuals and groups that we must be to begin to do the good work that he desires of us.

Understand that the time that passes between the moment that a pastor vacates the office he holds to the point at which the Almighty directs another to assume such that vacant position, the group that remains is on a journey of growth and reconciliation in preparation of that coming as well as the work that must be done for the Kingdom of God. You as a leader in the church during the absence of the pastor must not only know that the time that elapses from one pastor to another is necessary, but understand that its movement is paced for your progress and for the completion of the tasks necessary to be prepared for this new shepherd.

FAR too often the pace that is desired by a church is hasty and foolish. We want our pastor and church to mature like a Hot-Pocket in a micro wave oven…and when we follow such an impatient timeline that is more-or-less what we get. We find ourselves with a pastor that is only slightly passionate for the people of the church and clothes himself like a soggy, undercooked crust of what otherwise might be a filling meal only briefly concealing the cold and often frozen center of the hearts of people who have not been prepared for Good Work.

Instead, we must take each step of a timeline and do good work to prepare the church for the true work that lies ahead. Keeping in mind that the meal being prepared for the fellowship of the believer must be much more than a pizza-filled pastry, we prepare ourselves for the feast provided by the Holy Spirit of God. Time and effort must be invested in the preparation of our people as well as ourselves; that we might find ourselves having produced a profit with the minas with which we have been entrusted.

See Value in the Timeline

One of the most valuable aspects to having a real understanding of the timeline involved in the pursuit of a pastor, as well as the time spent without a pastor in a church is the active involvement of the membership and leadership of the church while there is a noticeable need for such involvement. A properly formed timeline can help the entire church prepare for a pastor because they begin to see needs for activity as they are associated with marked goals and agendas for the production of a church that is ready for a pastor.

Sadly, pastors leave churches under a cloud of turmoil far too often. These are times when the leadership of that particular church must produce a timeline that is concrete, concise, and goal oriented. Such a timeline will help those ready to work know what is most important at that particular moment, as well as those who are not yet ready to work but are being developed into future leaders and workers for you church. Keeping in mind that the timeline must be able to change at any time will help you to maintain a living nature to your church instead of falling into the trap of a one size fits all approach to this critical time in the life of your church.

Understand the Timeline

Working in a church is often a waiting game. This is never as true as time spent without a pastor. It seems as though there is never enough time to make up for his absence, or enough to do to get the steam built back up in your church without him around. Time seems to be your adversary, but I assure you, it is not.

Time is valuable for the church going through the fazes of loss, grief, refocus, and mobilization. There is a great deal of time that passes and a lot of water under the bridge during the months that seem to create a great and cavernous gap between ministries. However, ministry just as we said before does not have to stop simply because there is no pastor. But how does time become an asset for a church, rather than a hindrance.

Time is a necessary element in the production of quality products. Simply because the pastor is gone does not mean that things will change, or should change. We as staff members and lay workers must understand that there is a pastor’s office and position for a reason. We have not yet been called to that position, and we must understand what it means to stand humbly before an empty office just as we did an occupied one. Understanding the timeline also means that we understand time:

¹For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:²a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; ³a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; ⁴a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; ⁵a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; ⁶a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; ⁷a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; ⁸a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:2-8