Short-term gains or long-term value?
Dear LTCC Family,
I work in the financial industry and the headlines about the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and others has created quite the buzz this week. Perhaps over simplified, the bank collapses are the result of favoring short-term gains over long-term value. Over the last couple of years, they focused on a certain high-worth customer demographic (tech start-ups) that is now struggling with cash flow and it has been a historic run on the bank as they say. I know what you are thinking, this is a strange weekly update from my church.
By no means is the local church comparable to a bank. However, short term gains vs long term value was a topic of discussion in the elder/deacon meeting this week. At one point we asked, “Should we take the short-term gains approach? Just buckle down, dig faster into our leadership model, push past some yellow flags, call on our elders to fill the pulpit weekly, so we can get to hiring a senior pastor right away? Or do we take the long-term value approach? Take the time to restore before bringing on a new pastor and expecting him to succeed here? We closed the meeting in agreement that our long-term value approach is what’s best for LTCC, well, long-term.
But what does that mean exactly? We think it means finding an intentional interim pastor that can:
Fill the pulpit on a consistent basis
Provide pastoral care during our transition
Guide and advise us in a church assessment
Guide and advise us in our Sr. Pastor search process once it resumes
Help onboard the new pastor to a thriving church family
Why do we think this is important?
Many of us are grieving in the midst of this transition; we have lost three pastors in the last fifteen months. One of them, Pastor Tim, is in his last days – there are difficult times ahead requiring much pastoral care.
Our leadership team is built of lay leaders. We need help to work through everything with deliberate urgency.
An objective party will help us see our blind spots and ask the hard questions.
We think the top priority is for our new pastor to arrive to a thriving, healthy church family – we want to take the long-view and work through this transition properly so our new pastor can flourish with us on day one.
Who will be our intentional interim pastor?
Who, specifically, we do not know yet, but we are in the final steps of formalizing a partnership with Interim Pastor Ministries (IPM), Lord willing
IPM provides temporary pastors to strengthen churches during pastoral transition for greater effectiveness.
They have 125 competent, caring, and intentional pastors who specialize in every aspect listed above.
IPM will facilitate a brief search process to find the right interim pastor for us.
We are also considering some independent candidates for an interim but are just starting to explore those leads. We will weigh these possibilities in light of the significant experience and thoroughness of what IPM provides.
In the midst of all this, we are so encouraged by the Bible study groups, coffee groups, and ministry events; all creating fellowship and growth in our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been so blessed with local pastors and some of our own who have shared the Word with us. So many of you are praying and encouraging the body to press forward. Thank you for the unifying love for each other and our risen Lord. Amen.
Do you have questions? You are likely not alone in your question, so please reply to this email so we may do our best to answer them, for everyone’s sake.
Perry,
For the elders and deacons
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