Overcoming Resistance to Thriving in a Part-Time Pastorate

Posted in Church Decline, Church Growth & Vitality, Governance, Leadership Development, Managing Expectations, Mission and Vision, Spiritual Formation, Volunteers Tagged with

14 min 30 s

Rev. Jeff MacDonald

  • How the pastor can overcome resistance by the laity;
  • How can a pastor help a congregation move beyond the resistance that just comes up when, when change is in the air;
  • Being intentional rather than reactionary in the move to a part-time pastorate;
  • Questions to help the laity get clear about their roles in the move to a part-time  pastorate;
  • Key questions to ask yourself to understand how your pastorate is structured now;
  • Formal vs. unspoken expectations and their consequences;
  • Allowing the laity to do what they’ve long been authorized to do but don’t realize it;
  • Helping the laity to see that there’s actually very little that is doable only by the pastor;
  • Seeing the pastor as a strategic resource to advance the mission of the congregation;
  • Why being clear about the congregation’s mission is so essential to a successful part-time

The Rev. G. Jeffrey MacDonald (Jeff) is an award-winning journalist, UCC pastor and church consultant. His latest book, Part-Time is Plenty: Thriving without Full-Time Clergy (Westminster John Knox Press, 2020), explores how 20 congregations found more vitality, not less, after switching to part-time clergy. Jeff’s byline shows up in USA Today, The Boston Globe and Religion News Service (RNS) among other outlets. He serves part-time as interim pastor of a small rural UCC church in Kensington, N.H.

Read the Transcript

Listen to Podbean