In defense of the interim
An interim ministry position is a funny gig. The Interim is not called but hired. S/he is not installed, not permanent, and often not paid as much as the “permanent” (or “settled”) pastor. I knew early on that interim work is viewed as a second-tier career track when a guy at a nursing home said, “You’re a pretty good preacher. I’ll bet you could be a real minister.” I didn’t bother to tell him I’ve been a “real minister” for 25 years.
An interim minister is always learning new names, always learning to call it the “consistory” or the “council” or the “cabinet,” and always about to lose his/her job. We often lovingly compile data that our successors don’t pay attention to. We learn that we will not be able to change much about the churches we serve, and we have to sit on our hands and bite our tongues when it comes to being “change agents,” because there is only so much you can do in a year or two.
Perhaps one of the most misunderstood things about interims is that we are not “placeholders” who simply keep the congregation treading water until the new guy or gal comes along. We actually have a unique perspective as the outsider sent in to engender trust quickly and help a group of people do some hard soul-searching that they usually do not want to do. Sort of like a family counselor.
