Published: January 18, 2008 06:57 pm            

Interim minister finds it easier to preach freely

AVON, Ind. — In many professions, hopping from job to job is somewhat frowned upon, but for Rev. Robert Shaw, it’s a calling.

Shaw is a full-time interim minister currently serving at the Avon Christian Church while the institution continues its search for a permanent pastor.

Interim ministry has grown in popularity in recent years as a means of transition while congregations conduct an extensive search for a permanent pastor who they feel will be a good fit. In some cases, that search process can last anywhere from 12 to 15 months. When that happens, Shaw is called to action.

“Being in Avon is wonderful,” the Hendricks County resident said. “I’ve been at places where you live away from home for five days a week, so this is nice.”

Shaw began his career in interim ministry in 1989 and says that in many ways it allows him to confront problems that a permanent pastor might be reluctant to address.

“It has given me an opportunity to be a little more frank than I could have otherwise been,” he said.

And because the 60-year-old will not be becoming the full-time pastor for any of the churches he serves, Shaw has little reason to sugarcoat any latent problems or conflicts that a particular congregation might have.

“I’ve had conversations that needed to be had and addressed issues that needed to be addressed,” he said.

Shaw said he anticipates his stay at Avon Christian Church to be relatively stress free when compared to other places he has been. Still, as in any relationship between a church and an interim minister, there is a defined degree of separation.

At the beginning of a recent service, Shaw expressed to the congregation that he would not be a candidate for the permanent pastoral position currently vacant at the church.

“We opened the worship service with a litany ... essentially a covenant between me and the congregation because it is important that I not be a candidate to do the things I need to do,” Shaw said.

The search for a pastor is comprehensive, to say the least. Shaw explained that congregations generally form a search committee and assemble a congregational profile that is used to determine specific needs. Those needs vary from church to church, he said.

“We do not have a shortage of qualified pastors,” Shaw said.

Though he did note that day is soon coming when there will be a shortage, because those now entering the profession are doing so as a second career.

“It’s great that they are doing it, but you have a lot of people in their 40s expecting a 15- to 25-year career, rather than in the case where I was 25 and expecting to have a 40-year career,” he said.

Tim Shapiro, president of the Indianapolis Center for Congregations, said that interim ministry continues to receive positive feedback from churches where it is used.

“When a pastor leaves, it does mean that a congregation goes through a transition time where they need to think about where they’ve been and where they are going,” Shapiro said. “It lends itself to a sense of objectivity.”

The Center for Congregations assists churches in the midst of challenges or change by assessing their situations and directing them to local and national resources that might be of help to them, Shapiro explained.

Shaw says that his current role at Avon Christian might be his last.

“It’s very possible this is the last one I do,” Shaw said. “I personally feel like I’m in a no lose situation and it’s really satisfying to know that you will leave a congregation better than when you came.”





Brian Kern writes for the Hendricks County Flyer in Avon, Ind.

        

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