The decision to let a pastor go is never an easy one. But once the decision has been made, it’s important to handle the situation with grace, dignity, and respect. After all, this is a […]

Questions to Consider Before and After You Decide to Leave

Feuding Cripples Church—

That headline was plastered on page 1 of the city newspaper. By a 17-6 margin, the deacons and trustees had voted the pastor out. […]

Growing up in Southern California had its constants—the eternally pleasant 75-degree weather, the ever-congested freeways, and the notoriously high cost of living that always seemed to outpace a pastoral salary. It also had its unpredictability—the […]

When I was a pastor, I would have days where I thought I was the luckiest person on earth. Standing in front of a couple renewing their wedding vows, preaching a message I was passionate […]

We’ve all been there. We’ve heard bosses, supervisors and even friends fumble, stumble and ramble when attempting to bring bad or difficult news to someone. Whether it’s a team or an entire company, a whole […]

Dave Travis has a great e-book on Smart Succession. This is available for a free download from this page. Dave successfully steered Leadership Network for many years and now is the Director of Strategic Counsel […]

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Hey Fletch … I’ve been in my role at the church a long time. I suppose that I’m a little tired … never had a sabbatical or taken much of my vacation […]

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Hey Fletch … I am an intentional interim pastor working with Interim Pastor Ministries. In the past 7 years, I have served 4 different churches, 3 of which had their pastor […]

Thursday, August 30, 2018

Hey Fletch … I just resigned as Senior Pastor. Unfortunately the situation here has become unworkable. The most caring choice I can make is to move on to give a chance for […]

Friday, July 20, 2018

Hey Fletch … I just got out of a meeting with my XP. He told me that the church has a policy that pastors have to retire at age 65. I don’t […]

Friday, June 22, 2018

Hey Fletch … Thank you for checking back on us. Our lead pastor is an amazing preacher and leader. However, we all fear he does too much. He is micromanaging the staff […]

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Hey Fletch … Our senior pastor is leaving soon. It looks like we will have a 12 to 24 month transition period. It that just a time for ministries to be in […]

Monday, May 7, 2018

Hey Fletch … Just wanted to say thanks for this XPastor.org article: Leading Through A Senior Pastor Transition.

DRF—Chuck Olson, one of the XPastor Community, wrote that article. I’m so please that […]

February 13, 2018

Hey David … When you recently moved on from your church, you sent out a “keeping you in the loop” email. It was short, factual, upbeat and didn’t throw anyone under the bus. […]

Necessary Endings is a “necessary” read for every church leader, regardless of denominational stripe. While the author and internationally renowned Dr. Henry Cloud […]

I recently took a new ministry position. As I made the decision to change ministries, I went back and forth since I would be leaving a place and people that I love! Note: If you […]

Are you a ministry leader looking for practical insight and direction on the topic of succession planning? If so, I would like to make you aware of a new resource offered by Succession Framework℠. They […]

We all love to deliver good news—a successful event, a budget overage, finishing a building project early and under budget, or a ministry initiative that exceeded expectations. But what do you do when you need […]

Understanding that termination is a difficult process to execute, we as human beings never want to engage in those conversations. But before even approaching the process of termination, I looked through Scripture and found countless […]

I have lived through hurricanes. When I was much younger, growing up in Florida, there were several times when my family huddled together in our boarded-up home, lighting candles when the power went out and […]

XPastor tries to help churches by providing some of the essentials for running a church—items like job descriptions, employment applications, review forms and policies. Below are Exit Interview Questions from Old North Church of Canfield, Ohio that they […]

Nothing jolts a church quite like the resignation of its senior pastor. Shock, disbelief, confusion, disappointment. And that’s just the get-go of the attending reactions and emotions. While the inner circle of leadership may see […]

Jeff Jones succeeded Gene Getz—the founder of the Bible Fellowship Church movement—as the Senior Pastor of the Bible Fellowship Church in Dallas. Their transition was a smooth, well-planned process.  Below are some thoughts from Jeff […]

One of the greatest challenges in the business world is the exit of the founder of a corporation. Consider the words of Professor Noam Wasserman of the Harvard Business School: “My research focuses on founder frustrations in […]

In the year 1990, when Nicholas Smith was 8 years old, Bethany Baptist Church of Lindenwold, New Jersey had 29 active members. In the year 2003, Bethany Baptist had 16,500 members, Nicholas was 23 years old and […]

Bob had all the marks of a hurting pastor. I sat across the coffee shop table and hurt with him. He had recently finished his first year in Judson Church and celebrated the congregation’s fiftieth […]

Executive Pastors get excited about the opportunity to flex their catalyst muscles to launch ministries in the church. But most tend to lose enthusiasm when it comes time to do some pruning. Ministries are living […]

I had serviced my second congregation a long time, when I began asking myself, “How do I know when it’s time to leave?” I had friends who were very good pastors, but they didn’t know when […]