When thom said that committee work can be an essential means of faith formation, it gave me pause. After all, serving on committees is what many people try to avoid. But what he said made sense: when committees practice intentional reflection on their work, it can be faith forming. Put differently, committee work is faith forming when it builds up the beloved community by probing and affirming shared values, purpose and goals. Rev. Dr. thom bower elaborates on this concept and offers a simple 5-step process to guide committee work in this episode titled, “Transforming the Work of Committees for Faith Formation.”

Need to approach committee work in a way that recognizes that management itself is faith formation;

A 5-step process to make committee work a community building practice;

1. What? (the event)

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As worship styles evolve, many congregations find themselves at a crossroads: do we continue with our traditional music ministry model featuring an expert musician – the Minister of Music – who performs the music expertly for the congregation to receive, or do we shift to an emerging collaborative model of music leadership favoring a minister of music with leadership skills that encourage congregational participation in the worship music?

Rev. Joe Graumann, a young clergy person with musical gifts himself, shares how his congregation navigated this crossroads in this episode titled, “Music Ministry - Shifting from Expert Musician to a Collaborative Format That Promotes Congregational Participation.”

• Shifting from doership to leadership by the music director;

For a transcript of this podcast, please visit the CoachingforInterims.com website. In addition, subscribe to this podcast series if you want to be notified when additional podcasts are available.

In smaller churches, pastors often spend lots of time on things that parishioners aren’t even aware they are spending their time on – especially things that others could do as well. This, of course, takes time and energy away from things pastors are specifically trained to do and people are expecting them to do. Consequently, the pastor feels overworked and exhausted, leading to resentment by the pastor and upset by parishioners when the pastor isn’t available to do what is expected of them – what they have been trained to do and is in their job description.

In this episode titled, “How I Enable My Parishioners to Support Me in Using My Time & Energy Wisely As Their Pastor,” Rev. Joe Graumann shares how he manages this challenge in a way that all parties feel respected, the pastor’s time and energies are employed well, and the needs of the church are met too.

For a transcript of this podcast, please visit the CoachingforInterims.com website. In addition, subscribe to this podcast series if you want to be notified when additional podcasts are available.

Are your Church Council meetings a drag? You know – people come because they have to, persevering through a meeting that’s bogged down in procedures and run with a lack of imagination. Boring! Lots of time and energy is wasted. When can I go home?! If so, Rev. Joe Graumann offers some simple changes that can make Council meetings more fun and productive – ones that people will actually looking forward to attending - in this episode titled, “Flipping and Equipping the Church Council for Fun (enjoyable) and Productive Meetings”

• Using the Relational Model for Council meetings – put cool stuff up front and

For a transcript of this podcast, please visit the CoachingforInterims.com website. In addition, subscribe to this podcast series if you want to be notified when additional podcasts are available.

As the need for skilled interim ministers continues to grow, more and more settled ministers as well as those new to ministry, are wondering if interim ministry is for them – if they are perhaps being Called to this specialized type of ministry. Long-time interim minister and Bible wonk, Rev. Dr. Jill Small, brings a fun perspective to this conversation by examining the connection between biblical exegesis and interim ministry.

For a transcript of this episode, please visit the Coachingforinterims.com website. In addition, subscribe to this podcast series if you want to be notified when additional podcasts are available.

More and more congregations find themselves facing the reality that they can only afford a part-time minister. Often, they see this as a negative – a failure of sorts. And yet, for creative gig workers such as independent contractors, freelance writers and the like, who also feel called to pastoral ministry - a part-time pastorate can create a grounded and stable life! It can also be empowering for the parishioners. In other words, this arrangement can be life-giving for both pastor and congregation. As a freelance and accomplished journalist and part-time ordained minister, Rev. Jeff MacDonald speaks to the details of this emerging ministry option in this episode titled, “How a Part-Time Pastorate Can Be Practical and Life-Giving for Creative Gig Workers.”

For a transcript of this episode, please visit the Coachingforinterims.com website. In addition, subscribe to this podcast series if you want to be notified when additional podcasts are available.

When the energy, resources of a congregation have declined to a critical point, shame and blame often rear their ugly heads and morale sinks. People often think their only option is to cease operations – to close their doors. However, these conditions can hinder them from seeing other options – creative options. Hopeful options. Options in line with their purpose and mission as a community of faith.

In this episode titled, “Know Your Options for a Future with Hope,” Rev. Dr. Todd Yonkman, shares wisdom from his own experience about the details of some of these options and how they give authentic hope.

• When the energy gets low, churches often don’t know there are other options to closing;

Although counterintuitive, the move from a full-time pastorate to a part-time one can release untapped vitality within the congregation when resistance is recognized and creatively engaged. Jeff MacDonald, an accomplished freelance journalist and committed part-time interim minister, speaks to this challenge in this episode titled, “Overcoming Resistance to Thriving in a Part-Time Pastorate.”

• How the pastor can overcome resistance by the laity;

When asked about the nature of the interim time, a colleague responded that in addition to the specialized transitional tasks of the interim time, there are also all the tasks of regular ministry – and all of it is compressed in time and intensity. That said, preaching during the interim time takes on additional energy and focus. Rev. Philomena Hare, a long-time pastor with experience as both a settled pastor and as an intentional interim minister, speaks to her three themes of interim ministry: Hope, Promise and Living in the Wilderness in this episode titled, “Preaching during the Interim Time.”

• My 3 themes: Hope, Promise and Living in the Wilderness

For a transcript of this episode, please visit the Coachingforinterims.com website. In addition, subscribe to this podcast series if you want to be notified when additional podcasts are available.

Should preaching during the interim time be any different from preaching during a time of settled ministry? If so, how? In this episode titled, “Preaching During the Interim Time,” Rev. Dr. Jill Small shares what she does to help make interim time preaching meaningful and supportive of the transition goals.

• Making preaching more meaningful during the interim time;

For a transcript of this episode, please visit the Coachingforinterims.com website. In addition, subscribe to this podcast series if you want to be notified when additional podcasts are available.