Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 12, 1995 TAG: 9511130001
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: FRANCES STEBBINS CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
Today a new breed of minister is helping congregations bridge the transition between past and future. They are pioneers on a new career path for clergy - intentional interim ministers. Other New River Valley congregations are also turning to these temporary clergy.
The Rev. Charles T. Dorman is at Blacksburg Baptist following the retirement of the Rev. Ray Allen. At Christiansburg Presbyterian the Rev. Leighton Culler is filling a similar role after the departure of the Rev. Vernon Miller.
Interim ministers are relatively new in church administration. They are especially useful for larger churches in which a long pastorate has come to an end, in situations where conflict has weakened the church or as a way to help parish members "work out their own identity," Dorman said.
Such interim pastors are becoming common in most mainstream denominations. Dorman is a founder of a Baptist agency known as the Association for Intentional Interim Ministry started three years ago. Culler is part of a similar group used by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Though both men are past 60, many intentional interims are younger. The new specialty is particularly appealing to women who may have family obligations complicating a permanent position or who have found search committees reluctant to call a woman.
The Blacksburg and Christiansburg congregations share many similarities - including their interim ministers. Allen had been at the Baptist church for 21 years before leaving in June. Miller's tenure in Christiansburg was more than 26 years; he moved to South Carolina last November. Both are strong and active congregations with between 500 and 1,000 members.
Two other members of the Baptist staff left when Allen did. Joe Borden, the minister of music, has been succeeded by Rhonda Short, a recent graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Borden is now teaching at East Tennessee State University.
Jackie Byrd, a teacher who had worked with children of the church for several years, returned to the Gilbert Linkous school staff. Lisa Whitt, a 1992 graduate of Murray State University, has taken her place.
Interim ministers, like a number of other church innovations, were organized and promoted by the Alban Institute, best described as an ecumenical church think tank, which operates from a Washington office.
When a minister leaves, many church members tend to become panicky about the future of their congregation, Dorman noted. They see their pastor as the cog in the wheel, the force for stability, the person always at their beck and call. Until recent years it was generally believed that a vacancy must be filled as soon as possible with little regard for getting a good fit of pastor and people.
Speaking especially for Baptists, where short pastorates are often the result of poor planning and lack of real knowledge of what the church needs, Dorman pointed out that men or women who immediately follow a popular minister rarely can meet expectations. A well-trained intentional interim, Culler noted, can introduce some new ideas and practices which the permanent minister may be able to keep or discard.
Both men emphasized one important fact about intentional interims: Men or women who enter into contracts for temporary pastorates never are to be considered for the permanent post. Although this is often a strong temptation when there is a good fit of interim and people, it is usually considered an unwise move.
Dorman said this is because the temporary pastor looks so good to the congregation still "grieving" for the former minister that members cannot get a true picture. And in turn the interim can afford to put on a good face and even avoid many conflicts knowing his or her tenure will be short.
Dorman noted that the term "interim" still confuses some church people, and he points out that its use does not always imply that the temporary pastor is part of an organization with definite standards such as refusal to take the permanent job. Before he entered the field in 1992 after leaving the church development staff of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary after 15 years, Dorman often filled in for churches, once in Collinsville, supplying services on Sundays and caring for emergency pastoral needs.
Culler, like Dorman, is a Carolinian by background. He tried an interim pastorate in Charlotte, after winding up 10 years in a church there. That was four years ago. Since then Culler has followed one interim period after another at Charlotte, Greensboro, Salem and New Orleans before arriving in Christiansburg at New Year's. He expects he will be there another year or so.
Dorman is on his third interim pastorate having been previously in Wilmington, N.C., and Bedford. Both men say their wives, Sue Dorman and Gay Culler, have adapted to the frequent moves "fairly well" because children are grown and each has homes in North Carolina cities.
"But it's wrench[ing] leaving a place where you've made friends," the Baptist pastor admitted. "And our permanent home is neglected."
It is part of the contract for full-time interims that they receive salary and benefits commensurate with those of the permanent pastor. Dorman's pay of about $50,000 with a free house is, he said, adequate for his temporary status.
When a pastoral vacancy occurs, search committees find intentional interims through their denominational headquarters. The transition usually includes a congregational questionnaire and meetings to clarify members' priorities in the next permanent pastor.
The process works, those who have made a late-life career of it say.
by CNB