And the Lord answered me: Write the vision, make it plain on tablets, so that all who read it may run with it. From Habakkuk 2:2-3
What is an Interim Transition Task Force?
This group will help Zion move through the steps of the interim period. An interim is that transition period congregations move through as they are preparing for their next “settled” pastor. As congregations move through an interim period, there are general steps to go through which help prepare the congregation for a new chapter in ministry and a new pastoral leader.
As Lutherans, we believe that the Holy Spirit is working in this process to help us answer the question: “God, whom are you selecting/calling to serve as our Senior Pastor at this time in Zion’s history? We are each invited by the Holy Spirit to participate in that choice. As Lutherans, we believe that God uses individuals, councils, committees, paperwork, procedures, and our polity, all sprinkled with a generous measure of prayer, Scripture, and worship to discern who it is that God is calling to serve as the next permanently called senior pastor at Zion. The Transition Team helps us do all of that together.
What?
The task force helps provide:
- clarity of what the congregation values
- a shared picture of mission and ministry
- increased communication about the process
- a grasp of the interdependence of the system [seeing the whole rather than parts]
- a focuses on strength, resources, and God’s vision/future/call
How?
The task force serves the congregation by:
- serving as an advisory team to the interim pastor
- moving the process forward
- communicating with the congregation about the process
- listening for and hearing the pulse of the congregation
- serving as an accountability group for the interim process [council/interim pastor/synod/congregation]
The council has appointed the following Zion members to serve on the Interim Transition Task Force; please include them in your daily prayers: Pastor Bahe, Joan Halderson, Kris Harlan, Andy Kohls, Josie LaFave, Emily Lewis, Ian MacCallum, Wes Mahlberg, and Judy Sandeen.
