For you who follow my blog, a preview of my first article to be sent out in The Bell Tower...
From the Interim Pastor: "The Future Starts Now!"
What a God we have! And how fortunate we are… Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all—life healed and whole.
I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of …victory. –from 1 Peter 1:3-7 (The Message)
As Christians, we live in an interim time, looking back to the first Easter and ahead to the fulfillment. We may have to put up with a lot of aggravation in the meantime, but we're involved in something that will even outlast us. So we do our work with confidence, trusting God for the result and believing that "The Future Starts Now!"
As your Interim Pastor, I will be working under a contract with the PCMK session which includes these items:
• The agreement is for one year beginning August 23, 2010 and ending August 22, 2011.
• The agreement may be extended [but] the total length of this contract is not to exceed two years.
• The Interim…"may not be called to be the next installed pastor…of [this] church." G-14.0513b
• The Interim…shall not participate in the work of the Pastor Nominating Committee except to provide specific information requested by the PNC chair, and will not assist in the preparation of the Church Information Form.
The Interim Pastor:
• will be… a member of the Presbytery of Hudson River
• will moderate the Session
• will not conduct or edit, but may participate in, the church's Mission Study
• will provide pastoral care and leadership
I'm here for a temporary task. I've brought my "traveling bag" as a reminder that before too long I'll be moving on. When you see me carrying it around, you'll remember that I'm your interim. Since I'm only going to be here a limited time, please don't wait to tell me what I need to know, or how you're feeling about the ministry we share.
Over the next year (or at most two), in addition to being your pastor and regular preacher and teacher, I'll be engaged in these processes with you:
• Join the system (arrive)
• Analyze (research)
• Focus and assume responsibility (report, propose, plan, initiate, respond)
• Connect (develop relationships, engage the system, make a positive difference)
• Evaluate/Exit (report to session, congregation and presbytery; summarize, disengage)
In addition, I'll support you in doing your interim work on the so-called "Developmental Tasks" of a congregation during the interim period. Briefly the tasks are:
• Coming to terms with and re-viewing your history.
• Defining a new identity
• Dealing with changes in congregational leadership and power relations.
• Discovering new connections to denominational structures and relations (esp. presbytery)
• Moving in to the future to welcome new leadership and ministry.
And in the meantime, let's see what we can accomplish together with the Spirit and prayer. God can use this time in surprising ways as you work through your tasks, and I bring my gifts and perspective to help you achieve your vision for the future of the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco.
You will be able to travel with me in my work if you can access my "Interim Blog" at http://pcmkinterim.blogspot.com. You can also receive it via e-mail (just let Stephanie know in the office, 914-666-7001). In addition, I'll print out a copy which you'll find on a table in the narthex. Please read and respond. I value your feedback!
--In Christian love,
Jack Lohr, Interim Pastor
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