“The end is where we start from.”
These words by poet T.S. Eliot capture the challenge and spiritual opportunity of a transitional period in the life of a congregation. One chapter, defined by a ministry or hiatus, has ended, and another chapter, defined by another ministry, has yet to begin. The “between” time is much more than a waiting period. It’s when a congregation can understand deeply and fully that its dynamism resides not in any one leader. It thrives within itself and in the larger world serves.
The congregations’ most important function during a transition is to touch and transform people’s lives as a spiritual and religious community. Sunday morning services, even virtual services, are the heart and soul of a community’s life together. They are vital during this “between time. ” The hour the community comes together becomes a touchstone for its continued relevance to people’s lives.
Throughout, the transitional minister must maintain a unique balance between serving the people of a church with an open and full heart and realizing that they are there for the short term. Their task is to prepare for the beginning of a new ministry, to do everything possible to increase the possibility for both congregation and incoming minister to enter enthusiastically into a healthy and hopeful relationship. In the process, the transitional minister will, if all goes well, help the congregation remember the very reasons for existing.
As Eliot says, “We shall not cease from exploration/and the end of all our exploring/will be to arrive where we started/and know the place for the first time.”
Thriving Through Transition 