Following in the footsteps of a great leader can be extremely challenging. Moral failures, retirement and even death can quickly push a new leader into a very stressful, yet exciting situation. The Leadership Network succession conference provided valuable insight for upcoming leaders:
- Always honor the previous pastor (Jonathan Alexander)
- Constantly ask the current lead pastor how you can serve (Jonathan Alexander)
- Don’t second-guess yourself (Jonathan Falwell)
- Trust God, no-one will be able to do a better job where God has called you to be than you (Jonathan Falwell)
- Remind the congregation that even though they lost their lead pastor the senior pastor is still there, Jesus Christ (Jason Gerdes)
- It takes about five years for many people to start trusting a new leader (Brady Boyd)
- If God started a church, He can take care of it, it’s His baby (Brady Boyd)
- Not everyone will be excited about the new transition, that’s okay (Jonathan Stockstill)
- Respecting the previous pastor means you are also showing respect for the congregation who worked with the previous pastor (Andre Butler)
- Celebrate 5-yard gains instead of touchdowns (Mike Erre)
- You don’t have to be held captive by the past to celebrate the past (Mike Erre)
