by Lim Soon Hock

One of the resources that is not tapped by the Malaysian church is the pool of retired pastors. Many of them often end up in an itinerant ministry that is generally limited to preaching at worship services. Their knowledge and experience of leading and pastoring a church remain largely unutilised. Could they be better engaged? I believe they can—as interim pastors.

Benefits of Engaging a Retired Pastor as an Interim

1. General pastoral ministry.  A church will greatly benefit from the services of a retired pastor as an interim. The first and most obvious benefit is that the church has someone who is able to handle much of the ministry that had been carried out by the former pastor. These include organising the pulpit programme and preaching; coordinating the ministries of the church; visitation and counselling; and assisting the leaders to provide leadership for the church.

2. Specific and intentional ministry.  Indeed, the interim can do more. Apart from the traditional pastoral services, the interim may also be tasked to address certain issues affecting the church, such as conflicts. Perhaps, it was precisely this reason that the former pastor left the church. Understanding, healing, closure, and restoring unity would then be absolutely necessary if the church were to move on without being shackled by the trauma.

Another area an interim might specially be entrusted to do is to implement and manage change in the church, such as reorganising the ministries of the church. Each ministry may be operating in its own silo, and the ministry of the church as a whole has become unwieldly and ineffective. Aligning the ministries to the purpose and vision of the church would be necessary to unite the church, and forging the different ministries to work in collaboration with one another would enhance the church’s effectiveness.

The interim’s role in this regard, then, is not simply to keep the church going from Sunday to Sunday—a maintenance-type ministry. Rather, his role is intentional—to help the church progress during a period of transition. The expected outcome is that the next tenured minister has a healthier church to pastor, and perhaps, one that is poised for greater things.

I am certain that a church will benefit from the ministry of an interim. Conversely, the retired pastor will also benefit from his new role as an interim.

Benefits to a Retired Pastor Engaged in Interim Ministry

1. Sense of purpose.  Many pastors become anxious when they approach retirement age primarily due to two reasons. The first has to do with their life-purpose. Being a pastor of a church is a defining-identity for most pastors, especially if they have been at it for a long time. When a pastor stops being a pastor, he starts to question the purpose of his life. Even the occasional itinerant preaching ministry will not give him a great deal of fulfilment.

However, if he were engaged as an interim, whether full-time or part-time, the service, the ministry, the work, and the new relationships will give him a sense of purpose, usefulness and fulfilment. He is still able to use his gifts, knowledge and experience to serve the Lord and His church. The new role might indeed invigorate him because it’s a little different from his previous responsibility as the pastor of a church.

2. Financial security and dignity.  The second reason a pastor might be anxious as he approaches retirement has to do with finances. Most churches in Malaysia don’t provide any kind of financial support for their pastors when they retire. How then would he support himself? This is a real-world concern (notwithstanding the faithfulness of the Lord to provide for His servant). Living off one’s savings and EPF¹ contributions can last only so long. Honorariums from speaking engagements in Malaysian churches are not, generally speaking, generous.

A definite monthly income as an interim will cushion the drastic change in his financial position. A regular income will give him a sense of financial security and dignity.

3. Limited duration of engagement.  Further benefits to the interim minister include the limited duration of his commitment to the church. A pastor in his senior years may no longer want to be engaged for an indefinite period of service. A six to 24 months stint to help a church might be ideal. At the end of the engagement he can assess whether he wants to continue in the interim ministry in another church.

4. Limited hours of service.   A pastor in his senior years may also not want a full-time job. A part-time engagement as an interim might indeed be ideal for both him and the church. He is able to find purpose for his life and ministry, and at the same time be assured of some financial support. On the other hand, a church may not have the finances to support a full-time interim; and yet if they engage an interim in a part-time capacity they can still benefit from his pastoral maturity and experience.

I truly believe that empowering the retired-pastor as an interim is a good move in the right direction for the Malaysian church. Regardless of language group or denominational make-up, pursuing the understanding and practice of the interim ministry will bring great benefits to both the church and the pastor.

(You may want to read a previous article, “Some Churches in Malaysia May Need Interim Pastors.” Click here.)