In his book A Change of Pastors…And How It Affects Change in the Congregation, Loren Mead uses the phrase “trajectory of ministry” to portray how the relationship between a pastor and a congregation grows and changes over time. The trajectory of ministry during what we call a “settled pastorate” is understandably different from the trajectory of ministry that happens during an interim pastorate.

Here are a few of the topics that come up during this time in a church’s life:

• Common attitudes toward the interim time
• The interim pastor as “temporary shepherd”
• The stages of the interim season
• The tasks of the interim season
• The search and callprocess
• Looking at congregational culture
• The role of spirituality
• The role of ethnicity
• The role of context (social, historical, geographic)
• Theological questions