Who leads while we wait for the Leader to show up?

I get discouraged easily when organizations stop all forward movement when a vacancy appears in a key leadership position.  I understand wanting to allow the new leader the freedom and ability to chart their own path towards a vision, and sometimes that means holding back on some progress in the interim.

Sometimes, however, those interim periods stretch out to be much longer than you had anticipated.  In the mean time, things are becoming stagnant, and people who wish to contribute toward achieving goals become frustrated.

My friend’s church is without a senior pastor right now.  In the interim, lay people have been filling in behind the pulpit.  This past Sunday, it was my friend’s turn to preach, so we went in support of him.  One of the many things he said that has stuck with me is that he is proud of how well the church has been doing without a pastor to guide them.  People have really stepped up and continued to lead the church.  So often the opposite happens.  A pastor leaves, and the flock scatters, or becomes complacent.  The new pastor then has a lot of rebuilding to do.  I’m confident this will not be the case for my friend’s new pastor.

If an Air Traffic Controller forgets about a plane left lingering in the holding pattern, eventually the problem will work itself out.

The people at my friend’s church have taken over the ATC’s job, and are doing a great job.  They should be proud of their efforts.