Overcoming Resistance to Thriving in a Part-Time Pastorate - Rev. Jeff MacDonald. Episode 83

Although counterintuitive, the move from a full-time pastorate to a part-time one can release untapped vitality within the congregation when resistance is recognized and creatively engaged. Jeff MacDonald, an accomplished freelance journalist and committed part-time interim minister, speaks to this challenge in this episode titled, “Overcoming Resistance to Thriving in a Part-Time Pastorate.”

• How the pastor can overcome resistance by the laity;
• How can a pastor help a congregation move beyond the resistance that just comes up when, when change is in the air;
• Being intentional rather than reactionary in the move to a part-time pastorate;
• Questions to help the laity get clear about their roles in the move to a part-time  pastorate;
• Key questions to ask yourself to understand how your pastorate is structured now;
• Formal vs. unspoken expectations and their consequences;
• Allowing the laity to do what they’ve long been authorized to do but don’t realize it;
• Helping the laity to see that there’s actually very little that is doable only by the pastor;
• Seeing the pastor as a strategic resource to advance the mission of the congregation;
• Why being clear about the congregation’s mission is so essential to a successful part-time pastorate;