Welcome to betweenpreachers.com: a blog and website dedicated to discussing biblical principles, providing information, and sharing tools for leading effective transitions between times of lengthy ministries.
My full-time ministry has taken me to five congregations from 1967 to 2007 and ten congregations for interim ministry from 2007 to the present.
I was blessed with a variety of transitional experiences in ministry. The first church out of school was my first full-time job and their first full-time preacher. I didn’t know what I was doing when I went and didn’t know what I was doing when I left. In the second congregation, I was fired. In the third, I resigned without knowing where I was going. Between the fourth and last church, I spent seven months discussing, planning, and thinking. It was a slow, smooth transition.
I plan to post once a month and add multiple resources to help churches make good transitions and grow spiritually, whether the transition was preceded by peace or conflict. I intend to blog until I write everything I know about interim ministry. Then I will be finished.
If you can find a helpful “mustard seed” in this blog, please subscribe and tell elders, deacons, preachers, and all concerned Christians about this resource.
PHILOSOPHY
Humans are composed of heart, soul, mind, and strength. We are not machines. When a preacher who has been in his position for five years or more dies, moves, retires, or is released, the person who follows is often destined to be in that position for a short time. We have the choice of having an intentional interim or an unintentional interim. I’ve tried it both ways. Intentional interim ministry is much more pleasant and more effective.
At the previous preacher’s exit, there needs to be a time of grief and adjustment to prepare for the next. It is an excellent time for reflection, evaluation, and refocusing on God’s plan for this congregation. A trained, intentional interim minister can help lead the congregation through this time of transition. Preparation, experience, and signing a contract that he will not consider or permit himself to be considered as the next preacher is essential.
I write another blog post on leadership in the church: New Shepherds Orientation Workshop
A weekly podcast, Gleaning Mustard Seeds
Book on interim ministry: Between Preachers: You Can Grow Through Interim Ministry
My wife’s book, Fleecy Clouds: One Woman’s Story of Surviving and Thriving after Childhood Abuse
BIOGRAPHY
I grew up in Centerville, Tennessee, graduating from Hickman County High School in 1963.
I went to Freed-Hardeman University, receiving an A.A. and a Third Year Certificate in Bible in 1966.
50th Wedding Anniversary, August 18, 2014
I met Gail Champion, who was raised at Childhaven in Cullman, Alabama. We were married on August 18, 1964. We have two children, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
I received a B.A. in Bible from Lipscomb University in June 1967.
Classes on counseling, grief, and conflict under James A. Jones, M.A., Central church of Christ, Dalton, Georgia, 1982–1985, provided me with principles and skills on how to deal with people, problems, and conflict. I was privileged to co-lead over thirty workshops, Leadership Dynamic for Dynamic Leaders, 1986–2006.
John Parker, Gail, and I participated in Basic Education from the Interim Ministry Network in 1998, 1999. There were two weeks of class instruction and six months of fieldwork. This was eight years before we started interim ministry. I took a refresher course from the Interim Ministry Network, March 2007.
The Postgraduate Seminar in Family Emotional Process at The Center for Family Process in Bethesda, Maryland, consisted of three three-day seminars: October 2001, January, and April 2002. Edwin Friedman, author of Generation to Generation and many other books, started this educational and growth experience. This book has been the most influential in my life and ministry, besides the Bible.
Gail and I participated in the Coaching with Excellence workshop with Dan Miller on January 16-17, 2014. We learned principles in helping others grow and develop according to their opportunities and personalities.
Some of my best educational experiences were weeks of isolation, where I read, studied, and reflected fourteen hours a day. I did this on August 11–18, 2000, November 5–9, 2001, September 13–17, 2004, and September 16–20, 2013.
MINISTRY EXPERIENCE
Interim:
Pacific, Church of Christ, Pacific, Missouri, October 2021-August 2023.
Central Church of Christ, McMinnville, Tennessee, June 2020-July 2021.
River Road Church of Christ, Nashville, Tennessee, November 2019-March 2020
Shady Acres Church of Christ, Sikeston, Missouri, April 2017-August 2018
Northside Church of Christ, Jeffersonville, Indiana, September 2015-February 2017
Maury City Church of Christ, Maury City, Tennessee, September 2013-July 2015
LaVergne Church of Christ, LaVergne, Tennessee, August 2011-June 2013
Collegeside Church of Christ, Cookeville, Tennessee, March 2010-June 2011
Hendersonville Church of Christ, Hendersonville, Tennessee, October 2008-December 2009
Eddyville Church of Christ, Eddyville, Kentucky, May 2007-August 2008
Full time:
Berry’s Chapel Church of Christ, June 1993-April 2007
Sabbatical, June, July, August 2000
West Nashville Heights Church of Christ, July 1988-May 1993
Central Church of Christ, Dalton, Georgia, April 1977-June 1988
Madisonville Church of Christ, Madisonville, Kentucky, December 1968-March 1977
Yorkville Church of Christ, Yorkville, Tennessee, March 1967-November 1968
Regular Sunday appointments while in school:
Wrigley Church of Christ, Wrigley, Tennessee, June 1966-February 1967
Dorris Chapel Church of Christ, Trenton, Tennessee, September 1965-May 1966
Yorkville Church of Christ, Yorkville, Tennessee, June 1965-August 1965
Northside Church of Christ, Corinth, Mississippi, August 1964-May 1965
Monthly appointments while in high school and the first year of college:
Lower Sulphur Church of Christ, Centerville, Tennessee
Little Rock Church of Christ, Wrigley, Tennessee
Wolf Creek Church of Christ, Centerville, Tennessee
Beaverdam Springs Church of Christ, Centerville, Tennessee
Brush Creek Church of Christ, Linden, Tennessee
Farmers Valley Church of Christ, Linden, Tennessee
HOBBIES
I’ve been practicing ventriloquism since 1955. I do several programs each year for schools, teacher appreciation banquets, and golden age banquets.
I’ve been running since 1969. I completed the Country Music Marathon 2004, 2005, 2006. I’ve been running barefoot since the Spring of 2010. I’ve completed four half-marathons barefoot.
I enjoy riding a cruiser bike. I’ve completed eight century rides on the Natchez Trace.