SURVIVING THE SENIOR PASTOR'S DEPARTURE
Leonard M. Kageler
October 1, 1987
The staff sat silent. Jim, our senior pastor, was reading the letter of resignation he would present to the board that night. When he finished, my throat was tight. Had I tried to speak, I would have broken into tears. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see our children's director trying not to cry, too.
I'd been afraid this was going to happen. It had been a rough year for Jim-a rough six years, actually. A month before, though, we had gone to lunch, and he'd said he had turned down the most recent overture from somewhere else.
The meeting closed quickly. As I left the room, I couldn't look at him.
I can't believe it, I thought. This is the second time in my seven years here that my senior pastor has departed.
It was my birthday, too. "Happy birthday, Len," I said out loud as I started the car to drive home.
I know some of my colleagues in other churches would look at the resignation of their senior pastor as a wonderful gift from the Lord. Not so here. We were a close staff. We laughed at the same jokes. We found comfort and encouragement in our working relationship. And I was looking forward to many more years with Jim as my boss. He wasn't perfect, but he was a humble man. He wouldn't even introduce himself as a senior pastor. More than once I heard him introduce himself to other pastors as "one of the staff at North Seattle Alliance." He had a way of inspiring loyalty.
At the board meeting that night, Jim read his letter. To my surprise, there were no gasps. The meeting pretty well carried on as though nothing major had happened.
I am normally not very emotional, but I was furious at the board. Don't you realize this church is in danger of being "once great"? You could have supported this man; you could have answered his ...
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