Leading Ideas of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership for Wednesday, 4 June 2014

Leading Ideas of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership for Wednesday, 4 June 2014   
Social Media and Pastoral Moves by Thomas G. James and Lovett H. Weems, Jr. 
What should pastors do about their social media relationships when they move from one pastoral assignment to another? Do you “unfriend” all former members on Facebook and “unfollow” them on Twitter? After all, members in the church you are leaving may be watching to see if you post affectionate notes about your new church. You might find yourself curious about what your former members have to say about your departure or your successor. And people in your new church may monitor how you interact with your former members, as might the new pastor of the church you are leaving.
As with the changes that take place in your personal relationships, social media changes are dictated by several factors including the nature of the relationships, the boundaries that you have already established, and a good healthy dose of common sense.
Avoid overusing social media during a transition. One simple way to ease your shift into a different set of social media relationships is to scale back your social media use during your transition. Posting frequent status updates, liberally commenting on other people’s posts, or “liking” everything on your homepage can easily become a distraction and waste time when your attention needs to be elsewhere. Keeping a “low profile” on social media may be the simplest way to manage the many different relational dynamics at play in a time of transition.
Don’t rely on social media to get to know your new congregants. Social media is designed for staying in touch with others, not as a primary avenue for developing new personal relationships. Use social media as a supplementary way of keeping up to date with people, but never as a substitute for face-to-face ministry.
Manage social media contacts in the church you are leaving. Some moving pastors choose to “unfriend” everyone from their former church, eliminating the temptation to continue to act as their pastor. Another alternative is to move previous church members to a list with limited access to your profile. People on this list would not be able to see new wall posts or pictures of your life in the new church. Advanced settings on Facebook permit you to create sub-lists for different categories of friends and set different levels of access to organize Facebook friends into different groups to receive different posts. In addition to grouping people by past and current congregations, you may also want to create other groupings for family or classmates from high school, college, or seminary.
Whichever option you choose, it is important to state clearly in advance how you will handle this transition to avoid hurt feelings. If former parishioners remain as Facebook friends and Twitter followers, remember you are no longer their pastor. Talk about your plan and your new relationship on social media just as you talk about other changes and boundaries that come into play because of your transition. Let people know what is changing and what is not in your relationship, including through social media. Begin with conversations with church leaders, but eventually share the plan broadly.
Bruce Reyes-Chow, a Presbyterian pastor, worked with the church he was leaving to develop a “covenant” both to ensure a healthy transition and to remind everyone of the importance of the relationship between pastor and congregation (The Definitive-ish Guide for Using Social Media in the Church, Shook Foil Books, 2012). It reminded everyone that great self-restraint was required to allow for a relationship with the new pastor to flourish.
Check for guidelines. Increasingly, there are denominational and judicatory expectations for pastors both in the use of social media and in how it should be handled when there is a pastoral transition. Check to see if there are such guidelines or rules that apply in your situation.
But no statement or document can capture the complexity of these and other dynamics that go on during times filled with such mixed feelings of joy and grief by all involved. As Reyes-Chow puts it, “The line over which we must not cross when it comes to pastoral transitions is wide and gray, thanks to the expansive nature of social media.” It is hard to strike the perfect balance, but with sensitivity and conversations, we can come close enough to honor our past ministry and relationships while honoring the colleagues following us as well.
Thomas G. James is minister of mission and contemporary worship at Centreville United Methodist Church in Centreville, Virginia. Previously, he served as resource manager for the Lewis Center for Church Leadership. Lovett H. Weems, Jr. is director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership.
Preparing to Receive a New Pastor by Bob Crossman
Welcoming a new pastor in genuine and effective ways lays the groundwork for a healthy and vital relationship and for the development of stable, long-term ministries together. The following suggestions from 50 Ways to Welcome Your New Pastor or Associate Pastor will help your congregation receive a new pastor with a spirit of openness and hospitality.
Open your hearts and decide that you are going to love your new pastor. Pray daily for the new pastor and family, even as you continue to pray for your departing pastor and family. Invite church members to send cards of welcome and encouragement to the incoming pastor.
Plan for the transition. Important welcoming gestures may be missed with everyone thinking someone else is handling these details. Appoint a liaison person to whom the pastor can go for help and information during the transition.
Say goodbye to your current pastor in a healthy way. Showing love, regard, and even grief for your departing pastor is one of the best things you can do for the new pastor. Acknowledge the change in public ways. Especially in the case of a much-beloved pastor, this allows the congregation better to let go and receive the new pastor.
Consider giving the outgoing pastor the last two weeks off. This helps that pastor enter a new situation rested and gives an emotional buffer between one pastor’s last Sunday and another pastor’s first Sunday.
Welcome the new pastor on moving day. Have a small group greet the new pastor and family when they arrive and help as needed. Stock the parsonage refrigerator and pantry with some staples. Include kid-friendly foods and snacks if children are arriving.
Introduce your new pastor to the neighborhood. Provide a map with directions to local dry cleaners, grocery store, drug store, veterinarian, etc., and information on local options for internet and cable television providers. Give gift certificates to several favorite restaurants in the community.
Wear name tags. Even if name tags are not a tradition, the congregation can wear them for a few weeks to help the pastor learn names.
Bob Crossman is a New Church Strategist with Path One, General Board of Discipleship, United Methodist Church. Download a free copy of 50 Ways to Welcome Your New Pastor or Associate Pastor.
Quotable Leadership
Systems achieve order from clear centers rather than imposed restraints.(Margaret J. Wheatley)
Pastors Moving to New Churches Need the Right Start 
Are you a pastor preparing to begin ministry in a new setting? With The Right Start video resource, you’ll learn how to end your current ministry well, develop a personal transition plan, and make the most of your first days, weeks, and months in your new congregation. The Right Start is refreshed for 2014 with updated information and is available in both Pastor’s and Group Training Versions. Learn more.
The Right Question
Leaders do not need answers. Leaders must have the right questions.
One church makes a practice of asking every new member two questions from which they learn much about their church. 
What drew you to this church?
As you think about your first visit here, what was your most prominent impression? 
Want more Right Questions? Check out “Right Questions for Church Leaders: 2013 and 2012 Collections.”
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Editors: Lovett H. Weems, Jr., and Ann A. Michel. Production: Carol Follett
Wesley Theological Seminary. 
4500 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20016 Unied States
(202) 885-8757
lewiscenter@wesleyseminary.edu
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