With Pastor Brian’s announcement that he will be retiring from his role as the lead pastor at Living Word, we, the church board, realize the congregation may have questions related to the upcoming transition. Our desire is to make this process as transparent and open as is appropriate. In an effort to accomplish that, we have provided a space for you to ask questions. We have a few FAQs below that we hope will answer many of your questions, but you may have others that are not listed here, and we have provided a way for your questions to be addressed directly by a board member.
Pastor Brian will retire from the Lead Pastor role when the new candidate is identified and in place. The desired timetable for that is by the end of 2023.
The Board has been working with a consultant, Will Heath, whose company assists churches in planning major transitions like Pastor Brian. We began work with him in the Spring of 2022 and have assembled a transition plan that will guide us through this transition. Additionally, we have contracted with a National Search Firm, The Shepherd's Staff, who will be helping us identify candidates that most closely match the profile of the Lead Pastor we have provided to them.
Ultimately the Board is leading this process. Two committees have been formed that are working more closely on this process and report regularly to the Board.
Transition Committee - This committee is responsible for implementing the Transition Plan that has been developed to assist in staying on target to making the transition as smooth as possible.
Search Committee - members include several Board members, and at the appropriate time, several congregants will be asked to participate in the process. Their function is to work directly with The Shephard's Staff to identify potential candidates to fill the position of Lead Pastor and then present a candidate to the Board for evaluation.
Any potential candidate will be interviewed by the Board. Once the Board has a clear direction and decision, they will approve that candidate and prepare to present the candidate to the congregation for approval.
The members of LWCC are the only people who can approve (or not) a potential candidate. The Board does not have authority to hire any lead pastor candidate without membership approval.
There are several current staff members who are approaching retirement age within the next year. The staff have already made strategic adjustments so the total ministry being done by the staff continues to be faithful and fruitful.
As meaningful progress is made, we will be notifying the church of that progress. Our desire is to be open and transparent with the process as is possible.
Have a question not addressed here?
Click the contact button to send Kirk Eberly an email with any questions you have. We will try to provide a response within 24 hours. Thank you!
Click the contact button to send Kirk Eberly an email with any questions you have. We will try to provide a response within 24 hours. Thank you!