A MESSAGE FROM REV. KAREN KINNEY: CALLING OUR NEXT PASTOR
Grace and peace to you,
At its July 27 meeting, Session approved a recommendation from the Personnel Committee to instruct the Pastor Nominating Committee (once elected*) to search for a Designated Pastor for a three-year term. The Churches in Transition team of the Mountain Laurel Presbytery has also approved the position. Pastor Lindsey will remain as the Associate Pastor for Justice & Community Impact.
A Designated Pastor is a called (sometimes 
installed) position voted on by the congregation with annual terms of call established for each year of the designated period. For a three-year term, at the end of the second year, the Designated Pastor, Personnel, Session, and the congregation will begin to mutually discern whether the position will continue into a permanent installed call at the conclusion of the three years. This change will also require congregational approval.
A Designated Pastor for a three-year term is often used by churches going through transition and facing ongoing financial considerations, which certainly describes FPCB. This model is familiar to us; Rev. J.C. Austin’s call here began as a three-year designated position.
Over the next three to four years while nesting at Christ Church, FPCB can explore other pastoral models, clarify operating costs, and live out the Mission Study themes. All of this helps determine the pastoral leadership needed once the congregation returns to the campus.
Transition times are hard and one wonders when transition might end. But the truth is that as the world changes, so does the church.
As my interim ministry leader said over and over – all churches are in transition all the time. How the leadership and congregation adapt to that transition makes all the difference. This Designated Pastor position meets FPCB’s current leadership needs while also supporting the ongoing transition toward a vibrant, sustainable future.
Blessings,
Pastor Karen