When an organization is in a transitional period, the air tends to be unstable; this period may be caused by a pastor resigning, retiring, a conflict arising, restructuring, or even a downturn of a church. Members are anxious. Ministries lose momentum. Vision becomes blurry. It is at this point that a transitioned pastor is involved, not necessarily to fill in the gap, but to lead a church to restoration and new purpose. David W. Stokes, in his seminal book, From the Pulpit to a Movement, exposes how transitional pastors can guide effective, sustainable renewal using one of the least harnessed tools they have available to themselves, strategic communication.
Over the years, transitional pastors have been regarded as stabilizers, those who are supposed to maintain the running until another permanent pastor comes. Stokes, however, presents a much more vibrant model. According to him, transitional pastors are in an ideal position to initiate revival, give a new vision, and end vicious circles. Their tentative status is a strategic boost, a boon that enables them to speak truth clearly, openly, and frankly. And the chief agent of that communication, Stokes points out, is the pulpit.
When people are uncertain, they seek a voice that they can confide in. They look for direction. They seek Scriptural leadership and Spirit-led leadership. Stokes preaches that strategic preaching, which is preaching that is premeditated, goal-oriented, and geared towards renewal, the transitional pastor can take a congregation out of confusion, out of division, and out of stagnation.
Among the first lessons that Stokes gives is the fact that transitional pastors should be knowledgeable of the dynamics that are unique to the church that they enter. Each transitioning congregation is full of tension, doubt, and unfulfilled needs. Instead of shunning such realities, he urges pastors to deal directly with them by preaching the truth with love. Honesty is the first step to strategic communication. It does not live in the past that it recognizes, but it does offer spiritual language to the congregation to have a way forward.
Transitional pastors can establish an air of stability by means of tactical preaching activities. Stokes demonstrates how the sermons can strengthen the essential biblical truths that remind the church of who they are, whom they serve, and what they are called to do. During a transitional season, everyone must be anchored, not to tradition or personalities, but to the eternal purpose of God. Uncertainty is powerless when the pulpit is always telling the truth and the mission.
The other dynamic that Stokes highlights is that transitional pastors can have short-term vision with a long-term involvement. Due to the fact that these leaders are not bound to long-term political or in-house pressure, they are able to present goals in a clear and bold manner. This is their outside look that enables them to view what should be strengthened, restored, or even taken away. They steer the church towards healthier trends and new priorities through sermons, strategic language, and strategic messaging.
In From the Pulpit to a Movement, Stokes explains that preaching calendars and series can be utilized by transitional pastors to facilitate this process. He offers real-life models on how to prepare messages that guide congregations through healing, forgiveness, mission renewal, and preparation for the future. Messages that are not random but calculated will make the pulpit a rebuilding instrument not only spiritually, but structurally and relationally as well.
The most captivating aspect of the work by Stokes is his focus on solving the conflict and division by preaching. Often, transitional pastors come into churches with unresolved tensions or competing agendas. Stokes gives biblical templates of preaching towards reconciliation, unity, and restoration. Through wisdom and courage, he leads pastors in the way they are going to communicate in order to defuse tension and guide the congregations towards grace, truth, and mutual understanding.
The guide every pastor must have is From the Pulpit to a Movement. It offers the means to guide churches through the process of uncertainty and to a future of togetherness, purpose, and newfound strength.