I am in the process of field work for training as an Intentional Interim. The idea is the interim period when a church is without a pastor is a unique time for self-examination, refinement of mission, handling brokenness and being intentional about the direction of the future.
Such is also the case with “interim” moments in our lives. Some of those interim moments are imposed upon us by job changes, relationship issues, health matters, life passages and a host of other dynamics. Some of them we control and some we don’t. Always, however, there is the opportunity to be intentional about the way we handle change and interim periods in our lives.
It should come as no surprise that people chose moments of crisis or great change (often “interim” moments) to reconnect with church and deepen their spiritual moorings. Interim moments may also be mined for mission and ministry options that are swept away by routine outside those interim periods.
I looked for a biblical reference to shed light on the interim period. I found it in none other than Jesus himself. Jesus’ ministry began and ended in Judea. But one of the turning points of his life (There were 4, I think including baptism, Transfiguration and Gethsemane) came when early on he withdrew (intentionally) from Judea and spent the next number of months in Galilee. There in Galilee Jesus’ public ministry took its shape, complete with miracles which had their start in Cana of Galilee. The early formation of those disciples began in Galilee. The Teacher found his voice in the Sermon on the Mount, also in Galilee. The Great Galilean Ministry of Jesus was an Intentional Interim.
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