I was recently a guest on the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast. I always enjoy connecting with Carey, and I had a great time discussing succession, simplicity, and leading in the church. We spent a good portion of our conversation talking about what has made succession work at Mariners Church. You can listen to or watch our conversation here.
It has been over seven years now since I stepped into the role of senior pastor at Mariners Church. My predecessor, Kenton Beshore, served Mariners for 35 years of faithful and fruitful ministry. He has been massively encouraging and helpful to me throughout my entire tenure. A few snapshots that people find fascinating and give a view into his support:
- Kenton still attends the 4p service almost every Saturday night, sits in the front row where he takes notes, comes into the pastor study after the service to encourage the team, and if he has helpful feedback for me, he waits until everyone else leaves the room so we can discuss more deeply. I enjoy receiving his coaching as he is wise and committed to our church and to me.
- We have lunch once a month. I keep a running list of questions I want to ask him, but the time is mainly us connecting about life and ministry.
- When I began in my role seven years ago, Kenton made a few decisive moves that sent signals he was really transitioning. He moved his office to an off-site location. He is incredibly self-aware and knows he tends to lead every room he is in, so he was giving me space to lead. He shared with the elders, in our first meeting together, that he was coming to meetings only when I asked—that I was now the senior pastor. He made these decisions so I was never put in a position to even consider them.
Carey asked a very insightful question: “What could Kenton have done that would have sabotaged the transition? If he was going to mess it up, how would he have done it?” He didn’t. I don’t want this misquoted.
My response: He did not mess it up. His self-control and his emotional health are so strong. It would’ve been hard for him to do the thing to mess it up. But a formula for sabotaging succession would be about whispering. His voice, for a long time, was probably stronger than my voice. He just had to whisper, say some subtle things that would have sent signals we were not aligned. He could have derailed directions we were going with a whisper.
What kept Kenton from sabotage is his healthy walk with God and his humility. My predecessor has done a lot of dying to himself for the succession to be as fruitful as it has been, which is a picture of the Christian life. We bear fruit not by trying, but by dying to ourselves and trusting in our Savior.
