Passing on the baton of worship leadership at Belleville

In 1996, while visiting Randy and Patty Franklin in Germany, I was able to attend a ceremony at Kaiserslautern Air Force Base where the person in charge of Randy's base was transferred to "a five-sided building in Washington" and his replacement was named. I've never forgotten this ceremony, as it was a model of how power should be transferred from one person to another. This ceremony made it clear that the near person was now officially in charge. It was interesting that at the reception for the new commander, the old commander wasn't even present. The reception was about the new person and the future, rather than about the past.

In my experience, churches have generally botched it rather than succeeding in transferring leadership from one person to another. This result in confusion among the people in the ranks about who is in charge, as well as why the transition took place. From my experience, one reason why leadership transfers haven't succeeded is because the previous leader, intentionally or unintentionally, hung around too long and didn't allow the new leader to lead.

I was pleased at how this past Sunday, Belleville intentionally honored all those who had previously led worship. These included Judith Robertson, Mark Lindors, Catherine Migliori, Fadi Akl, and most recently Steve Wilson. They comprised the majority of the worship group for this Sunday. They formally recognized the transition of the leadership mantle to 2 young men: Pierre DeKatow and Emmanuel Pelatan. Both are in their mid-twenties.

Certainly they will do some things very differently than their predecessors. But they will need the room to do so. If they are wise, which they seem to be, they will consult with the previous leaders to gain from their wisdom. But the ultimate decisions will need to be Pierre's and Emmanuel's.

Another leadership transition in the works at Belleville is that of the prayer ministry team. Clive and Liz Sampson from England have amply led this team for the past few years. They will return to England next week for a more formal retirement. Their leadership will be replaced by a group of 3 people. The Sampsons are gracious and generous people who will be missed.

We also had a Messianic Jewish preacher from Canada named Michael Gerstman. It was a challenging message from Hosea. May God continue to work His purposes among the Jewish people in drawing them to Himself.