Teaching Teams in a Local Church
I recently listened to an episode of the Pastor Talk podcast on teaching teams. Teaching teams are when the preaching in a local church is shared between two or more pastors. This episode had some great insight and asked some important questions.
Listening to this episode made me recall my first full-time pastoral position. I was an associate pastor and we had a teaching team format. In addition to the two full-time pastors, we had a part-time pastor and two theological students. Most of the preaching was shared by the three paid pastors but included the others as well.
My first thought is that it says something positive about a senior pastor that they would be willing to share the pulpit. Teaching teams requires more than just letting the other pastor preach when you are on vacation. It includes intentional sharing.
We did did different things in our church. We sometimes preached our own series, sometimes we worked together on a series. It was sometimes a challenge for the one pastor to create a series and for the other pastor to catch the vision. Once, we even did “tag team” preaching where we had a conversation on a passage without a set manuscript.
At my current church, I by far do most of the preaching. I miss the teamwork that goes with teaching teams. I look forward to future opportunities in this area.
What do you think about teaching teams?
