Earlier this month I had coffee and a catch up with a friend, who just happens to be a very successful business leader. As we only get together once or twice a year, due to his busy schedule, I asked him what was new. He told me that he had become the chairman of his board and that he had handed over the day to day running of his company to someone else. This surprised me because he has just turned 50. He said to me it was all to do with succession and ensuring that the company continues to move forward. A church movement, that I am associated with in New Zealand has over 275 churches, in the next 5 years 35% of their pastors will reach, or have already reached, retirement age, and there is no clear plan to move the denomination forward. There has been no thought put into succession planning. This got me thinking about the future of many churches and their congregations. Can we apply the same principles of succession management to our churches. Can we confidently hand over t...