It happens to most every religious group, the minister, priest, rabbi leaves (through death, retirement, resignation) and the void must be filled. They may struggle with feelings of loss or abandonment, wondering what God has in store for them.
Members of Gilroy’s First Baptist Church are in this situation now. Their former pastor, the widely respected Dr. Mark Milwee, resigned for personal reasons some months ago and moved with his family back to their former home in Alabama. Now the church is working through the process of finding a replacement.
Aiding them through this stage of their congregational life is a member of a specialized and important ministry known as “the interim pastor.” His job is to serve the congregation until a new, permanent pastor is chosen.
The Rev. Max Hively is Gilroy FBC’s interim. He seems well-suited for this ministry through experience, training, and a warm, relaxed manner and ready sense of humor.
Pastor Hively has been in the ordained ministry for 37 years, retiring in 1992 after 15 years as pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Santa Clara. He has served as an interim at 11 churches, twice at five of them.
When he first retired, Hively and his wife, Mary, purchased a 28-foot motor home to live in as he pursued his planned itinerant ministry, parking it at the various churches he served for short-term assignments. But after five years they decided to sell it and now live in a senior citizens development in Santa Clara.
An interim’s main job is to provide continuity for the congregation he serves, getting the church ready for calling a new pastor, “getting him off to a good start.” But there are many individual tasks to accomplish:
– leading worship services
– writing and preaching sermons
– attending staff meetings
– writing newsletter messages
– offering pastoral counseling, hospital visits, funerals
– attending committee meetings, especially the Search Committee, which is responsible for calling a new pastor.
Hively describes his role as “encourager and up-builder,” assuring the lay people that “God is on his throne.” He says it is important for him “to love the people and help them pray for God’s leadership.”
One of the restrictions on an interim is that he cannot accept a call to the church he is temporarily serving. Sometimes people have said, “We have you now; we might as well stop looking.” Hively explains, though, that “God’s calling is for me to minister to churches during these difficult transition periods,” but he is always flattered by this reaction.
Hively was born in Arkansas and grew up in Southern California. He served in the Coast Guard during the Korean War and felt God’s call to ministry while stationed in Alaska. When he left the military, he enrolled at Oklahoma Baptist University, “pastoring a little country church” while a student there.
Ordained in 1955, Hively later earned a Master’s degree at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary while serving churches mostly in Northern California, but has preached at services in Oregon, Korea, Oklahoma and New Jersey. Creating and preaching sermons is his favorite part of ministry, but he also particularly enjoys visits to peoples’ homes , “helping them get rightly related to God, talking about personal relationships with God.”
Gilroy’s First Baptist Church is in the process of selecting a new pastor. The search committee will interview finalist applicants, then recommend a name to the congregation for a vote. Then the Rev. Max Hively will be ready for call from another congregation needing his help to continue practicing their faith while awaiting a new clergyman to become their shepherd.
