Alan Eastland, former senior pastor of Living Way Fellowship (Littleton Foursquare Church) in Highlands Ranch, Colo., has a unique relationship with Peter Henderson, one member of the congregation. Peter was once a child Alan had the opportunity to watch grow from childhood through adolescence and into adulthood. Now, he is Alan’s successor.
John 15:16 records the following words of Christ: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you” (NKJV). Alan cites this as his life verse, and reflects on it as a passage that took on special meaning during his and Peter’s transition.
“I can tell you, pastors, we can get possessive,” Alan candidly shares. “But they’re not our people—they’re His people. And sometimes we think, ‘How will they ever get along without us?’ And the answer is, very well. They’ll get along very well without us.”
Speaking of Alan, Peter states: “He viewed this church as something God was creating and that he had been privileged to serve.”
The leadership transition formed both men and their congregation—and there are rich lessons on succession that come from their story: Tangibly, how do we contribute to the fruit that remains? How do we let go, sometimes of our own plans, and move to the next season with grace?
“Accelerate: Succession,” Part 2 of the Accelerate: Story video series produced by The Foursquare Church, shares Alan and Peter’s story of succession.
Watch the full video to learn more about how we as members of the Foursquare family can move past ourselves and accelerate kingdom work.
This story and others like it are available on the 2011 Accelerate: Story DVD for $39, as well as in the 2012 Experience Kit for $149.
By: Ashley Wolpert Miller, a freelance writer living in Long Beach, Calif.
