Our Next Chapter

After 37 years of faithful service, 28 at Good Shepherd, Talbot has decided to retire. He has been very happy to be the pastor of Good Shepherd and is likewise very happy to retire. We are thankful for Talbot’s faithfulness to God’s call on our church, and we look forward with confidence to what God will do next. Good Shepherd will remain a Bible lifting, Gospel proclaiming and Jesus honoring church – built around our Savior and not its pastor, and that’s why this transition will go well.

The church will provide celebration moments to help the congregation express gratitude while preparing for the next chapter of leadership. This transition provides an important opportunity to celebrate Talbot Davis’s many years of faithful leadership at Good Shepherd. Our heart is not only for the church to be able to celebrate with Talbot but for Talbot to have some dedicated opportunities to celebrate with those he’s close to at Good Shepherd.

The Board, as the governing body of Good Shepherd, is responsible for selecting the next Senior Pastor. This is in accordance with our church governance and bylaws, which designate the Board as the final authority in this selection process. The Succession Planning Committee (SPC), a subcommittee of the board comprised of staff and lay leaders, has been formed to prepare the church for this transition. Following the creation of the profile, the SPC and Executive Team of the Board will be led through a process of identifying, screening and evaluating candidates. This will include sermon review, extensive interviews and in-person interactions. To maintain the integrity of the process and the privacy of the candidates, no candidate will preach in a Sunday morning service prior to their selection as the finalist. The SPC has been working on this process for more than a year.

Come Alive Daily will come to an end with Talbot’s retirement. This will require thoughtful communication and intentional replacement for the role that it plays in spiritual growth.

Yes, internal candidates would be considered and evaluated within the same process we have already defined. However, we do not currently have any internal candidates and expect our next Senior Pastor to be from outside our organization.

The mission of Good Shepherd serves as a stabilizing foundation during this transition and will remain for at least two years while the incoming pastor is expected to learn, evaluate and build upon what God has already been doing before making significant changes. Good Shepherd’s core motivations shape the culture and priorities that define life in the church. Because these values are widely shared, they provide stability during leadership transition and will be safeguarded as a consistent foundation during this season and not adjusted for at least two years after the transition.

Yes. The incoming Senior Pastor will have the same executive authority that Talbot has today. Leadership transitions naturally create uncertainty and raise concerns about what the future may hold. This is why the Board’s role in providing oversight and holding the Senior Pastor accountable is both important and clearly defined.

At the same time, accountability is not the same as control. While the Board is responsible for ensuring the Senior Pastor leads faithfully and within the church’s theological convictions and governing documents, it is not the Board’s role to assume the executive leadership entrusted to the Senior Pastor. Healthy governance requires both meaningful accountability and appropriate trust in the person ultimately called to lead Good Shepherd.

The search process will begin in January 2027 with the goal of having a new pastor in place in August 2027. Once the next Senior Pastor is identified, the church will enter a structured onboarding season designed to support a healthy transition. The plan includes a roughly 90-day overlap period between Talbot and the incoming pastor.

Delayed Succession: In the event a Senior Pastor is not found before Talbot's retirement date, the SPC, in line with Talbot's recommendation, is as follows:

In the event that no senior pastor candidate is selected before Talbot's retirement in November of 2027, the current Lead Staff will assume directional leadership of the church, sharing responsibilities and decision-making power.

Emergency Succession: the above plan doubles as our emergency succession plan should anything happen to Talbot between now and his retirement date.

Accelerated Succession: In the event that a successor is found sooner than expected, the SPC and Talbot recommend that the 90-day overlap be accelerated accordingly.

We are asking the church to partner in prayer during this season, specifically praying for the Board and leadership.