SIMPLE SUCCESSION // ep.2 Transitioning Church Leadership Well with Cal Jernigan & Shan Moyers

In episode two of Simple Succession, Rusty George interviews Cal Jernigan and Sean Palmer about leading healthy church transitions. Cal recounts his decades at Central—joining in 1987, becoming senior pastor in 1999 after an interim, and handing leadership to Sean in April 2025—explaining how the pressures after 2020, a failed successor situation, and personal fatigue accelerated the timeline to avoid harming the church. Cal describes why the board, not the outgoing pastor, should choose the next leader, how elders evaluated candidates, and how clarity on dates, roles, compensation, and expectations built trust. Sean shares why he made a second “follow-a-legend” move, what he learned from an earlier difficult transition, and how transferred trust, honoring the outgoing pastor, relationship handoffs, and a defined one-year transition helped the church stay stable while gradual changes began.