Transition Plan

Bob Russell graduated from Cincinnati Bible Seminary in 1965 and became the Senior Minister of Southeast Christian Church in 1966, a new church with 120 members.  When he retired in 2006 the church was one of the largest in America with over 18,000 people attending four weekend worship services.  

As Bob considered his retirement and noted the numerous incidents of disastrous leadership transitions in American churches, he worked with the Elders to implement a deliberate plan to successfully pass the baton of leadership to his successor.  This book is about that transition. 


In it you will learn about the challenges all organizations face when the reigns of leadership are passed from one leader to another.  You will learn about potential pitfalls as well as ways to leverage the transition to actually strengthen the church.  This book should be mandatory reading for all church leaders.