---
id: ff26_howard_empty_pulpits_attitude
title: FLYINGFREE - Howard Fills Empty Pulpits with Positive Attitude
category: Biblical Life Counsel
predicted_narrative_arc: interim-service-to-congregational-courage
sentiment: Pastoral
emotions:
- Encouraging
- Practical
- Steady
keypoints:
- Howard fills pulpits for congregations restructuring or without a pastor
- Prepares congregations for new growth
- Teaches necessity of positive attitude under vacant leadership
- Experience pays dividends to churches
- Imparts knowledge to a whole new group of people
summary: >
  Howard’s new landing zone includes interim pulpits — teaching churches to hold
  a positive attitude when leadership is vacant and growth must still come.
tags:
- flying-free
- chapter-26
- howard-brammer
- pulpit
- attitude
- interim
- church
- dean-rush
- book-excerpt
- biblical-counsel
sycophancy: 0
truth_score: 9
entropy: 2
sample: false
consent: owner_approved
agent: flyingfree
created: '2010-01-01'
updated: '2026-09-09T00:00:00Z'
vault_stage: 07_CODEX
headwaters: FLYINGFREE
prefix: FLYINGFREE
enrich_status: ok
enrich_blockers: []
enrich_method: manual
pipeline_filename: FLYINGFREE_26_howard-empty-pulpits-attitude.md
source_kind: book_excerpt
proposed_topic: FlyingFree
lane: FlyingFree
voice: desk
active_voice: desk
voices:
- desk
routing_source: carbon
corpus_topic: FlyingFree
content_status: active
date: '2010-01-01'
share_url: https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md
source_url: https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md
site_category: Flying Free
book_title: Flying Free
book_chapter: 26
book_chapter_title: Perfect Touchdown – Examples in Good Landings
source_file: flyingfree/flying-free-26-perfect-touchdown.md
description: >
  Chapter 26 — Howard fills vacant pulpits and trains congregations in positive
  attitude while leadership is missing.
---

# Howard Fills Empty Pulpits with Positive Attitude

**Author:** Dean Rush  
**Book:** *Flying Free* · **Chapter 26:** Perfect Touchdown – Examples in Good Landings  
**Full book:** [deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md](https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md)

## Context for the Reader

After releasing the senior chair, Howard’s “new methods” take a concrete shape: interim pulpits and attitude training for churches without a pastor. This lesson holds that interim work as the second beat of his landing.

> Voice note: Everything under **Dean's excerpt** is Dean's original prose (lightly cleaned only). Sections marked **Biblical foundations**, **Scholar sidebar**, **Takeaways**, and **First-time learner** are enrichment for Asker / first readers — not Dean speaking.

---

## Biblical foundations (preface)

Vacant leadership is a real pastoral crisis. Scripture still calls the body to build up, encourage, and refuse despair while waiting for the next shepherd.

| Dean's claim | Scriptural undercarriage |
| --- | --- |
| Fill empty pulpits; prepare for growth | Equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body (Ephesians 4:11–12) |
| Positive attitude where leadership lacks | Encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11) |
| Experience pays dividends to new people | What you have heard… entrust to reliable people (2 Timothy 2:2) |

---

## Dean's excerpt

### Interim pulpits, taught courage

Howard now fills the pulpit for congregations that need to restructure or are without a pastor. As he fills those empty pulpits and helps prepare the congregation for new growth, he teaches the congregation the necessity of developing a positive attitude where there is a lack of leadership due to a vacant pulpit. His experience pays dividends to those churches and allows Howard to impart his knowledge for the benefit of a whole new group of people.

> **Scholar sidebar — Build while vacant**  
> Ephesians 4:11–12 keeps equipping in view. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 and 2 Timothy 2:2 make encouragement and entrusting normal ministry. Dean’s friend turns personal limit into wider impartation.

---

## Takeaways

1. **Concrete new work.** Empty pulpits and restructuring churches.
2. **Growth still possible.** Interim is preparation, not freeze.
3. **Attitude is taught.** Positive posture under vacant leadership is a necessity.
4. **Experience transfers.** Years of pastoring pay dividends elsewhere.
5. **New people benefited.** The landing zone multiplies beyond one congregation.

---

## First-time learner

### What is Dean saying in one sentence?
Howard now serves churches without pastors — filling pulpits and teaching positive attitude so congregations can prepare for growth under vacant leadership.

### Why teach attitude in a vacancy?
Because fear of missing a leader can freeze a church; courage keeps them ready for the next season.

### Key verses to read with this lesson
- **Ephesians 4:11–12** — Equip the saints; build the body.
- **1 Thessalonians 5:11** — Encourage and build up.
- **2 Timothy 2:2** — Entrust to reliable people.

### A simple practice
If your community lacks a leader in some area, list one constructive act you can take this week instead of waiting in bitterness.

### How this feeds Ask Dean
Seed material for: *What does Howard do now? How do empty pulpits fit perfect touchdown? Why positive attitude under vacancy?*