Other than my seminary and internship experience, I have only been a pastor for a little over a year, so please take this into consideration as you read this.

My suggestion is that you ask yourself how you could best support, encourage, and get behind your senior pastor.

Have you put yourself in his (or her) position, tried to understand the unique pressures he's facing, tried to dream what a long, fruitful ministry might look like for him?

Can you convince him that you want his ministry to succeed? (Whatever that might look like.) Can you convince him that you want his ministry to grow and bear fruit? Can you persuade him that you are on his team?

If you can begin to do this - not just to win him over or get him on your side, but simply to support him - you will find your relationship transformed. I'm not assuming that things will work out or that you'll become the best of friends or that you won't get burned. But I do think you will experience personal growth and will be at peace with whatever happens, and you may just find your own ministry bearing fruit in a new and exciting way.

Jon