How do you leave?
Posted by Todd Rhoades in Staffing on Nov 4th, 2011 | 8 commentsEverythingPastor writes, “How do you leave something that you love? That’s the question I’ve been asking myself for the past couple of weeks. On October 4th, I put in my 60 day notice at my church. I’ve been here four years and have loved every step of the way. We had always assumed that we would be at Greenwood forever, but about six months ago, God became to change our hearts and as a result we feel he’s re-ignited our passions for missions and church planting. We were always planning to church plant, we just thought that we be overseas and not in America. It’s been such a growing process for our family. Now that our decision is public, we have to deal with everything that comes from resigning from a ministry.
Here are his bullet points:
1. Think about who to tell first
2. Expect to be a lame duck
3. Let Go
4. Tell those you care about how you feel
5. Leave the bridges entact
6. Prepare the way for the next person
As you’ve left ministries and jobs over the years, what have been the most important things you would add to this list?
What mistakes have you made in ministry job transitions?
I’d love to hear. Leave a comment below; and share this post with your friends using the buttons below as well…
8 Responses to “ “How do you leave?”
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Prying the “W”‘s off all the computer keyboards. Note to self…
When a pastor determines he/she will leave their particular ministry, the job changes. It is their responsibility to prepare the church for the next pastor. The people may not understand this because it can take several months to over a year and it’s not best to tell people your leaving with such a long notice. (I think the 60 days is appropriate but I would not do anything longer.)
I followed this advice when leaving my first pastorate. It worked well. I did not start any new ministries that would have suffered after I left. I worked on relationships and tying up loose ends so the church would be ready when I left. Of course there will be a grieving process and things will be a little out of balance in terms of programs, relationships, vision, etc. That’s why it’s so important to prepare the church for that even before the announcement is made.
Leave well for your part… even when it’s impossible to do that from other people’s “parts”…
I have debated what God wanted me to do too long so He had to end the ministry for me. Conflicts and problems was what came out of me delaying what He told me to do in the first place.
I’m in the interesting position of preparing to leave one position for another position at the same church. Consequently I’m very careful to make sure that the people I’m now working with experience a smooth transition, and that my current ministry is in good hands. After all, I’ll still be seeing these people on a daily and weekly basis, since I’ll be in the same organization!
I wonder how much better people would depart if they tried to leave as if they would still have to know and care for those they were leaving behind. In other words, it would be tougher to think, “Well, I’ll never see these people again, so who cares how I leave?”
If you are leaving the church holding a boat load of debt that you incurred while pastoring, don’t seek another pastorate. If your pastor left the church with tremendous debt, inform the pastor’s next congregation. It’s the right thing to do.
Leave when God tells you to. Don’t let yourself get talked into staying longer because they don’t want to lose you. (did this!)
Leave things in the best possible way you can, so that the ministry you started can continue, even if there is conflict. Keep your mouth shut and move on, unless there is something so immoral that to not say something, more people will suffer.
Both parties should make it a point to bless one another on the way out. It’s unfortunate that in most cases, leaving a church is like a bad divorce.
This is God’s Kingdom and it does not belong to any man. We should always make it a point to bless.