Why Did My Pastor Leave?

The pastor-church relationship is a sensitive and vitally important issue. I believe this because I have been one for nearly 40 years . . . Baptist pastor that is. The majority of pastors move from one church to another out of a sense of call. This is usually a joyous occasion for pastor and congregations.  However, for many pastors  and churches the departure is for less than healthy or truly irresolvable issues.

The proper dissolution of that relationship in difficult circumstances needs to be carefully considered in the light of biblical teachings. Untold harm has been done to the reputation of Christ's kingdom by the improper firing of pastors. I do not mean to suggest that it is never proper for a church to remove a pastor from leadership. There are, sadly, occasions when such a step should be taken for the glory of God and the welfare of the church. When faced with this course of action, however, a church is not free simply to ignore biblical teachings while taking the path of expediency.

Evangelical pastors of all denominational stripes today are being dismissed in epidemic proportions. I recall a number of years ago reading in the Baptist Standard that studies showed that 2000 Southern Baptist ministers were being formally dismissed each year from their pastoral responsibilities. This figure did not include others who were forced out in less formal ways.

Among the major non-healthy and unreasonable reasons pastors leave are:

Frustration with critics in the church. This simply means  they resigned from their church due to weariness over relentless criticism. Sadly some churches have members whose constant criticism of the pastor would put a dog with an old rag to shame.

Discouragement over the direction of the church. Every pastor I have known over my 40 years of ministry has come to the churches they served  an eager vision and great hope. Many of those same men left when they realized that vision and hope would never materialize.

Moral failure by the pastor. Sadly, this is one of the reasons some pastors are asked to leave a particular church. The two most common moral failures are sexual or financial in nature. Sadly they don't have to be based in any sort of reality but merely perceived indiscretions. Real or perceived, safeguards were typically not in place to prevent them..

Pastoral Burnout. Coaches and pastors have what must be the most flexible of jobs. It is this flexibility that can lead to one of two extremes: poor work ethic or becoming a workaholic. The latter inevitably leads to burnout.

Financial Struggles. A number of churches, especially smaller churches, do not take care of their pastors financially. Most are able to do so. A pastor who has to worry about paying his bills will not be an effective pastor. and will be forced to find ways to supplement their income.

Family Issues. Obviously the family issues could be related to any of the reasons noted here. But a number of pastors have told me that they resigned because the entire church leadership experience and atmosphere were unhealthy for their family.

Then There is what I call "The Departure of Joy."  As I mentioned at the beginning the typical pastor has great joy when he is called to ministry. That joy often continues during the time of training for ministry. It is especially present as he enters into ministry at that first church that asks him to be their pastor. However, somewhere along the way they loose that joy in the real world of local church ministry. It like the old Jerry Clower story about Marcel Ledbetter up in the tree with a raccoon and he calls out to his buddy just shoot because one of them, him or the raccoon, has got to have some relief. My guess is most of these men never experienced a "call from God to ministry" in the first place.

Forced termination other than moral failure. This seems to be like bananas and onions, they come in bunches.  It has been rare to hear of just one isolated case. Again, seem there is some sort of "end of season" when the coach is retained or let go and I'm not sure that's not true of pastors as well. The explanation is usually something like, "The church has determined it needs fresh leadership." In most cases these are "trumped-up" charges or very minor issues. Sadly, when we look closely it is rarely ever the "whole Church" that determines that need but instead some "Turf Shepherd" who feels threatened by the pastor's increasing influence in the church. In most cases, the pastor's resignation comes as a total surprise to the congregation as a whole and oddly enough they often know exactly where to point the finger as to the source of the action.

All of these reasons for pastor's resigning can be avoided and when present can be

overcome by spiritually minded people who seeking God's purposes for everyone concerned and operating within the parameters God has set forth in His word. In fact, it can be a time of spiritual growth for pastor and church if handled redemptively. Anything less results in disaster.

In talking with ministers over my own 40 years of ministry I have come to believe that every pastor confronts some of these along the way. Some even confront them all. Fortunately most of us  have been able by the grace of God to weather those ministry storms. Personally I have always been sustained by the personal sense of "Call to Preach" I had as a youth and the abiding sense of the presence of God in my life.

I can honestly say that even when there have been those who challenged my leadership, questioned my integrity, opposed my vision, or were just plain mean and vindictive I was never inclined to do battle with them (thought about a joke but will save it for another time).  I have relied upon the belief that because God has called me I answer to him and not to men and as a result I trust Him to fight my battles for me.  

Hence, "the battle is the Lord's" not mine. I have chosen to repay evil with good and leave the battle in His hands. After all, I am not unaware of the dire warning  God has issued to those who would presume to assume His authority over my life and ministry (any God called Minister for that matter) and He has warned " Touch Not Mine Anointed, And Do My Prophets No Harm."

What this means is that if God has anointed that person He, God, will discipline him. It means God is the one who judges the people he has "called to preach the Gospel" . . . they are His servants not yours. Simply stated it is what Paul is talking about  when in Romans 14:4 (NASB) he asked, "Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand."

Anyone who does the anointed of God harm has presumed an authority that God has reserved for Himself and places himself at risk of Divine retribution. Whatever the real or perceived failing of God's anointed (pastor) might be it pales compared to assuming God's prerogatives . . . this is idolatry. Believe me history shown and experience has demonstrated the truth of this.  This is why any action taken that will do harm to the pastor and by extension his family must be done by spiritually mature people capable of discerning the mind of God in a matter.  There is no place here for "it must be the will of the Lord because it seems so right to me!"

I remember an occasion when a body of Deacons was in the process of creating a forced termination of a friend who asked me to be present with him at the Deacon's meeting where the confrontation was coming to a head.  Tragically this is an all too familiar scenario. At any rate, he asked me to be there because he knew I understood the dynamics taking place.  At the meeting the person driving that action simply offered my friend and ultimatum. . . . "You can resign or face a vote and risk loosing the severance offer." Clearly they had already met secretly and decided their course of action.

 

After some conversation between my friend and the Chairman my only question to the Chairman was, "Sir, I understand that I am here to observe what takes place for my friend and that I have no voice in this matter but I wonder, have you thought about the unintended consequences of this action and are you personally prepared to live with the consequences and cost to the church this action will have?" His response was, "I don't care what it costs, its what we are going to do!" To which I simply said, "Good luck with that because in my 30+ years of experience this action is in all likelihood going to cost more than you realize but there will be a price to pay and it will be exacted on you and sadder yet on this church as well."

We never see the whole picture or have the entire back story to what leads to these kinds of crises. The Bible says, “There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12). We should fear God and His Word alone.

The pastor left, soon went to another church had a successful ministry that lasted better than 15 years and retired. Everything that had happened in the former church under his leadership happened at the new place of ministry. God was clearly holding His anointed in His hand and blessing his ministry.

On the other hand, the church he was force to leave split within 2 years and been on the decline to this day. I believe, that night when a group of men assumed God's prerogative with regard to His anointed God took a large pen and wrote over that body of believers the single word ICHABOD . . .  meaning the glory of the Lord has departed. Trust me there are plenty of Ichabod Churches out there. You should avoid them if you can.

My point is this: Everything in life is a test. When there is conflict for any reason between the pastor and the church (more accurately a few people within a church) both groups are being tested. Both pass when there is reconciliation. At least one fails when there is not. And, like all tests failure brings negative consequences. Some are small test with little consequence for failure others are large tests with catastrophic consequences that often result on the children's teeth (people who follow us) being set on edge because their fathers (those of us taking action) have eaten sour grapes. Our, as my Momma used to say "Be careful for what you ask, you may just get it."

Now clearly this does not mean that you accept anything and everything a pastor does or says. Certainly, issues between the pastor and the lay leadership and or the church as a whole must be dealt with by the appropriate groups. Sexual immorality and financial theft must be confronted.  However, in most cases it has nothing to do with what our Catholic brothers call Mortal Sins but everything to do with personalities, powers, influence etc.

However, it should always be done gently and always with an eye toward redemption. . . . redemption of both the church and the pastor. This can only be successfully undertaken by those who are spiritually mature. I would add that it should be dealt with early rather than late. 

What do you think?

There is a pretty good study on this found on the Founder's Ministry Page.