How to Leave Your Ministry – Part I

Pastor, if you’re reading this, you’ve likely come to the end of a season. Congratulations on finishing an important leg of your race. If you’re like most of us, a few things are going to continue to eat at you.

You may feel the weight of the unfinished goals, and the strain of unresolved conflict.

Let’s talk about the first reality for a moment.

It is right and natural to feel the weight of the unfinished work. That tells you that you were invested. Leaders are perpetually disappointed. You will tend to see what’s unfinished of your goals vs. what progress was made. At this stage, give yourself the freedom to appreciate the good that happened. Make a list if necessary. At the end of the day, our roles are as under-shepherds. The Chief Shepherd will take it from here (1 Pet. 5:1-4). They’re in good hands for the next phase.

This gets to our identity too. For many of us, it is very easy to place too much weight on our role as a pastor, which leads us to imagine the undone-ness of some goals is somehow a mark of failure of our person. If you resonate with that temptation, let me release you from that burden.

So give your last report. Make your last suggestions. And stop.

In my own transitions I typed out bullet-pointed documents of what I thought were the immediate concerns, and the longer-term goals of the church. As I handed that document to my leaders, I communicated I was handing off that responsibility to them. They were free to follow it or not. I knew they had what I thought was essential, in writing, and that helped me to resist the temptation to keep coaching.

When you’re done it’s important to quit.

Leaving a ministry with unfinished business can be difficult. Leaving with unresolved conflict can be even harder. Let’s tackle that in part 2.