Why Good Preachers Move – Reason # 27
He had been there for nearly twenty years. He was evangelistic. His preaching was still powerful and moving. He was loved and respected. The church had grown. In fact, it had moved into a new building less than five years before. On the first Sunday in May he got up and resigned, it seemed rather abrupt. There was all sorts of speculation as to why he was leaving. Some of it speculative – he got burned out. Some of it coarse – he was having an affair.
It was neither and if people had listened, he told the truth when he resigned. “I love this church and this town, but I feel that I can no longer influence or motivate the church and that it is time for someone else who can to preach here.”
If you’d asked the members what he meant I doubt many, maybe none, could explain what he meant. A few weeks earlier he had announced an important meeting of any of the members who wanted to help the church grow. The meeting would be at 4 on Sunday afternoon. It was very important. No one came.
If you’d asked no one would have said they weren’t interested in the meeting or in the church to grow. If you’d told them how deflated, defeated and ineffective no one coming would be there would have been a large group to come. But he knew and he was just being honest. It was time – he loved them and they loved him. It wasn’t a divorce, it wasn’t ugly, it wasn’t a better job, it was what it was. His deep love for the church made him believe, even though many would have protested, that his time was done and someone else now needed to do what he could not.
Me, I’ve been there. I’m not sure if he was right or not, but most of us who preach can understand.
No one came. And he left.
Hi, Dale,
Whether your illistration (story) in this blog post is an actual event or based on some, it’s true, as you said, “most of us who preach can understand.” As I read your post, I quickly wondered somewhat as to why the preacher was making such an announcement about a “Want to help the church grow” meeting and not one of the elders making that announcement? Perhaps there were no elders? Or, perhaps the fact that he was making the announcement is a big part of “the rest of the story?” – - For all the preachers who may read this, I share the following as a hopeful encouragement:
“When things go wrong as they sometimes do, And you’ve ‘preached your heart out’ the whole night through… People falling out of windows and screeching their chairs, And some looking up at you with big blank stares… After your sermon, people shake your hand; They even tell you ‘Your God’s man!’ They say things like, ‘Preacher that’s good!’ And you say ‘Carry that message to your neighborhood.’ And you see the shock in their bleary eyes… Why, if some could remember your sermon topic, it would be a surprise… BUT PREACH ON, BROTHER, cause you’ll save a few, And that’s all the good Lord expects of you. You’re in the company of some mighty men, so TAKE NEW COURAGE, and PREACH AGAIN!” – 1 Cor. 1:18-21; Col. 3:23-24
Amen, Steve.
I don’t claim to be a good preacher (as to the quality of the preaching), but I do strive to be a good man. Why do preachers move? There are many answers to that question, not all of which are good, sound, valid reasons. In 42 1/2 yrs of full-time ministry I preached for nine congregations. My shortest tenure was 17 months (at the first place I preached); my longest was 12 years. I moved too often and sometimes moved before I should have, but at least in one place I should have left before I did. Some of my reasons for moving were not always good, sound, and/or valid, though at the time they seemed to be to me. I have now been retired from full-time ministry for 11 1/2 yrs, and have just completed a 10 yr part-time ministry with a small congregation. My advice to young preachers is to stay, study, and grow. It’s advice easy to give as an older preacher; it’s advice sometimes hard for a younger preacher filled with ambition to follow. (I know, because an older, highly respected preacher gave it to me in my younger days, but I chose not to follow it at that time.)
Great post. I admire the man who left in this story. I don’t know how easy it would be to leave somewhere voluntarily. I have preached at 4 congregations now. I twice left voluntarily (another job came)…and I once left “voluntarily.” But if I have learned anything, it’s that God can use you in the field on the other side of the hill. It is hard to believe it, and it is hard to start over and try to build a reputation again. But it is a new adventure, and it can be exciting, and you never know but it may be better for you even though it is difficult to experience in the short term.
Thanks to Steve for his reply also. The other thing that leaving to go somewhere else will do for you – is it will remind you just how unimportant you are, and just how important the Bible is. I think we need to be reminded of that sometimes, even if it our egos take a hit. Humility in ministry is coming to each one of us…better to be humbled a lot on the front end and stay humble.
For the record…I have never wanted to leave anywhere…and my goal is to stay somewhere as long as possible. I also agree with Brother Fulford.
I like this style of blogging. Storytelling rings to the heart of many of us. Thank you for this.
You can either leave a church when everybody wants you to stay, or you can leave a church when everybody wants you to go. It’s up to you. We are shocked when preachers leave a church when they are loved and things are good. But we shouldn’t be. If a preacher leaves when the church has split, or when he is having problems with the eldership, or for some other negative reason….how effective will he be at the next church? To me, a preacher should leave a congregation voluntarily when (1) working with that congregation is detrimental to his own spiritual well-being, (2) his family is no longer spiritually fed by that congregation, (3) his work is no longer effective or ignored/rejected by the congregation, and (4) he feels like another congregation needs his services more than his current congregation–See: the apostle Paul.
Money is a factor in many moves, but I don’t think it should ever be the primary reason for a move unless the preacher’s family is in dire financial straights. Maybe the best advice I ever heard about leaving a church is this: Always leave a church one year before you need to. I thought, “How will I know that I need to leave a year from now?” Well, now I know that it’s possible to see the signs well in advance of a needed move.
Excellent thoughts, Brother James!!!
Bingo! You hit the nail on the head, Dale. After 21 years, I decided to leave a congregation I loved. It wasn’t because of problems. It wasn’t because they wanted me to leave, they didn’t. It was because I felt I was becoming ineffective. The people were happy with me, comfortable with me, but I felt I couldn’t motivate them. Several years ago, I came to a conscious decision that I wouldn’t allow effectiveness to suffer because of my own comfort. So the time came to move. The move what uncomfortable for us. After 21 years, our roots were deep. It would have been easier to stay, but in my judgment, it was right to move. And in hindsight, it was right for many reasons.
Amen! Have you been reading my mind?
This is almost exactly what I ran into at a very good, loving, compassionate, generous church. I had preached there almost 15 years and could have stayed the rest of my life but the elder in charge (one of four elders but we could never get past his comfort zone) simply had no desire to do anything that would reach today’s generation. He was far more interested in maintaining status quo and not upsetting anyone. I left. No longer preaching, but no regrets.
I have seen this so many times! I think the same story could illustrate why members leave a church. They may be passionate about a particular ministry and if the other members are not as passionate then they feel ineffective and leave.
My philosophy has always been to stay where I am until:
1) I am no longer challenged
2) I am no longer effective
3) I am no longer appreciated
So far, I have done youth ministry with one congregation for 6 years and pulpit work with another congregation for 13 years. I am firmly convinced that effective ministry cannot be achieved in 3 or 4 year stints.
Wow, Dale, how’d you know? You been spying on me?
Sometimes preachers just need it, sometimes congregations need it–though they rarely recognize it, even when there is mutual admiration and respect.
Unfortunately that (admiration and respect) can lead to too much reliance on that preacher, too much expectation that he’ll get it done (without the congregation’s involvement and participation). I only knew of one way to get the point made and that was to “force the issue,” which meant leaving.
It’s been good for us both.
I’ve moved too often. When you grow up, moving in and out of 23 different houses before High School, you get wanderlust after a few years. I stepped aside to add some counseling skills to my toolbox. Now it’s hard to get back in. Always did have trouble with making transitions. If you could post something about this topic: how to find a ministry opening, and how to secure good interviews, it would really be useful to some of us. BTW, thanks to my wanderlust, I’ve been to places and picked up ideas and insights that one who stays might not have.
Excellent Post and Nice comments.Regards to all.