Why Pastors Leave a Church

Podcast Episode #172

We discuss a recent post on the non-negative reasons pastors give for leaving a church.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

Not everyone can lead a church of a certain size well.
The enemy likes nothing more than to get us involved in the Great Distraction.
Pastors, do you give so much attention to the negatives that you’re neglecting the positives of pastoring?
There are two things churches don’t do enough intentionally: corporate prayer and evangelism.
Sometimes a church needs certain leadership based on size and sometimes based on personality.

The five main reasons pastors give for leaving a church are:

“The church has grown as much it will under my leadership.”
“I am just not a good fit for this church.”
“I’m spending most of my time putting out fires.”
“The church has grown too large for my leadership skills.”
“The church needs to relocate, and I’m not the person to lead them.”

Episode Sponsors

Vanderbloemen Search Group is the premier pastor search firm dedicated to helping churches and ministries build great teams. They’ve helped hundreds of churches just like yours find their church staff and are uniquely geared to help you discern who God is calling to lead your church. Find out more about Vanderbloemen Search Group by visiting WeStaffTheChurch.com.

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School is a dynamic community of learners who are serious about ministry preparation biblical studies theological reflection and cultural engagement. Their faculty are gifted men and women who minister as much through research and writing as through local church involvement but their primary ministry is teaching and caring for students. Find out more about TEDS at Divinity.TIU.edu.