In a church system such as the Christian Church where the minister makes a choice about whether he leaves or stays at a church (unless he is fired), the decision to leave is not easy. First of all, the process is very taxing. You can’t exactly go to a church and say, “I’m going to look around, I’ll let you know if I’m going to stay or not.” That would not only ruin your effectiveness there, it would also get you quickly fired. It would be like telling your wife that you’re going to date and that if someone better comes along you’re divorcing her, but till then you want to stay married to her. Besides, you’re often not sure if you want to leave or not, but a minister always has to look at the horizon for storm clouds. It can take over 6 months from the time you send out a resume to the time you get hired… if you wait for the rain, you could find yourself in the unenviable position of looking for a new job while unemployed.
But, this means that you feel deceptive. You furtively check the websites for open churches, hoping that dream church will pop open. If you find a tentatively acceptable church you debate on the idea of sending a resume. There is something final about mailing that envelope (or attaching that file). If you hear back you might go interview, knowing that you’re not committed yet. When they ask you to come preach, though, it’s like you’ve crossed the Rubicon. Anytime a minister goes on vacation there is that suspicion that you might be preaching a trial sermon… when you actually ARE going to preach a trial sermon the guilt is overwhelming. In my case I told the elders where I was going, I believe in honesty with the leaders, but I didn’t tell the congregation in case nothing came of it.
If you preach well and the church hires you, you are generally happy, but then the dread overwhelms you, because you know that you face something that is incredibly difficult: the announcement to the old congregation.
More on that later.
He’s got it all in control!
Its a hard game to play and most churches don’t play by the rules.
It really has to be a matter of God’s timing and it being perfect. I have seen many leave too early, leave too late or get fired. Things fall apart.
I hope the next time I leave the church comes looking for me. I guess that is a dream all of us have. I never know if the move is in God’s will or not. We look back and can know but for me at least it is so hard to know initially.