10 Questions to Consider if You’re a Pastor Thinking about Leaving Your Church

I love local churches. I know the joy of leading them, and I know the anguish of leaving them at times. If you’re thinking about leaving your church—and the issue is not your own sin failure that necessitates your departure—maybe one of these questions will help you decide:

1. How closely have you been walking with the Lord? Obedience facilitates clarity in knowing God’s will; If you’ve been walking in disobedience, however, it’s hard to hear His voice clearly. You might even deceive yourself in the process.

2. What have you heard from the Lord in Bible study and prayer? I’m not suggesting we need some mystical experience, but I am saying we need to put ourselves in a place to hear from the Lord. We need to utilize these two disciplines He’s given us to communicate with Him.

3. Are you making a decision in a storm? If you decide in a storm, you might regret it when the clouds are gone. Sometimes you need to weather the storm before you decide – and the situation often doesn’t look so bad when the sun’s out again.

4. Are you physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted? That happens to all of us at some point. My encouragement is first to take a day off, go on a vacation, take a spiritual retreat, or do whatever you need to be renewed before you take the next step. If you don’t do that, you’ll take your exhaustion to your next place of ministry.

5. What does your spouse say? One of the dumbest mistakes I ever made in ministry was going against Pam’s intuition about leaving one church to go to another. I would have saved us much grief if I had just listened to her.

6. What do those pastors who know you best say? It never hurts to hear from someone outside our family—but make sure it’s someone whose walk with the Lord you trust. Get this same person to pray with you about this decision.

7. Do you have a track record of short ministries? If so, it’s possible the Lord has led you in those directions. In other cases, though, recurrent short tenures say something about us and our leadership. Don’t ignore this issue if it characterizes your ministry.

8. Do you feel both a push from one place and a pull toward another? I don’t argue that every person feels both, but there is wisdom in considering this question. One without the other ought to give you pause.

9. Have you already convinced yourself the grass will be greener elsewhere? It seldom is, no matter what you think now. Weeds still grow in the lawn, even if they’re in a different location.

10. Are you willing to give God a blank check? That is, are you ready to do whatever God wants, go wherever He requires, and pay whatever cost He demands? If not, you may still have your own hands on the steering wheel too much. 

Pastors, what other questions would you add? 

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