The resignation of our senior pastor was announced in church yesterday. I am sad. He is well loved and I absolutely love his preaching. His whole family has been a tremendous blessing to our church. My hubby and I were somewhat surprised, though he had said on our way to church just that morning, "I wonder if the sabbatical will lead to a resignation?".
The elders and deacons of our church encouraged us to focus on prayer right now rather than speculation, which I agree is the right thing to do. And we are confident that his reason for leaving is NOT due to any sin or immorality on his part (stating that for my readers who will automatically wonder). I am glad, however, that there will be a question/answer time next Sunday evening. We are hoping that some of our own questions will be answered at that time. I have often heard when a pastor resigns (and it was stated yesterday) that, "he feels God is taking him in a different direction" or, "we feel God is leading our church in a different direction." Those words "different direction" seem to have become the default explanation for leadership changes. But I would like to know what that means. What direction were we going, and what direction is God taking us now? It is important for us to understand the "direction" that the leadership feels we are going, because if our church is going in a new direction, what if it's not a direction that our family can support? There is also a big difference between a different direction in terms of position and a different direction in terms of methods. We have no need or desire to know all the details surrounding this decision, but as it pertains to our understanding of our church's philosophy of ministry and the direction we are headed, we strongly desire a broader explanation.
Change is almost always hard, isn't it?
Yes, oh yes, is change ever hard.
ReplyDeleteOur church went through this recently. Our head pastor left our church, which he truly loved, because God had handed him his dream job - the campus pastor at the school he attended. He is also teaching there as well. We had, at the time, an extremely part time pastor who stepped up to be our interim pastor. Lots of us wanted him to just take the job, but he did not feel that he was called to do that. He felt called to "care and prepare" our congregation for the next pastor. After a long (possibly too long) search, one pastor came to candidate. It was obvious to several people that he was not the right man for the job (thought my DH thought he was perfect and was extremely upset when the elders decided not to call him.) This man also felt he was not the right fit. Over the course of the next week, our interim pastor heard God's voice telling him that he was now ready to lead our church and our church was ready to follow him. So, our interim became our head pastor in January. It has been wonderful to finally have someone in charge and make those hard decisions. It has been a blessing to those of us willing to wait. There were some who left though, and they are missed. God will work things out for both your church, and your former pastor. He is amazing that way. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteVery well said Pam - change IS hard. Kyle and I were talking about the same thing on Sunday night. We also don't want or need all the details - but we want to understand (as members of the Church) what that direction is and how it differs (if it does) from the way we WERE going.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughts - we'll continue to pray.