{"id":756617,"date":"2021-09-14T05:00:29","date_gmt":"2021-09-14T10:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?p=756617"},"modified":"2021-09-13T06:31:02","modified_gmt":"2021-09-13T11:31:02","slug":"8-things-to-do-when-youre-ready-to-quit-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/8-things-to-do-when-youre-ready-to-quit-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Things to Do When You\u2019re Ready to Quit Ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some days in ministry are really hard. God\u2019s people can be troublesome, and few seem to understand the weight that pastors and church staff carry on their shoulders. In fact, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen so many pastors simply worn out and ready to leave ministry as I see today.<\/span><\/p>\n

If that\u2019s where you are, maybe one of these suggestions will be helpful to you:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Be careful about making decisions in a storm.<\/b> I\u2019ve written<\/span> at my own site<\/span><\/a> about a sermon illustration making this point, but here\u2019s the gist of it: if you change directions when you\u2019re flying in a storm, you might find out you\u2019re headed in the wrong way when you come out of the clouds. And, under God\u2019s grace, you <\/span>will <\/span><\/i>come out of the clouds at some point.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Review your call to ministry.<\/b> I don\u2019t know about your call, but I know mine was so clear to me that it would be hard to walk away completely. I might choose to do something else in ministry \u2013 including going bi-vocational or co-vocational \u2013 but I cannot escape my calling. It continues to ground me in my work no matter what I face.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Before you leave, be sure to talk with someone who\u2019s \u201cbeen there.\u201d<\/b> It might be someone who\u2019s been there and worked through it, or it may be someone who stepped away. You might find from the latter that stepping away too quickly doesn\u2019t resolve the issues. If you\u2019re not already talking to others at<\/span> Church Answers Central<\/span><\/a>, I encourage you to join that community. It\u2019s worth the investment.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Make sure you have a team of prayer warriors praying daily for you.<\/b> I\u2019ve heard too many stories of hurting pastors who don\u2019t seek prayer support until they\u2019ve already decided to move on. Get some folks praying proactively for you <\/span>before you make that decision.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

5. Look for just glimpses of God\u2019s glory in your church.<\/b> It\u2019s easy to see only the negative\u2014and even magnify it\u2014when we\u2019re hurting. That\u2019s when we need to pray the prayer of Moses: \u201c<\/span>Please, let me <\/span>see<\/span> your<\/span> glory\u201d (Exo 33:18). When you pray that prayer, then, be sure to watch for what God shows you. Trust Him with anticipation.<\/span><\/p>\n

6. If you haven\u2019t taken some time off (either weekly or for vacation), take that time now.<\/b> I\u2019m frankly still learning to do this, learned the importance but I\u2019ve of taking some time to \u201cplay.\u201d I\u2019m usually amazed by how much my perspective changes when I\u2019ve had rest and relaxation.<\/span><\/p>\n

7. See if your church would give you a one-month sabbatical.<\/b> I know churches don\u2019t always grant this request, but it may not hurt to ask. Maybe the leaders will recognize your need and grant it out of love for you and your family. Once in a while, congregations will surprise us . . .<\/span><\/p>\n

8. If you do decide to leave, don\u2019t let the enemy consume you with bitterness.<\/b> Nobody wins when you carry bitterness into the future. In fact, your bitterness will become an idol if you don\u2019t let it go\u2014and that just makes things worse. Work hard to leave with a clear conscience and a clean heart.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If this post speaks to your situation, let us know how we might pray for you.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some days in ministry are really hard. God\u2019s people can be troublesome, and few seem to understand the weight that pastors and church staff carry on their shoulders. In fact, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen so many pastors simply worn out and ready to leave ministry as I see today. If that\u2019s where you…","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":756619,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"publish_to_discourse":"0","publish_post_category":"1","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,192,177,191,176,189],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-756617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church-answers","category-how-to","category-lead","category-mind-body-and-spirit","category-revitalize","category-turnaround-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n8 Things to Do When You\u2019re Ready to Quit Ministry | Church Answers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Some days in ministry are really hard. 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