June 9, 2017

I’ve pastored three churches.

I left the first one in the middle of a long-term turnaround, believing it was best for someone else to finish the job I had started.

I left the second one early, when I realized I was not the right pastor to help the turnaround happen.

In the third (and current) one, we not only made a turnaround, but we’ve reinvented ourselves several times in the almost 25 years I’ve been pastoring here.

So how does a pastor know when it’s time to leave, prepare for a hand-off, or walk with them through a rebirth? Here’s what I’ve learned.