Parshall Partners

Stepping Away from the Pulpit

         Billy Graham once said, “Oh God, if You want me to serve You, I will. I’ll be what You want me to be. I’ll go where You want me to go.”  For many pastors, that is what they believed when they started their ministry, but for some, that is not how they ended.

         Lifeway Research did a study of former pastors from four different Protestant denominations to find out why they left their vocation. According to the study, 4 in 5 (81%) felt sure that they would stay at their last church as long as they wanted.  The study also noted that only around 1% of Protestant pastors leave the ministry each year.  Among those who did step away, 2 in 5 (40%) said the reason for leaving was a change in their calling.

         So, what are the other reasons for leaving the role of pastor? With a change in the calling being the first reason, other leading causes are conflict in a church (18%), burnout (16%), family issues (10%) and personal finances (10%). Some point to an illness (6%), being a poor fit with a church (6%), not being able to find a church that was a good fit (4%), denominational issues (4%), or the church closing or issues related to the pandemic (3%). Only 1% blame a lack of preparation for the job. Of particular note is that while pastors stepping down for a moral or ethical issue grab the most headlines, only 3% are connected to that. Some say another reason (6%) and, for some, it was none of these (3%).

         For those reporting that conflict was the reason for leaving, 45% noted that they had significant conflict during their final year as a pastor at their church.  Of those who left, 87% faced “conflict at some point in their last congregation,” with 56% experiencing it over proposed changes and almost half (49%) saying they experienced a “significant personal attack” as a result.

         Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, noted:

“Because social media tends to spread current stories that are far from normative, we run the risk of becoming convinced of falsehoods about pastors today. This research study provides uncommon access to a reliable sample from four denominations of those who left the pastorate early, and the most frequent reason for stepping away from the senior pastor role is God’s leadership to do so.”

         This study is a reminder that the majority of those whom God has called to serve as Shepherds, stay in that position unless and until God puts a different calling on their lives.  It also serves to remind us that while moral fallings are a blight on the witness of the Church to an unsaved culture, these fallings represent a very small percentage of those leaving the pulpit.

         Charles Spurgeon said it best:

“One of the greatest rewards that we ever receive for serving God is the permission to do still more for Him.”

         How right he is. Those are my thoughts.  I’m Janet Parshall