Have you ever had a pastor or ministry worker quit without warning? Have you ever quit from a ministry position without warning? Michael Spencer writes about the tempation to quit, and the importance of quitting only for the right reasons and in an ethical manner. In particular, he warns against quitting in revenge—using your abrupt departure from a church/ministry position as a way of striking back at those who have offended or wronged you.
An interesting topic—I've read many essays and posts about the stresses of ministry and the challenge of knowing when to stay and when to go; but I've not seen anyone address the "quitting as revenge" concept. I suspect it's not an uncommon reason that stressed-out pastors and overworked ministry staff are sometimes tempted to quit and walk out the door.
Anyone have personal experience with this?
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Comments (1)
Leaving a ministry position out of revenge means there was significant conflict prior to their departure. And I would assume that the person leaving didn't call it revenge, but that those staying viewed it as such. Why do I say that? The one leaving has reasons stored in their heart and mind, and feels like they've reached their limit. The ones staying feel the brunt of another hand gone suddenly-- and that brunt is what we call the revenge.
Revenge comes when other sin is not addressed. And if someone's leaving out of revenge, then I can only imagine there was plenty of junk underneath it all.
Ministry is stressful. And it's easy to forget our first and really only calling-- to love God with all our heart, and to love others as ourselves. When ministry is a job, we expect outcomes. We assume there's a proper way of doing things, and that if we do it the right way, then there will be fruit. And if we don't see the fruit, well, then we must not be doing it right. We can give in to blaming others or ourselves; our exciting visions that once spurred us on can suddenly seem out of reach-- and so our faith dwindles.