Have you ever considered that possibly the most common reason causing a preacher to move may be the very reason he ought to stay?
Is it not because of persecution, false-doctrine, and ungodliness within the church that many preachers decide to move and preach elsewhere? I’ve been a preacher for 34 years and have many friends who are preachers, and I’ve heard some “horror stories” about how some preachers have been treated. However, may I suggest to all my preacher friends, that before you move, stop and consider the words in Acts 14:2-3? Luke wrote that “the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren. Therefore, they [Paul and Barnabas] stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord…”
Did you catch what Luke wrote? It was because the minds of the people were poisoned that Paul and Barnabas decided to stay there for a long time. Poisoned minds against the truth and brethren weren’t Paul’s cues to leave, but rather they were his motivation to stay!
I certainly understand and acknowledge that many good preachers have exhausted all their means in an attempt to help a congregation and legitimately needed to move on. This article does not at all suggest there’s never a time to leave. But, having said that, I also suspect that some preachers have forgotten that they have been called to a life of service, sacrifice, and self-denial (Matthew 16:24) that doesn’t permit us to retreat or abandon our post at the first signs of trouble. Maybe our perspective needs to be tweaked. Instead of allowing the hurt and opposition we sometimes suffer be our excuse for moving, maybe we should recognize these hurts and opposition are the very reason we need to stay, dig in our heels, and preach the truth with love and longsuffering (2 Timothy 4:1-2).
I have sometimes opined that the most common form of conflict resolution among church members is “church hopping.” However, I must wonder if this might be true of preachers as well. Could it be true that some preachers, instead of patiently working through attitudinal, doctrinal, and moral problems, have packed their belongings and “hopped” to another congregation rather than staying and fighting the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12)?
Give it some thought (Psalm 119:59-60).
PreachingHelp.org
The sermons and writings of Steve Higginbotham
Great article, I am in my first pastorate and there have been a couple of events that started to get me discouraged and I decided God sent me to this church, I did not come knocking on their door, and there was work to do. Next month will be 3 years and things have stabilized, Now the replanting is beginning, as I told the church I am not here to change things that are working or for the sake of change. Truthfully the only thing changed was the order of service in the bulletin. The announcements were moved from the end to near the top after welcome and opening prayer. The end of the service, in my opinion, is the most important time, if someone has something on their heart and come up to pray they do not need to feel like they have to hurry so the announcements can be read. We will stay with them as long as it takes for them to get peace.