Exhausted from Ministry

From a Senior Pastor

Dear Pastoral Staff:

I’m praying about leaving my church this summer. The church is doing fine, but I’ve never had time off to get refreshed and retooled for my ministry. I’ve never had a sabbatical or anything and I am just tired of doing pastoral work. I just don’t have it in me. I love preaching but don’t really love the other stuff that goes with church. The church deserves more, and my family needs something else, as well as me. I’m not leaving in the midst of crisis; I do believe this is going to be a good spring for us. I’m working toward leaving on an up note,…but where do I go next? What does someone who’s been pastoring for over twenty-five years do? And how do I get another job? It’s not like I can make public to my church that I want to get out of ministry and do something else. Networking with people can work well when searching for employment, but not when the network is your parishioners and the pastors of other churches.

Exhausted from Ministry