Stay the Course: 5-Day Devotional for PastorsSýnishorn

Should You Stay or Should You Go?

I think every pastor must occasionally take a good, hard look at his calling to see whether he is feeling sorry for himself. We are called to war, and war is never easy.

Is there ever a time to step away from the ministry or even to realize that the pastoral ministry was never actually your calling? This is a big question and one that I think needs to be addressed with some honest reflection. Are you falling out of love for your people? Do you feel the grace of God is no longer sustaining you? Have you lost interest in ministry? Did you get into ministry for the wrong reasons?

To be clear, just because you answer “yes” to one of the above questions—or all of them—doesn’t automatically mean it is time to jump ship.

There were plenty of men in Scripture who felt God had hung them out to dry. Not the least of these was Moses, who wanted to die when the burden of leading a grumbling people became too much. But the Lord was not finished with him. There was much work to be done, and God’s grace and power provided the way.

If you are still beginning to feel like it might be time to hang it up, here are a few more questions you should ask yourself:

1. Have you given your ministry enough time to develop?
2. Are numbers (attendance, conversions, baptisms), or the lack thereof, the primary factor shaping your decision?
3. Do you perhaps just need a break and some time to get away and get recharged?
4. Are you fighting a battle that you think you need to win because “failure” is not in your vocabulary?
5. Are you staying in the fight out of personal pride or for the glory of God?
6. Is there a competitive spirit that keeps you pressing on while your wife and children are unduly suffering?

These are tough questions, but you serve no one if you don’t have the call to ministry and stay anyway. Nor are you doing anyone a favor if you quit when God has truly called you. Either way, make sure you are not working through this alone. I have had plenty of men in my life who have encouraged me when things got tough. Make certain your leadership team knows of your struggles. Getting a different perspective will be of enormous help. Older saints, who have walked in your shoes years before you walked in them, can give wise counsel that will help you stay the course. Pray as you have never prayed before.

Thank you for reading this devotional plan, which is based on the book, Stay the Course: A Pastor’s Guide to Navigating the Restless Waters of Ministry by Mike Minter. Click here for more information about the book.