![\"resign](\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/resignation-letter.jpg\" "\\"resignation-letter\\"")
<\/p>\nMany pastors today are resigning from full-time ministry…or at least thinking about it. Many wish they could, but don’t know what they would do if they left pastoral ministry.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As someone who has left the pastorate, I want to write several posts which share some of what I have learned along the way. I will share some of the benefits of resigning, and also suggest some ideas for how you can make a living away from professional, paid pastoral ministry.<\/p>\n
In this post, let me state that if you leave professional, paid, pastoral ministry, you will most likely miss it, especially if you love it.<\/p>\n
I loved pastoral ministry. I loved the churches I worked in. I loved the people I worked with. Not a day goes by in which I do not desperately miss many elements of pastoral work. One of the reasons I left and (so far) have not gone back into full-time pastoral ministry, is because of a conviction I have that I cannot get paid to be a pastor.<\/p>\n
If you love pastoral ministry, and you decide to leave, you will experience a similar sense of loss, and maybe even despair, depression, and feelings of uselessness. I have felt all of these.<\/p>\n
I hope that someday I can once again function as a pastor, but without getting paid for it. I am not yet in the position to do that, but am moving in that direction, and over the next few posts, want to share some of what I have learned so far.<\/p>\n
Please do not think I am telling you to resign.<\/strong> I am not. You should only consider resigning if you feel God moving you in that direction. If you do feel this, then I hope my posts can give you some sense of what to expect and how to proceed.<\/p>\n If you do end up leaving, remember this: Resigning as pastor\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0mean that you actually stop being a pastor.<\/em><\/p>\n In an amazing twist of divine fate, resigning as pastor may actually help you become a better pastor<\/strong>. Your paycheck doesn’t make you a pastor. God does. \u00a0“Pastor” is a spiritual gift, and even though you may no longer be called “pastor” by people you meet at church, or have the corner office, or get a paycheck for using your spiritual gift, you are still a pastor.<\/p>\n Since this is true, I have found that resigning as pastor actually freed me up to be a better pastor.<\/p>\n How?<\/p>\n In the next couple of posts, I’ll explain more.<\/p>\n Until then, have you left the pastorate, and if so, what have you learned? Are you thinking of it, and if so, what is holding you back?<\/strong><\/p>\n Resigning as pastor may actually help you become a better pastor. Let me share some of what I have learned since I left the pastorate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[15],"class_list":{"0":"post-5455","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"tag-close-your-church-for-good","8":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"