What to do when a minister has mentally and emotionally checked out …

I stumbled across an odd little story that didn’t have an identified source, but the subject matter caught my attention …

“Then you don’t think I practice what I preach, eh?” queried the minister in talking with one of the deacons at a meeting.

“No, sir, I don’t,” replied the deacon. “You’ve been preachin’ on the subject of resignation for two years and you haven’t resigned yet!”

With hundreds of ministers leaving vocational ministry each month, there’s a lot of talk among church leaders about quitting (especially in 2021 as part of the fall out of heightened criticism from church members on how they’ve handled the pandemic). But for many of them, it’s just talk. Most ministers hit “pockets” where just the daily grind of ministry wears them out and they just need an opportunity to refresh and, from doing so, are quickly revived to a fresh desire to minister to their congregations and communities.

BUT, there are also plenty of ministers who have mentally and emotionally “checked out.” They aren’t interested in being refreshed in the ministry they’re in, they want to leave but either don’t know how, or are afraid of taking such a risk.

There are a lot of pastoral positions being filled today by men who would much rather be somewhere else doing something else, but they stay put for the salary and benefits. The problem with that is the church has a leader who isn’t leading with a full commitment to that congregation or community — they’re not getting the best work or best example from that pastor.

So what do you do as a church leader when you have mentally and emotionally checked out of your pastoral job?

LEAVE!

You’re doing a disservice to the church you’re supposed to be serving to take the salary and benefits it supplies if you’re not willing to serve with your whole heart. I’ve listened to the wildest justifications as to why a church “owes” a pastor his pay even though he knows his heart isn’t in his work — and even though he knows his lack of commitment shows in the lack of fruit from his lack of labor.

If you’ve checked out of your call to shepherd the church you’re in, and you’re not willing to be refreshed in that position, then you have a responsibility to leave so that congregation can apply it’s resources to hire the right man who will lead the congregation forward in its mission. If you’ve closed the door to living up to your responsibilities fully to a church, then like everyone else leaving a job, you have to take on the risks of searching for a new position where you will work wholeheartedly.

Congregations are often very gracious with their leaders. If you know you’ve checked out and need to leave, you may be able to discuss that reality with other church leaders and perhaps agree to a plan that allows you a certain amount of time to search for a position elsewhere, but mutually agreeing on a specific date when your employment with a church will come to an end. This will allow the church time to search for your replacement while you pray about and search out where you should be.

But by no means should a minister continue to tie up ministerial support when his head and heart are somewhere else.

Scotty