Frequent leadership turnover exhausts congregations and makes them wary to trust the next pastor. Some churchgoers suspect it will won’t be long before he leaves just like the previous ones. That’s one of the reasons a church should rely on a plurality of elders and never be overly dependent on a single pastor. God calls and sends leaders to his flock at will, but I fear that some pastors leave simply for bigger or better career opportunities. Sometimes they leave against their will. No matter the reason, these transitions are usually painful for a church.
From Traveling Preachers to Itinerant Pastors
I have seen the reality of painful transitions on display in the United Methodist Church. The circuit riders of the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries laid the groundwork for the current itinerant system in the United Methodist Church. Sometimes circuit riders received an appointment to half a state or more.[1] It was a grueling existence, wearing down these traveling preachers: “Of those who died up to 1847, nearly half were less than 30 years old.”[2]
The system had its advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, it afforded the bishops to send preachers where they believed the need was greatest. The constant rotation also exposed a congregation to several different types of pastors with different giftings. On the other hand, however, the continuation of such itineracy has seemed to do more damage than good to local congregations.
Whereas circuit riding wore out preachers physically, the current system of itineracy wears out pastors emotionally. It is not uncommon today for a church to receive a new pastor and quickly realizing that he’s not a good fit. They wait until the next appointment to try to replace them. The pastor, often seeing the writing on the wall, packs his bags and prepares to move once again.
The Churchwide Problem of Pastors Leaving
We have a turnover problem in the church. Today the average lifespan of a Methodist pastor at a church is 5.6 years.[3] That’s better than the poll from Lifeway that identified the average pastoral tenure to be 3.6 years – but not quite as good as the Baptist pastors’ 8.8 years on average.[4] I’ve seen one local church go through four pastors in decade.
In 2021, a Barna poll found that 38% of pastors had considered quitting ministry within the past year.[5] More pastors are considering retirement than ever before, and many without new pastors ready to replace them.[6] Because retiring pastors often hold the most prestigious positions, remaining pastors may see the vacancy as an opportunity for career advancement. This creates a domino effect of turnover all the way down.
Others are exiting the ministry for worse reasons. It seems like every week there are stories, from the local to international, of pastors leaving the ministry due to moral failure. I believe our total lack of accountability is partly to blame.
Many small, shrinking churches also experience financial strain and begin sharing pastors. Some pastors feel the need to pick up an extra job to make ends meet. Before too long, these pastors experience burnout, and they see quitting the ministry as the best option for survival. Once again, multiple spiritual leaders in a single church could serve to encourage and support one another through difficult and uncertain times.
Unfortunately, some out-of-touch overseers seize these pastoral vacancies to insert as their own chosen agents for one agenda or another. Then they make it difficult to remove them. When they do leave, these pastors move from one church to another until they find a congregation willing to get behind their cause. One local church received one such pastor a couple years ago, but she quickly became known for her politics from the pulpit. That church is currently stuck with her as they are hemorrhaging members. When it can no longer afford her, she will move to another church.
The Power in Staying Put
Organizational leaders know that it takes time to build something. Congregations shrink after every leadership change. The apostolic model of planting churches, appointing elders, and leaving shortly thereafter is categorically different than giving the sheep a new shepherd every few years. Smaller churches often feel the pain more because the constant upward promotion of any gifted pastor. This pattern of advancement virtually guarantees that if a small congregation likes its pastor, he won’t be around for long.
In some denominations, bishops appoint pastors and move them at will. Why not allow each church to make decisions about its own leadership? They would likely develop more pastors from within if they knew there weren’t any waiting in the wings. Many churchgoers would realize there is no clergy/laity divide and that all Christians are in ministry.
In all churches, why not make long tenures the expectation rather than constant turnover? Tradition holds that James led the flock in Jerusalem until his death! Our effectiveness as ministers of the gospel only increases in a given place over time. We should stay by default until we discern God’s calling us elsewhere.
If a church is not large enough (or generous enough) to support a pastor financially, why not combine with another church? It’s unreasonable to expect the pastor to take on another congregation. Additionally, there is a benefit to brothers and sisters uniting together as one congregation – power in numbers. There is no benefit to keeping small churches on palliative care.
Trust is slowly earned and easily broken, and it seems that frequent leadership turnover has broken the trust of many congregants. The greatest need is not where the best opportunity lies but where God desires one to be. The best way to prevent the harm done by too much turnover is for a church to rely on multiple spiritual leaders, not just one, and to develop future leaders from within.
May we learn to bloom where we’re planted, until God calls us on.
[1] To be United Methodist: What is “itineracy”? (resourceumc.org)
[3] Why Itinerancy? (txcumc.org)
[4] Eight Point Eight Two: How long do pastors stay in one church? – The Doing Together Blog (gbjournal.org)
[5] 38% of U.S. Pastors Have Thought About Quitting Full-Time Ministry in the Past Year – Barna Group
[6] The Great American Clergy Shortage Is Coming – RELEVANT (relevantmagazine.com)