Why Is It Hard for Pastors to Let Go?

The title of this article is interesting. Why wouldn’t a pastor be willing to let go of his ministry, let go of the burdens, let go of the committee meetings, let go of the crises? Why wouldn’t he eagerly hand these things over to younger men?

There are a variety of reasons, some reflecting a godly sense of pastoral commitment and others reflecting a need to grow our trust in the Lord.

Sometimes, we pastors are reluctant to let go because we’re not quite sure our congregations will prosper after we’ve departed, especially if unresolved conflicts or crises remain. In fact, a wise pastor will seek to retire when his congregation is in a particularly healthy season, so the church might more easily sustain the challenges of a pastoral transition.

But things don’t always go as planned. I retired from Second Presbyterian Church on February 5, 2017. The very next day, I was on my way to Jakarta, Indonesia, when I received a call that one of our staff members was in an adulterous relationship.

In that moment, you can be sure that I didn’t want to “let go” of my ministry at Second Presbyterian! But I did, because we had men and women trained to handle crises like this, and they, in fact, responded very wisely.

Sometimes pastoral transitions don’t go well, and the previous minister struggles to let go when he sees his friends suffering. More commonly, pastors struggle to let go because of their own spiritual struggles. Here are the main ones I see from time to time.

1. The Pastor Is a Control Freak

Enough said.

2. The Pastor’s Personal Identity Is Too Wrapped up in His Ministry

This is perhaps the most pernicious cause of not letting go. I hope young pastors and folks in full-time ministry are reading this. It is vital that our primary identity is as a child of God, not the leader of a ministry. Vocation comes before occupation. Our occupation is our means of gainful employment. Our vocation is our calling, which is to be in Jesus, to follow Jesus, to serve Jesus.

Every believer has the same calling, irrevocably given to us at conversion. We have many different occupations, which are determined by circumstances, wisdom, inference, and preference. All of these are eminently revocable.

We mustn’t hitch our wagons to a job—any job, even pastoring. We must instead focus solely on our calling in Christ. The apostle Paul said, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Eph. 4:1) and “to this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling” (2 Thes. 1:11).

To whatever extent a person needs his occupation to provide an ultimate identity for himself, he has, to that same degree, abandoned his vocation. And this, of course, severely undermines his effectiveness in ministry and his ability to let go of the past and focus on the future.

3. The Pastor Did Not Prepare the Congregation Well for His Departure

Sometimes it’s hard to let go because we leave too early. One reason it was relatively easy for me to let go of a 22-year ministry is because we had carefully planned my retirement with the welfare of the congregation in mind.

Our staff was strong, we entered a two-year period of training staff to lead in an interim period, and the congregation was content and at peace. I announced my retirement two years ahead of time, during which season we pledged to retire all our debt, we conducted an extensive church self-assessment, and we elected a high-quality search committee who began their work a year before I retired.

In short, I let go without a worry because we had planned so thoroughly.

4. The Pastor Did Not Plan His Next Ministry Well Before His Departure

Sometimes a pastor finds it difficult to let go of past ministry because he failed to plan for future ministry. He finds himself idle, underused, bored, and mildly depressed. He’s already slept in several mornings, played extensively with the grandchildren, taken a couple of trips, reconnected with old friends, and even improved his golf handicap. But he knows something is badly missing, namely, the use of his pastoral gifts to serve churches.

Here’s the good news: it’s not too late. But the pastor who is looking back is unlikely to discover the most fruitful path of service forward. Three months before retiring from Second Presbyterian, I underwent training as an interim pastor that prepared me for the next seven years.

5. The Pastor Is Not Fully Trusting the Lord with the Future

When we pastors find ourselves reluctant to let go, even when we and our colleagues believe the time has come, it often reveals a deep deficiency in our spirituality, our theology, and our ecclesiology.

Spiritually, we have arrogantly fooled ourselves into thinking we are necessary for the ministry to flourish. Theologically, we have suppressed or forgotten the notion of God’s eternal rule. Ecclesiologically, we have forgotten whose church this is. We are but Christ’s servants.

As Moses reminds us, “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away” (Ps. 90:10). It is a wonderful privilege to serve the Lord and his people in pastoral ministry. It is even more wonderful to lay it all at his feet with confidence, joy, and anticipation of a gracious and glorious future.