I agree it's rare to see ministers staying more than 3 years in a church. More and more I feel that they move when things aren't going the way they want them to go, so it's easier to find a new church than deal with the issues there.

You're right. But, as for pastors, don't the search committees promote the transitory ministry but making previous experience the main criteria for "hiring" a new pastor. Hence, they expect and promote pastors leaving previous callings. Pastors who stay and try to reform frequently get fired (and thus find it difficult to find a new position) while those who play the career ladder game, seek primarily to make everyone happy so they'll have good letters of reference when they make their next move, keep going up. I believe this is at the heart of the spiritual sickness of the American evangelical church. The term "hireling" used to be well-known but now it's not; I fear that's because the hirelings have taken over. And the people love it so.

I also believe that transitions are appropriate for ministries in transition. God needs men to do certain tasks at times that they are best equipped to perform and then He can bring in men who will establish the vision and the goals for the longterm.

I do believe that there is a "career" mentality that must be avoided and Spirit lead leaders need to abound. Troubles must be viewed through the window of change. Am I to change, the ministry I am in to change, or is it time to simply change?

The role of pastors have changed due to this constant changing and many within our churches fear to trust and honor their pastors for fear that they will simply be abandoned when the next best thing comes down the pike. We need balance and honesty. We need forthrightness and compassion. We need sympathy and we need to be a bit more honest going into our new ministries before simply signing up. Presume a lifelong commitment and allow God to lead.

Thank you for this post, it reaffirmed something I was struggling with. In my baptist church we just had a shake up of a Pastor being in an inappropriate relationship. He is suddenly gone, he wife has moved away also (all happened in one weekend). So as a church we are beginning our road to recovery.

I have been praying about leaving or staying, but you are right life is complicated and we need to stay the long hall for the long term fruit.

I know God has great plans for the church, it is just healing right now.

Thank you for these words of wisdom.

The parish of which I am now pastor was served by one man from 1900 to 1951, and his successor served until 1973 and then lived in the parish as pastor ermitus until his death in 2000--meaning that the entire 20th century was covered by the lives of two men who gave this parish family its shape. Now, as I celebrate my sixth anniversary here, we see families moving here from other states simply to be part of this parish, and the intentional community that is thus being formed is clearly motivated by 1) the clarity of expositional preaching, 2) the support and challenge offered by other families seeking to live the Gospel, 3) the sense that the parish community is a stable, rock-solid place in which to live the Christian life. All of which leads me to conclude that pastors should have longer tenures (indeed, much longer tenures) in order to become the most effective instruments of grace for our people we can be.

I have to say that this is a rather interesting post, but I do agree with it. I say interesting, because I am in the mist of moving from the DC area to Wake Forest, NC and then attend seminary once I finish out at Moody. I have to agree with you, many pastors tend to move around almost as much as any other job. I truly believe that a pastor should be in a church for the “long haul.” I have been an elder long enough to realize that it takes a long time to turn a church around without “breaking it.” Its like a cruise ship, it takes sometime to turn around, but once it has, it can stay the course.

Could it be this is way we are seeing more church plants? Are the seminaries telling the upcoming ministers what the ideal church is instead of preparing these men to ministers to a church that needs reformation and healing. Are we copping out and starting new churches were they aren't problems but what we want our church to be instead of going and staying for the long haul? Praise God that he is still sending those that see the need and desire to tough it out.

Excellent post. We all need to be reminded about loyalty to our churches, whether pastors or members. The 'saving' of Spurgeon's Metropolitan Tabernacle, which was on the verge of closure in 1970, was due in no small part (humanly speaking) to many young couples who forewent comfortable lives in the suburbs to live more simply in the centre of London and serve God there.

Good post. I've served as the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dawson, GA, for just over five years. I'm fortunate to be able to follow a pastor who stayed here twenty five years. His long tenure is a blessing to me because the church I pastor knows nothing of the 3 and 4 year pastorates that many churches now expect.

And this, to me, is an important point: it's not just pastors leaving too soon (which certainly is a big problem), it's also churches that have been conditioned to expect short tenures. It's a cycle that needs to be broken.

I wonder, though, if corporatism isn't one of the major factors here (i.e., viewing the church as a business and the ministry as a ladder than needs to be climed).

One of the things I have committed to is pastoring one church until God makes it absolutely clear that it's time to leave. It would have to be clear like my death or something to that extent!

I have just recently (after 6 years) began trying to convince the church members of the importance of them staying with the church through ups and downs. We have had many people leave over the last few years over various things and I usually just listened to what they said and let them go without much argument.

Now I am at least attempting to get them to see the importance of the commitment they made when they became a member. I have found that the church covenant is helpful in this.

Thanks for you ministry. It is a tremendous encouragement to me as I struggle to get people to see that Church Matters.

As a layperson, I think it is important to stay committed to one local church as well. Turning down a promotion to stay in a local church where you are serving is something I wish we saw more of, although I would be more satisified if the consequences of church switching were considered.

However, I currently considering moving myself to a recent church plant in a different city. I'm doing this with no idea where I would work, but because I want to be open to God calling me to get involved there and contributing to the life of that local church. Longevity is a great thing, but you do need to be open to God's call if he is calling you to a solid church in a younger stage of its life.

One question?
Why not stay in Louisville then? I'm sure the church you are in could use your longevity as well.

I recently attended a conference hosted by a church that has undergone huge changes and massive loss of members due to a stand for truth. During the conference the Pastor made this statement (paraphrase), "We are a family now and I would die for this family".

Isn't that how we should be as Pastors and lay people. Willing to die for our brothers and sisters that God has sovereignly placed us with. I wonder if the least little sign of persecution in the U.S. would show this to be true. Sure, our churches would shrink, but our families would grow.

I am just finishing 17 years pastoring in an international church in Switzerland (any interested successors should contact me :-)). We are an expat church but with a certain amount of Swiss influence. This includes the view that after 10 or 12 years, it is probably time for the pastor to move on. You need to understand this against the background of a culture where democracy is strong (referenda are not uncommon, and elected authorities are open to question) and where there is a resistance in allowing one person to have too much power. As an example, the presidency of the country rotates every year. The institution must always be bigger than the leader! That certainly makes for an interesting mix at times in church dicussions.

I recently celebrated 13 years with the same congregation. I think the longevity of the relationship is due in some measure to a thorough candidating process which allowed both myself and the church to know what we were getting. Too often an inadequate candidating process ends in both the church and prospective pastor not getting a real picture of one another. Theological or philosophical differences are glossed over and later become the fodder for conflict. I thank God for a congregation that has loved me through my mistakes and allowed us to grow together.

We're involved with an evangelical denomination that has been criticized for encouraging commitment for the haul to the church....your post was refreshing!

So why are you leaving Lousiville? Don't you feel kind of hypocritical?

Its been a while since anyone has commented here, but just to throw in $.02. With the exception of cult like churches (and cults) very few churches offer anything unique enough or close enough to make those sorts of choices reasonable. Most churches offer very little loyalty to people have made sacrifices for them. At best the church can offer something like community.

Before churches can even meaningfully talk about life time memberships and that level of lifetime sacrifice they need to be much stronger in year to year type issues.