·
People will remember how you leave. They’ll forget even the most
miraculous works of God to bring you to the church if you leave in a negative
way. Even a few weeks of negative can erase years of positive.
·
Those who remain may be wounded if
you leave poorly.
Especially if they’ve loved and respected you, they may not understand why
you’ve suddenly changed. Long-term friendships can be broken.
·
Your family can be scarred by a bad
ending. You might
try to shield them from the pain, but few of us do that well when we’re
wounded.
·
Poor closures usually color future
ministry opportunities. Once you’ve been hurt and carry wounds, you’ll always wonder if more
wounds lie in the future.
· Division left by bad departures can destroy a congregation’s unity. This sometimes happens when departing members challenge others to take sides on the issues.
·
Good departures make ministry a
celebration.
Rejoicing over victories is always better than battling over remaining
disagreements.
·
Healthy closure paves the way for the
next leaders. One of
the best ways to help the church’s next leader is to leave in joyful response
to God’s calling – not in anger.
·
Leaving well fosters long-term
friendships. Moving to
a different church doesn’t have to harm relationships if the departure is
handled well.
·
Good leavings promote Christian
unity. Regardless of
where we serve, we pray for and love other congregations when we’ve left well.
Good memories promote harmony between churches.
·
People will remember how you leave. So, I repeat #1 above, but with a
different flavor. Leave in a positive way, and churches often forgive years of
negative.
What would you add to this list?
This piece was originally published at Church Answers
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