Militant and Suffering Zechariah
Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2013 6:35 am
Woe to the worthless shepherd who abandons his flock - desertion is the one thing a good shepherd would never do. I found this to be a very challenging statement. I think of those times where ministers experience burnout and those they are still physically present with their flock, in every other way they have fully abandoned the sheep. This raises the issue about leaving your current congregation. Some in the congregation will feel a sense of abandonment, others will give their blessing. How does a pastor leave their congregation, whether taking up a new position or retirement, in a way that does not make them feel abandoned? How does this affect how we go about searching other ministries opportunities? How do we go about leaving our contexts well when called?