The Path Out of Pastoring

This is a series of posts with my reflections on the path out of pastoring. Links to the others posts are at the bottom.

Recently I read that our greatest passions are born of our deepest pain. That resonated with me. While I have finally come to the place where I’m able to name some of the very good things that I’m taking with me from the last church where I was a pastor, that season also stands as one of the most painful of my life. This has made me more attuned to and passionate about friends and colleagues who, for various reasons, have walked the path out of pastoring. I’ve wondered about their pain, their experiences, and their ability to find new life in a new life.

My own experience and the conversations I’ve had with people who have walked the path out of pastoring have pushed me to reflect more deeply on the difficulties of this path. I haven’t done a survey or research study on the commonalities of the experiences of those who were pastors, but my conversations have me wondering if there isn’t more in common than different for those of us walking this path.

This next series of posts will be my reflections on my own experiences and the things I have heard from friends who are no longer pastors. If you have walked this path out of pastoring, or know someone who has, I’d love to hear about your experience as well. My hope is that naming these things will help me and others to stumble into the life that is possible when something dear to us has been lost.

Other Posts in This Series

• What about my calling?
• Master of Divinity?
• How do I approach the church now?

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