One of the most painful parts of being a pastor or leader is losing someone. Whether it is someone who attends your church, a leader or a staff member. It is personally painful, and it is painful to the church. Even when someone leaves because God is calling them somewhere else to start a ministry or be a part of a ministry, it is painful. Also though it is painful, it isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes it is God’s way of protecting you.

When I was in seminary I was on staff at a great church, and they had given me a ton of opportunities, and I was close to the lead pastor. God had opened some doors for Katie and me, and we felt like we needed to move to a new church. The problem was that we had committed a year to the church we were at, so we told this new church that we needed to finish our time. But the feeling didn’t go away.

I remember when I went to the pastor and told him what we were feeling, but that we would stay and finish our commitment because that was important to us. He looked at me and said, “If God is calling you somewhere, that means God is calling someone to come here and take your place. Who knows, they might already be here. If you stay, not only will you miss what God is calling you to, but that person will miss what God is calling them to here.” It was one of the most kingdom-minded, eye-opening moments of my life. That conversation has shaped my leadership and how I look at the way God moves. If God is sovereign (and I believe he is), then when He calls someone away to somewhere else, he is preparing someone else to jump in.

This doesn’t make it any less painful or hard. It just changes how you look at it. It is a reminder that you are not in charge or control and that is okay.