The ending of a pastorate is often a difficult time for all concerned. Indeed, even in the most satisfactory circumstances, when a pastor is confident that he has been called elsewhere by God, and his family and both congregations recognise God’s wise hand in the move, the change is still a difficult one to manage.
For the pastor, eager for the new challenge and opportunities that the Lord’s providence is bringing him, there is still the pain of leaving his friends behind.
There is also the problem of needing to begin, almost from scratch, the business of rebuilding the ‘capital’ of a justified reputation for truth and godliness, both in the church and among the local community. For his family there is the difficult business of uprooting from the security of established relationships and territory, to begin all over again in strange surroundings. That can be painfully and almost unbearably difficult, especially for those at a ‘difficult’ age or with a certain kind of personality. And the church that is left behind may face harrowing difficulties in deciding on a replacement pastor.
