WHY I'VE STAYED
The long-term investment often yields the biggest returns.
Lynn Anderson
July 1, 1986
Randy, a fellow minister and friend, caught my eye and motioned toward a private corner. I could see a heavy question coming.
"How do you know when it is time to move?" he almost begged.
His searching eyes suggested the question was more painfully complex than its simple phrasing. Randy is not alone. Most ministers find themselves in his quandary periodically, if not persistently.
For fifteen years I have served one church, but I have frequently faced the question of moving. I am not suggesting ministers should never move or that I never will. A move is sometimes imperative. So far, however, I have chosen to stay because of some guidelines hammered out along the way. These principles at least brush against the question Randy and you and I often ask: Is it time to move?
No doubt you sense my bias. I am unabashedly in favor of long tenures in ministry. Ministry, like marriage, finds its fulfillment in faithfulness. Marriage vows are intended to last until death brings separation; a ministerial covenant does not imply such sacred permanence. Nevertheless, when a shepherd is called to a covenant with a flock, that union is not to be terminated lightly.
The Long-playing Record
Longevity in ministry is an enormous plus. After nearly fifteen years with the same church, I have observed something like this:
The first two years you can do nothing wrong.
The second two years you can do nothing right.
The fifth and sixth years of a ministry, either you leave, or the people who think you can do nothing right leave. Or you change, or they change, or you both change.
Productive ministry emerges somewhere in the seventh year or beyond.
Why does increasing tenure generally enrich the quality of ministry? For one thing, time gives the sensitive minister ...
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