When to Leave: The Goldilocks Moment—Finding the Perfect Time to Leave

Contemplating a career shift within your church role? Discover how to recognize your "Goldilocks moment" and the signals that signify it's time to transition without regrets, inspired by Wade Hodges' enlightening book, "When to Leave: How to Know When It's Time to Move On Before You Stay Too Long." With insights drawn from candid conversations at Chemistry Staffing, we're examining the delicate balance between staying too long and leaving too soon, and how these choices impact both personal well-being and church growth. Consider whether your effectiveness is waning, if your energy is being drained, or if your dreams for your ministry have diminished.

Join us as we kick off a thought-provoking three-week series that promises to help you reflect deeply on your current ministry journey. Our conversation touches on the nuances of identifying when it's time for a transition, supported by real-life experiences and the challenges faced by many in ministry. By the end of this engaging episode, you'll be encouraged to take 15 minutes for personal journaling and gain a fresh perspective on your path forward. Plus, don't miss out on a chance to snag a free copy of Wade's book, offering further guidance on this vital topic.

Have questions or comments? Send to podcast@chemistrystaffing.com

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:07

Hi there, welcome to the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. Man, I hope you had a very happy new year. Today is Monday probably your first day back in the office, other than the weekend, of course but today is a new start in many ways, and I know a lot of you, and I as well at the beginning of every year, always look at the past year and then take a look at the following year, 2025. Who knows what God will bring into our path this way, but a lot of times when you're in ministry, at least if it's not in the front of your mind, you're at least thinking where will I be in a year? Will I still be at this church? Would God have me to continue to minister here? And sometimes, at the beginning of the year, you're not sure.

Speaker 1: 0:51

So we're going to start a three-week series here today. I know three weeks sounds like a long time, but hey, five-minute segments, right. So three weeks based on one of my favorite books. It's by Wade Hodges. It's called when to Leave, how to Know when it's Time to Move On Before you Stay Too Long. And maybe you're thinking 2025 is going to be a year of transition. Maybe not. That's okay, I think, even if you're very happy where you are, or you don't think that God's going to have any kind of transition plan for you or your family this year. I still think you're going to find some valuable insights into this series. All right. So let's get going.

Speaker 1: 1:26

Let's face it Leaving a church role it's rarely simple. You might get worried about jumping ship too early and maybe missing a breakthrough where you are, or maybe sticking around too long so they end up burned out and bitter. We talk to candidates all day, every day here at Chemistry Staffing, and I can tell you that both of those scenarios are true. When we're listening to candidates, either they're thinking maybe it's too early, maybe a year from now, or maybe I should have left a year ago. So that's one of the things that Wade talks about Wade Hodges in his book, and if you stick around until the end of the podcast, I'm going to tell you how to get a free copy of this book. It's awesome.

Speaker 1: 2:06

Wade Hodges calls this sweet spot for leaving. He calls it your Goldilocks moment, and it's the perfect time to say goodbye without regrets. Again, the Goldilocks moment, okay, but here's the catch. These moments are often easier to spot In hindsight. Most of us don't have a cloud by day or fire by night that are guiding us, like Moses did. Instead, we're left with our feelings and our gut and our intuition and let's be honest, a really fair amount of second guessing.

Speaker 1: 2:39

So what makes this Goldilocks moment so tricky? According to Wade, it's partly because staying too long feels safer. We worry about all the unfinished projects and the relationships and the unknowns about what comes next. But staying too long often leads to really diminishing returns. Your effectiveness wanes, your energy drains and you hold the risk of holding your church back for its next season of growth. On the flip side, if you leave too early, it can feel like you're giving up. What if you're just a few months away from that big breakthrough? What if the hard lessons you're learning now are preparing you for something even greater just around the corner? It's a tough call. So how do you recognize your Goldilocks moment before it slips by? Here's the bottom line for today. Okay, pay attention to the signals. Pay attention to the signals.

Speaker 1: 3:34

Take some time to reflect on these three questions. Number one do you feel like your effectiveness as a leader is decreasing? Do you feel like it's decreasing? Number two are you more drained than energized by your work. And number three have you stopped dreaming big for your church and your ministry? Now, if you're answering yes to any of those, it's worth digging a little bit deeper. Talk to a trusted friend or a mentor about what you're feeling. Sometimes, an outside perspective can shed some light on what you might be missing. So here's your action step I want you to spend 15 minutes this week journaling about your current season in ministry what's going well, what's not going well, and be honest with yourself.

Speaker 1: 4:20

This is, for your eyes, only okay. This simple exercise might give you the clarity about whether you're still in the right place or if it's time to start thinking about what's next. And hey, if this episode hits home, I'd love to hear your thoughts. You can email me anytime. Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. I so much enjoy hearing from people that are listening, and I would love to hear from you. Pop me an email, share me some specific scenarios or challenges that you're going through right now. I'd love to hear what you're navigating and hopefully offer some encouragement. And let me know if you've been wrestling with this. Should I stay or should I go? Question Seriously, I read every email and reply to every email, so I'd love to hear from you Podcasting at chemistrystaffingcom and don't forget to subscribe so we can hang out here every day. We're here every day, monday through Friday. Oh, and if Head over to chemistrystaffingcom Love to partner with you, you can also reach out to me podcast at chemistrystaffingcom as well.

Speaker 1: 5:18

All right, earlier, I said if you listen till the end, I'll give you a link to where you can download Wade Hodge's book here, and I want to give that to you now. Again, the book is called when to Leave. It's a great resource and it's absolutely free, courtesy of Wade and Chemistry Staffing. So just go over to chemistrystaffingcom. Slash when dash two dash leave. I had to put dashes in there just to make it interesting. Chemistrystaffingcom. Slash when dash two dash leave and you can download your free copy of that book. It's a PDF. It's a great read and will really help you if you're thinking about this, if you're in this season, and he talks a lot more about how he describes the Goldilocks moment, even in his own ministry.

Speaker 1: 6:05

All right, thanks for joining me today. Remember, finding your Goldilocks moment isn't about having all the answers. It's about taking those small, intentional steps until you get that clarity, as the saying goes I'm sure you've heard it a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, so keep moving forward with faith and trust that clarity will come. You're not alone in this and you don't have to figure it all out today. I'm here for you and I'll see you tomorrow on another episode of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. Have a good one.