Before You Go - Have You Done All You Can Where You Are?

This podcast episode delves into the crucial question every church leader must reflect on before considering a transition: Have you truly completed your assignment? We explore the significance of unfinished tasks, relationship building, and the opportunities for growth and reflection before making life-altering decisions. 

• Highlighting the core question of completion in ministry
• Discussing the risks of leaving prematurely
• Addressing unfinished relationships and projects
• Emphasizing the growth opportunities in challenging times
• Understanding the distinction between frustration and true calling
• Identifying the importance of resolving conflicts before leaving
• Encouraging feedback from mentors and peers
• Offering support and resources for staffing transitions
• Sharing details about a free book offer from Wade Hodges

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

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:07

Hey there, welcome to the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. I'm Todd Rhodes, co-founder over at chemistrystaffingcom. I'm thrilled to have you with me here today. We're continuing our journey through the questions that every pastor, every church staff member, should ask, actually must ask, before moving on to a new church, and this series started on Monday and is going for about three weeks, and it's inspired by Wade Hodges' insightful book Before you Go Questions Every Pastor Must Ask Before Moving to a New Church.

Speaker 1: 0:43

Today's question is a big one have you done all you can where you are? Have you done all you can where you are? It's easy to think about leaving when things get tough, but before you go, it's really essential to ask yourself whether or not you've completed the assignment that God initially gave you when you took the role that you're in. And Wade emphasizes that leaving prematurely, leaving too soon, can result in missed opportunities for growth and for healing and for impact. So let's unpack this a little bit. Let's talk about some of the signs that you might not be done yet where you are, and maybe the first thing is there's just unfinished work. Are there projects, are there relationships, are there challenges that just are currently unresolved? You've left them unresolved. Walking away too soon can really leave a gap that's hard for others to fill. Maybe there are growth opportunities. Are there areas where you are, where God is still growing or stretching you?

Speaker 1: 1:52

Often it's the hardest seasons. We talked about this a couple of days ago. Sometimes it's the hardest seasons, the seasons where you just feel like man, I need to get out of here. Sometimes it's those hardest seasons that produce the most growth when we stick with them and it can produce. Those seasons can produce the most growth in your church, but they can also produce the most growth in you spiritually. Maybe there are some relational bridges. Have you done all that you can to reconcile some strained relationships or strengthen some bonds with your team or congregation? Maybe it's clarity of calling. Maybe are you leaving because you feel called to go or because you feel frustrated where you are. Frustration alone isn't a clear sign to move on. I think a lot of people I'm frustrated it must be God's wanting me to move on. But frustration alone, if it's just frustration, that's not a clear sign to move on.

Speaker 1: 2:46

So before making a decision, it's really important to pause and to reflect, and that's what we've been talking about this week. As we're in this reflection stage. Should I go, all those kind of things Pause, reflect and ensure that you've done everything possible to leave your current role. So here's the bottom line for today okay, finishing. Well, where you are sets up the stage for what's next. It sets up, obviously, the stage of what's next for you and for your family, but it also sets the stage for what's next for your church, the place that you're currently at, the place that you've given so much of your life and your energy and your ministry to.

Speaker 1: 3:27

So, if you're considering a move, you take time to reevaluate or evaluate whether or not your current season is really complete. Have you completed your current season? Here's some steps that might help. So maybe you just need to take some time to reflect on your contributions, take some inventory on what you've accomplished in your current role, celebrate the wins, identify any unfinished tasks that you might have and then, maybe, before you can really make a clear decision on whether to stay or whether to leave, maybe you need to do your best to resolve some conflicts.

Speaker 1: 4:03

Are there unresolved conflicts? Are there tensions that exist that you really need to take care of? Just biblically, you need to take care of them. You need to live at peace with people, take some steps to address those. Leaving on good terms honors God and protects your reputation. And maybe you just need to seek some feedback and we've talked about this often as well from some other leaders, from some mentors, from some friends, from some relatives, and just ask some point blank Do you feel like I finished my work here? Sometimes an outside perspective can really bring some clarity. So if you're wrestling with this question of Is my work really done here and you don't have anybody to talk to, pastoring and being on a church staff is lonely sometimes and I realize that a lot of us are in positions where we don't have anybody that we can freely talk about this kind of stuff to.

Speaker 1: 5:01

If you're wrestling with whether or not your work is done, I'd love to hear your story. Email me, tell me a little bit about what you're going through. Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. I'm here to encourage and support you in this journey. However I can, I'm happy to hop on a call with you a quick Zoom call and hear your story and see if there's any way that I can help. And again, just reach out to me anytime. Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom.

Speaker 1: 5:24

And if your church is navigating through any kind of staffing transitions. Maybe you're hiring or firing or readjusting staff or need some help with salary recommendations those kind of things. Of course, you can visit Chemistry Staffing anytime chemistrystaffingcom. But also just reach out to me podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. I'd love to work with you and your church. It's what I do and I would love to help you find new staff, work through any existing relationships and staff problems you might have. We're all about healthy teams. I'm all about getting a healthy team for you and your church and if I can help you do that in any way, I would love to.

Speaker 1: 6:03

Okay, finally, we've been working through this Wade Hodges book. Before you go, and if you would like a free copy of that book again, just feel like I've pushed my email address. Enough here. But one more time, podcasting and chemistry staffing Just say hey, todd, I would love to have a copy of the Wade Hodges book. I will happily send that to you absolutely free of charge, just because you're my friend and you listen to the podcast. Okay, thanks so much for joining me today. You're my friend and you listen to the podcast. Okay, thanks so much for joining me today. Remember that finishing well, where you are just isn't about crossing items off a to-do list. It's really about honoring God and your church and your future church and yourself and your family. So take time to reflect and reconcile and rejoice in what God has done through you, where you are. Okay, take care, I'll see you again right here tomorrow on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. Have a great day.