The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
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The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
Before You Go - Leaving With Integrity
This episode focuses on the necessary steps for leaving a ministry role with integrity and character, emphasizing how those final moments can define a leader's legacy. By stressing the importance of clear communication, maintaining confidentiality, and embodying integrity, we provide guidance for those navigating their transition.
• Importance of leaving with integrity and character
• Clear communication about resignation and reasons for leaving
• Maintaining confidentiality to protect trust and relationships
• The impact of legacy in ministry and how it’s shaped by departure
• How emotional reactions from colleagues can affect transitions
• Encouragement for listeners to reach out for support
• Call to action for accessing Wade Hodges' book, "Before You Go"
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How you leave a ministry role says just as much about you as how you served in your ministry role. Whether your transition is smooth or messy, your integrity is on display. And that's what we're going to talk about today Diving into key steps to leave well your church job, with character and honor and zero regrets. It's really important, so I hope you'll stick around here on the Healthy Church Staff podcast today. My name is Todd Rhodes. I'm one of the co-founders over at chemistrystaffingcom and we have been talking this week about how to leave a ministry role well and when you leave your current church, it's about more than just logistics. It's about your character, and we're working through Wade Hodge's book called Before you Go, and Wade reminds us that leaving with integrity means finishing well and maintaining your witness as a leader, and that's what we're talking about today is leaving with integrity. It's really, really important. I've seen far too many leaders leave their church and lose their integrity, so let's talk about it. How do you leave with integrity? First of all, we've talked about this this week. It comes up in every episode this week it's already Wednesday. Communicate clearly and honestly, be transparent, as transparent as you can about your reasons for leaving, while maintaining respect for all those parties that are involved. Avoid any gossip or blame, but try and be transparent as transparent as you can without blowing things up, okay, but when it comes to how you do this and how you leave with integrity, here's something I think that's really, really important and I just mentioned it and that's maintaining confidentiality. You know, protect the trust of those you've worked with by keeping sensitive information private, not just during the transition, but even after you've left. This is not the time to throw people under the bus. This is not the time to one-up somebody. It's not the time to take credit or time to put somebody down or talk against someone. You shouldn't ever do that, but especially that doesn't sound right. And you shouldn't ever do that, but especially that doesn't sound right, especially during a transition, because things can blow up and things will blow up, and if you don't maintain confidentiality, guess whose integrity is going to take a hit? It's going to be yours.
Speaker 1:Legacy is a word that I don't particularly like in church world, although as human beings, we want our work to continue. My guess is, if you're leaving your church, that you've had some good days there and that you've accomplished some good things for the kingdom and chances are you want to and you might use this word, you might not you want to keep your legacy intact. You want to be remembered for the role that you had at your church. So, whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, I think it's something that we all work through and deal with and, from a legacy standpoint, I just want to talk about integrity today. If you lose your integrity we already talked about confidentiality, but if you lose your integrity during this process, you will not be remembered well. So your actions in these final weeks and these final days will reflect and could potentially change how people feel about you and think about you if you don't leave well, and it could ruin years of reputation. So here's what I want you to think about today Integrity.
Speaker 1:We've all heard this definition before. Integrity is who you are when nobody's looking. I've heard it say you know, if you're in the middle of the country and I live in the country you know and there's a stop sign, you know there's nobody coming to you. You'll still stop. That's integrity, right? Well, living well is a testament to your character and to your faith, and it's really incredibly important that you leave your role with integrity. So if you're going through transition, I would just ask you how are you doing? How are you doing there? I'd love to hear how you're doing. You can send me an email podcast at chemistrystaffingcom.
Speaker 1:But where are you challenged in this area? There are going to be as soon as you announce your resignation or that you're moving on, there are going to be some people that are unbelievably sad. It's going to be like grieving the death of a loved one because you're moving three states or 30 miles away or to a different church across town. Some people are going to grieve. A lot of people are just going to be indifferent, and that might bother you, but they were probably indifferent long before you announced you were going somewhere. And then there are going to be some other people that, honestly, are going to be a little bit happy. They're going to breathe a sigh of relief and say whew, todd's leaving.
Speaker 1:I still remember I think I've shared this on the podcast before, maybe I haven't when I put in my resignation at one church after the board meeting. It was about 20 minutes after the board meeting. I was talking with some of the people that were disappointed, that were grieving that I was leaving, and I walked past a doorway of one of the offices and there was one of our board members in there sitting back in his chair with his feet on the desk, and I heard him say, finally. And I heard him say finally. You want to know how that rubbed up against how I wanted to leave with integrity. It was everything I could do to keep walking and not go back. And you know, give this guy a little peace of my mind, because he'd been to burn my saddle too. He wasn't the reason I left, but he wasn't one of the reasons I was excited about staying either.
Speaker 1:So just know that I kind of rambled there with a story, but just know that when you do make your announcement, when you are in transition, there are going to be and you may not even see them coming. You might not even know where they're coming from. It might be a total surprise. It might be somebody you didn't expect, it might be a situation you didn't expect, but there's going to be something that's going to come your way. I'll almost guarantee it. There's going to be something that comes your way. It's going to be really hard for you to take the high road, okay. It's going to be really hard for you to keep your integrity and I'm just telling you do it, take the high road. It is very, very stinking important that you leave well, don't burn bridges and leave well. It's a tough time and if there's any way that I can help you, maybe you're right in the middle of it and you're like Todd man.
Speaker 1:You've been reading my emails, evidently because you know exactly what I'm going through. Pop me an email, tell me what you're struggling with Podcastatchemistry, where I'm going through. Pop me an email, tell me what you're struggling with podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. You know, sometimes it's good just to have somebody that you can kind of bounce some ideas off of or just kind of commiserate with, and I'm happy to be that person for you. So reach out to me anytime. Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom, if you like what you're hearing.
Speaker 1:On the podcast we talk about all different kinds of things related to church staff and what's interesting to church staff. Our goal here is to make you and your church staff healthy in your ministry. So if you're liking what you're hearing you're kind of digging it don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any future episodes. We're here every day, monday through Friday. Also, if your church is looking to make any staffing changes, hires, fires. That's really my day job. That's what I like to do and that's what I give my life and ministry to. You can visit chemistrystaffingcom Also. Reach out to me. Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. I'd love to help you however I can and help your church however I can.
Speaker 1:And then, finally, if you are wanting to get a free copy of this book that we've been talking about, it's written by Wade Hodges. It's called Before you Go, just pop me an email. Podcasting at chemistrystaffingcom. It's packed with wisdom for exactly what you're going through, because Wade's been there and done that. He's seen the good, the bad, the ugly, and he wrote it all in a book. So if you'd like a copy of that, just pop me an email.
Speaker 1:All right, thanks so much. I appreciate you taking the time to spend it with me today. It was a choice that you made and I'm so thankful for that. And just remember today that living with integrity it's not easy. If it was easy, everyone would have integrity. But leaving with integrity is not about just the impression you leave behind. It's really about honoring God. And if you want to have a good legacy, if you want to leave behind and have people think well of your ministry there. You need to leave with integrity, finish well and trust that God will guide your next steps. All right, take care, I'll see you again tomorrow right here on the Healthy Church Step Podcast.
