Shane Thacker

The “God Is Calling Me” Season

1/13/2022

by Shane Thacker

I like to refer to the time of year from March to May as the “God Is Calling Me” season. Maybe I should come up with a better name. Either way, it’s the season when church staff members from literally everywhere are making announcements after services that God is calling them to head down the road (another state even) to another church. Most that I’ve spoken to usually wait until after Spring Break to announce and leave around May. Why? Because even though their mind was made up in the last year, they wanted to finish out the school year before moving on (especially those with kids).

I have no doubt that a large portion legitimately have served their purpose at their current church and that God legitimately is calling them to this new location. It makes sense for any other job; a lot move over the summertime. If you’re thinking and praying about heading down the road, please do your current church a favor first! Ask yourself:

Is it really time to leave?

After all, this is the Bride of Christ we’re talking about here. When leaders leave, it creates strain on the church family. Think about the new believers in the church that haven’t quite taken root in the faith; if there’s not much of an exit plan where others step up into that role of shepherding and discipleship, they might quickly be out the door when you leave. When leaders leave in an unhealthy way, it can cause a lot of turmoil in the church.

Quite frankly, if you leave without resolving the problems here, you’re going to end up leaving in the midst of different problems there. The sad reality is that a large number of church leaders have some major differences with their church family. Whether it’s some tradition that they just won’t let go of as you’re trying to move forward, or that staff member is constantly getting under your skin, or the tasks that just keep getting piled onto YOU.

Can I let you in on a little secret? Pick any church on the map, you’ll have all kinds of problems there too! Think about the Andy Griffith show. All the quirks, the different personalities, butting heads over everything. My friend Nancy was talking about it one day and said, “that’s what makes the show!” There’s a lot of wisdom in that little statement, because it is through all those problems they had, they worked it out every time. Through that, it brought in all the laughs (and sometimes even the tears).

The same is very true for our local churches. Sometimes there’s more tears than there are laughs, but that’s what the church is made of. A lot of church leaders have unfortunately fallen into the same trap our culture has. When things get tough, we don’t stay and wrestle through those issues together, we just pack up and leave.

Let me ask you something: If you’re dealing with issues right now and considering walking away, do you really think it’s God’s calling for you to leave in the midst of tough times? I can’t think of any heroes of the faith that did. Abraham was instructed to sacrifice his only son. Moses after multiple excuses (and angering the Lord) finally fulfilled his calling. With the story of Deborah and Barak, which one was given great honor for their actions?

Before leaving the church, no doubt it’s very tough, but I want to challenge you to push pause on the

“God Is Calling Me” season and get some fresh perspective first. 3 things to assess before leaving:

1. 1) Why were you called to your current church?

   No doubt you have a purpose at your current church, what is it? If you can’t clearly define it, how can you tell if you’ve accomplished that purpose? That leads right into the next question:

2. 2) Did you accomplish God’s mission for you in full?

   Don’t drop out early. Fulfill that mission in full, whatever it may be. The toughest times for you as a leader will always be your greatest times of spiritual growth. If you stick with it in the thick and the thin, not only are you going to grow more, but the people you serve will too. Finally:

3. 3) Are you leaving because God is calling you, or because Satan is pulling you?

You and I know that Satan will do anything and everything he can to divide the church. After all, we’re the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16), he wants to use any situation (including that old tradition or that difficult personality) to get you to leave before your mission is accomplished.

God is Calling Me?

No doubt God is calling you… but what is God calling you to do right now, to leave or to stay? I pray that God’s hand of mercy is on you as navigate these very difficult times. If there’s ever anything I can do to help walk you through your situation, send me a message at facebook.com/pastorshanethacker! You can view more about what I do on www.shanethacker.org.

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