Eight Negative Reasons Pastors Leave a Church

The majority of pastors move from one church to another as a sense of call. In some denominational bodies, pastors are appointed to move from church to church. Those departures are normative and, for the most part, healthy.

Unfortunately there are unhealthy reasons that cause a pastor to leave a church. The sad reality is that most of these reasons are preventable. In most cases something could be done to stop these presumably premature departures. I have taken the liberty to name the top eight negative reasons pastors leave a church. The research is more anecdotal, but the frequency with which I hear and deal with these issues makes me confident that this listing is mostly accurate. The reasons are obviously not mutually exclusive. Read more