Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. Acts 20:28-31

Paul stayed in different churches for different lengths of time—three years in Ephesus. We’ve been considering how long a pastor should stay in the same church. Stated a different way, when should a pastor change churches? There is no standard answer that fits every situation, but the reality is…

Sometimes a pastor needs to be “fired.” This should be rare! But if he begins to drift theologically, is not leading biblically, or is leading the church in the direction of a new ministry fad instead of deeper into the Bible, and if the man will not repent, he must be let go.

Sometimes a church needs to be fired! I knew a man whose church insisted on being a stuffy little group with no interest in evangelism or growth. After trying to shepherd them in a more biblical direction, he eventually told them, “You people have no vision! I can’t stay in a church that has no vision.” He left and eventually the church closed it’s doors.

There are some wonderful joys that accompany a long term pastorate. It is a rare delight to witness God’s work not only in a church, but in families in that church over multiple generations. I have had the joy of baptizing young people whose parents I also baptized when they were young people. I have officiated weddings for young people whose parents I married years earlier. It is hard to put into words what a delight that is!

I know I am biased, but while there are times when it is acceptable and even right for a pastor to leave a church and the church to welcome a new shepherd—when it works out, I believe a long tenure is preferable to a short tenure.

Next time: Staying or leaving?