"How we leave a position says everything about what we believe about God and his people." - Josiah Way
Everything in our lives exists for just a season (Ecclesiastes 3:1). The same can be said of our ministry lives. No matter how well things seem to be going—or how badly—at some point, a change will be inevitable. There will be a day when we will step away from our current role and step into another. For me, that day was today.
Today, I said goodbye to my TD role at the Saddleback Church’s Aliso Viejo campus. God blessed the campus to the point where the work we accomplished as a satellite campus meant that we needed to roll it in with another nearby campus in order to provide more ministry options for the congregation. This meant I had to decide what I would do next. Would I continue to TD with my team, or decide that it is time to turn a new chapter? I chose the latter. Rather than settling into the same seat Sunday after Sunday, I will be serving Saddleback’s multisite central support team, assisting campuses from time to time as needed.
I won’t lie, today was difficult. As I receive texts and social media tags from my team reminiscing of the great times we had and them telling me how much they have learned and grown through serving--I realize it's these times that make you the weakest and most vulnerable. It makes you question your decision; and that’s natural. But I know I’m blessed. My transition is under good circumstances. However, for others, burnout, poor leadership, low pay, and other issues force our departure. Regardless of the reasons, it is important that we transition out well. We owe it to our team, the church, and ourselves. Here are three keys to successfully turn the chapter on your current ministry role.
Remember that it is not about you.
Even though I knew for a couple months that this transition would be coming, I kept the focus on my team and their serving. Often, people get attached to situations and people—we see this when pastors move churches—rather than on serving God. Ministries are not about their leaders, they are about the Leader.
Ministries are not about their leaders, they are about the Leader.
Hebrews 8:2 refers to Jesus as leitourgos (minister, worship leader) of the holy space that he created, not us. While we often speak of ensuring our volunteers are serving for the right reasons, this is no more important than when a major change in the ministry is about to take place. Keeping the attention on Christ will ensure they are not focused on you. If we were the ones stepping into the role, we would want our team to be focused on serving God and not fixated on the person who is no longer there. We owe that same thing to whomever will be their TD after us. Leave them an inspired, well-trained team, balanced budget, up-to-date system drawings, and properly cared-for equipment.
Know that you are not defined by your title or ministry role.
Fear that people will look at us differently if we are no longer the “tech director” at “X” place is natural. But that fear is self-imposed. People naturally want the best for you, and what is truly important is never found in a ministry title, it is found in you following God’s calling for your life. One of the signs of being an “OG” (old guy) is that we no longer put our value in the place we are employed, but rather the people we impact. Regular career progression is a natural. Moving from volunteer tech or intern to A2 to A1 to production director to large church TD is a normal desire, and does demonstrate you are mastering your craft and serving your church well.
God does not call us to a job title. He calls us to change the lives of his people....
However, God does not call us to a job title. He calls us to change the lives of his people, leading them to the knowledge of who He is and what He has done. We are first-and-foremost “Christ’s ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:20), not ambassadors of our own ambitions. When his calling for our lives means a change of ministry position, trust it, regardless of the next title or station in life. His plan will always prevail if we know we are following in prayer and council that next move to which He is calling us.
You’re not gone until you’re gone. But once you’re gone, you’re gone.
Don’t be that guy or that girl. We know who they are. They’re the ones who hang on when it is no longer their ship to sail. Or worse, they check out from their responsibilities when they still have two weeks left, creating a toxic environment, badmouthing everyone and everything in an attempt to justify their decision to leave. A recent meme made its way around the church tech Facebook groups that went something like this: “How many church audio guys does it take to change a light bulb? Six. One to change the light bulb and five to talk about how they could have done it better.” Sadly, there is a lot of truth to that joke. It is not a coincidence that church techs have the reputation for being the most negative people in the church, always complaining about long hours, inadequate equipment, and not enough budget. Even more so, we often think we can do the job better. But that is not a church issue, it is a heart issue. When we have a heart for the ministry, we give everything we can while it is our time to do so, and we trust the ministry to the new leaders once we have left. It is Christ’s ministry, not ours.
When we have a heart for the ministry, we give everything we can while it is our time to do so, and we trust the ministry to the new leaders once we have left. It is Christ’s ministry, not ours.
It is natural to wonder what our next chapter will look like. Understandably, there are a lot of unknowns. Yet, our fear—or excitement—should not negatively impact the situation we are transitioning away from. How we leave a position says everything about what we believe about God and his people. Ecclesiastes 7:8 tells us that “the end of a matter is better than its beginning.”
We put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into making our church services the best they can be. We can probably look back and be in awe of what was and what now is. Yet, we must be careful not to let the reputation we built be lost through arrogance or pride during this important time in the ministry’s history. We must be careful not to do anything “out of selfish ambition or vein conceit, [but] rather, in humility value others above ourselves” (Philippians 2:3). That is how our legacy and reputation live on long after we have left. And more importantly, we transition well when the ministry is able to continue presenting the gospel of Christ to the congregation as if a change never happened.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published in 2019.
