REASONS GOD WOULD HAVE YOU LEAVE A MINISTRY

If you experience church hurt and God leads you to leave a ministry, it is important to do so honorably. You want to be in order with God and you want him to be pleased with you no matter what other people do or do not do.  It does not matter if the leader wants you to stay, if people want you to stay, and even if you are hesitant about whether you should go or stay, if God is unctioning you to leave, be obedient and follow the plan he gives you regarding leaving. When you remain in a church due to familiarity or fear of backlash, slander, etc., it causes unnecessary challenges.  Emoting drama usually manifests due to you being out of alignment with what God is saying and where he desires you to be as you are uncovered. This opens a door for the enemy to wreak havoc in an already challenging transitional situation.

Reasons God will have a person leave a ministry:

·       The person has received all they can under that ministry.

·       The person needs to connect or be under the covering of another ministry to further align with God, and the calling and destiny on his or her life.

·       The person needs to receive greater training and equipping.

·       The person has a specific assignment somewhere else; some people are sent into ministries to raise up or cover a specific remnant within that ministry, or to impart or govern a specific area of that ministry, community, region, nation.

·       It is time for the person to independently focus on their own life and ministry vision.

·       The leader and/or church is operating in somethings contrary to God, and he is requiring the person to separate themselves from the reproach, consequences, and judgment that may come upon that ministry.

·       The person was only to be there for a season, a particular work, or for specific training. Some ministries are not your lifetime ministry. God is a SHIFTING God. He never plateaus. He is always focused on upward mobility and success.  He is always seeking to do the exceeding, abundant, and beyond. What we deem as success could be just the beginning for God. He may be elevating you or allowing you to experience different facets of his glory and kingdom. Remain a life learner so you can SHIFT with God.

·       The person has experienced hurt within that church and need to SHIFT to adequately work on his or her healing process and further align in their destiny.

It is important to understand that:

·       We are not one church, but a body of believers.

·       We are one kingdom under God.

·       We are not in competition with one another.

·       We are all ONE church with different assignments and functions.

·       If someone leaves and goes to another church or starts a ministry, they are still your brother and sister in Christ. They are an extension of God's work through you, and of the body of Christ as a whole.

Romans 12:4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function.

1Corinthians 12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

If someone decides to leave your church, you must respect their

decision. Slandering and betraying them causes church hurt. If they are leaving due to church hurt, then this just caused more harm to their soul, and potentially made it more complicated for them to bond with their new ministry assembly.

Reasons people do not leave when God says:

·       False loyalty

·       False obligation

·       Fear of being betrayed or being viewed as a renegade

·       Fear of not being supported

·       Fear of being abandoned and ostracized

·       Fear of leaving the familiar

·       Fear of going alone

·       Fear of being alone, losing supports, and friendships

·       Fear of failing

·       Fear that there is no one to step in and do their work, or the lack of raising up a successor

·       Feeling like they are letting down the leaders or ministry

·       Bound by ungodly or unhealthy soulties with the leader, people, and the ministry

·       Bound in religion and tradition

·       Rebellious; self-focused rather than God focused

·       Bound and used to being hurt while contending it is persecution for the gospel

·       Traumatized to a point of not being able to make an effective decision

There is a general population of people that does not leave as God required because they have difficulty dealing with the grief and loss of leaving.  Sometimes just the thought of leaving causes an influx of emotions. Anytime you leave or lose something, whether good or bad, there are emotions to process through. Loss creates a void in our soul and lives. Now we must learn to live without that person, place, or thing.

2Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

The "new" can be exciting, but it also can be scary.  It is an unfamiliar place where we trust and learn God, and ourselves at a new dimension. What we learned in previous seasons has prepared us for the new, but may not necessarily be our survival mechanism, spiritual tools, and supports, for sustaining in the new place. Our focus should be on this truth of Ephesians 3:20, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." God has greater for you in the new place.  SHALL YOU NOT KNOW IT?

Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?

When God is requiring a person to leave, even if it is due to church hurt and a need for healing in a fresh environment, we must view this as elevation for the entire body of Christ. We must bless and support people, so they can be obedient to the will of God, and transition in the healthiest manner possible.

If people do not support your transition, you must SHIFT with God regardless of ill treatment. Some people either are not meant to go with you to your “next” or abort their position in your “next.”  You must take on the mindset that you are going to be exactly where God wants you to be and do whatever he is requiring, no matter who likes it or not; no matter who joins you on your journey or not.

Today I encourage you to:

·       Let the familiarity with your leader, the people, your positions, and the ministry go!

·       Let the false expectations you have for your leader and the ministry go!

·       Let the anger, hurt, disappointment, and resentment of not being empowered or validated go!

·       Let the fear of the unknown go!

·       Let the excuses, laziness, disobedience and rebellion go!

·       Let the lie that you are waiting on God and to hear from God go!

·       Let the unhealthiness and drama go!

·       Let the fear that you cannot heal without these people or this ministry go!

·       Let the fear that you are aborting your inheritance if you leave this leader or ministry go!

Stop toiling a ground that is bringing pain and death to your destiny.  God is waiting to further align you with the “new!” SHIFT!

For more revelation on this topic, purchase "Annihilating The Powers Of Church Hurt" at kingdomshifters.com