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You're Fired! How to Survive Forced Termination

Keep developing sermons. You may not have a regular place to preach, but be ready “in season and out.” You will maintain your homiletical skills and at the same time be prepared for opportunities to preach as a supply speaker or interim pastor. By having sermons at the ready, you won’t be scrambling for a message when the next church contacts you.

Re-engage

Terminated ministers may feel uncomfortable re-engaging in ministry settings such as returning to the local pastors’ conference meetings. However, your peers understand your situation better than anyone else. They can encourage you and possibly help with referrals to churches needing a supply preacher or permanent pastor. Networking with denominational leaders, seminary contacts and others opens possibilities and provides important reinforcement personally, as well as professionally.

Re-engage in service. You do not have to be paid to have a ministry. Opportunities abound for the preacher who has a servant’s heart. Hospital chaplains may welcome a volunteer assistant. Nursing homes invite ministers to provide a Sunday or mid-week service. Fire stations need people who are willing to lead Bible studies or worship on Sundays.

Join a church. You need a place to worship, a pastor to minister to you and your family, and a church family to care for you. You also would benefit by investing your time and skills in a congregation. Find God’s will for the kind of place you need right now. It may be a larger church where your children and teenagers can find friends and activities that minister to their need for belonging. It may be a smaller church that needs your skills as a volunteer teacher. In either case, spend some time with the pastor to ensure you and he understand your new role and needs.

Restart

In His timing, God likely will call you to a new place of ministry. You may be hesitant at first to re-enter a vocation associated with difficulties and dislocation. However, if God guides you to a church, prayerfully trust His leadership. Your Lord wants what is best for you and for His church. Don’t allow the pain of the past to prevent your welcoming God’s plan for your future.

As you restart your ministry, consider what you learned through this process. Applying the education you received from the school of hard knocks can help you avoid repeating former errors. You have a lifetime of positive ministry experiences to help you do a great job in a new position. Draw on both sets of skills to begin afresh.

Proceed with the confidence that God loves you and your family. Move forward into a bright new day of ministry. Preach the Word! Fulfill your ministry!