by Richard Blackaby
One of the most difficult decisions leaders face is choosing to leave their present position. There are several reasons for this. First, good leaders invest themselves fully in their assignments. It is difficult to extricate yourself when you have poured your heart and soul into your work. Spiritual leaders genuinely care for those they lead and so it is difficult to part from them. A second reason is uncertainty of the unknown. Effective leaders know their organization well and have experienced success while leading it. Going to another company or church holds no promise that leaders will duplicate their previous success. Staying with the known can seem safer than risking disappointment and failure with the unknown. Third, a leader’s family will have become embedded in their neighborhood, school, church and social network. Relocating for a new job can greatly disrupt families. Leaders must carefully weigh whether a change in career is worth the sacrifice that they, along with their spouse and children, will undergo.
That said, many compelling reasons move leaders to abdicate their present position and move on to a new challenge. The key for spiritual leaders, however, is determining whether God is moving them to a new assignment. Several powerful indicators will make it evident if God is releasing you from your present leadership role. The following are ten ways God might use to move you to a new assignment. If several of these factors line up, the message can be clear.
1. Loss of vision.
When God led you to your current organization, He may have given you a clear vision of what He wanted to accomplish through your leadership. Perhaps year by year God gave you fresh insights into how to take your organization to a new level and you enthusiastically embraced and pursued God’s vision. But now you realize the dream is gone and you have no vision for your organization’s future. If God is no longer laying the future of your current organization on your heart, it may indicate God does not intend for you to be a part of that future.
2. Disappointing results.
A second marker that it may be time to move is that you are not enjoying
the same level of success you once did. Sales or attendance may have leveled off or declined. Whereas you once were filled with creative, new ideas for growth, now it seems you are unable to solve the challenges your organization is facing. Perhaps your organization has reached the capacity of your leadership–perhaps when your business or church was smaller, you could see numerous possibilities for adjustment and growth. But now it is larger and more complex and you do not have the requisite skill to lead at that level. By remaining, you prevent a more qualified leader from stepping in and taking the organization to the next level. God may want to move you to an organization at a size where you can utilize your gifts and thrive once more.
3. Absence of peace.
The Holy Spirit confirms when we are walking in God’s will by providing a
sense of peace. Sometimes a restlessness in our spirit indicates God is preparing us for something new. If God is beginning to pry your heart away from your current assignment, perhaps He is preparing to show you what He has for you next. It could be that you have never considered leaving your job before or you have never had a desire to do anything else, but suddenly you begin to wonder about and consider new possibilities.
4. Job opportunities.
Job offers or opportunities that come out of the blue can indicate
God is preparing to move you from your present assignment. Of course, talented leaders regularly receive inquiries from other organizations and so leaders must not assume each opportunity is a divine invitation. However, some invitations strike a chord in our spirit that catches us by surprise. Or, perhaps you have not been approached by any organization for several years and then suddenly several invitations come your way at once. This might be God preparing you to consider the possibility of moving to a different organization.
5. Meager growth or challenge.
God is far more concerned with growing people than with growing
organizations. He tends to put His people into situations that stretch and grow us. Several of Jesus’ disciples knew how to gather fish. Jesus put them into a position to draw in people. When you originally took on your current position, you may have felt like you had been thrown in to the deep end of the swimming pool and you were only an intermediate swimmer. But in time, you grew in your skills, experience and confidence and now you can handle your responsibilities with ease. In fact, it may have been a long time since you had to learn anything new to do your job. Perhaps you no longer fervently pray over your job as you once did because now you are confident in your abilities. When your job no longer challenges you or compels you to grow personally, that may indicate it is time to move to a new assignment that will push you to take your leadership to a higher level.
6. Scripture and prayer confirmation.
One of the best ways to recognize if God is moving you to a new position
is by regularly reading Scripture and praying. Keep a journal and record what God is saying through His word. God does nothing accidentally or coincidentally. If the Holy Spirit keeps drawing your attention to particular verses that speak about trusting him, or relocating, or change, it may be that the Holy Spirit is preparing you for what is coming. Take time to listen to God and consider where He has led you thus far. That will help you clarify what He wants you to do next.
7. Counsel/observations from others.
Wise leaders have trusted Christian friends and advisors who walk with
them and help them stay on track spiritually. These counselors can sometimes recognize changes in a leaders’ life before the leader does. They may observe a loss of passion, or restlessness, or ineffectiveness. In times of transition it is especially critical to have trusted counselors who can help you gain a proper perspective.
8. Confirming circumstances.
At times circumstances can occur that suggest a possibility for change.
Perhaps your last child goes off to college and you now have more freedom as an empty nester. Or you develop a medical condition that hinders your ability to travel as your current job requires. Maybe God has been challenging you with a burden for the Great Commission and suddenly an opportunity comes to take an international posting in a country that is closed to the Gospel. Innumerable circumstances can occur which suggest an imminent change.
9. Completion of assignment.
It could be that you came to your organization with a clear mandate. When God calls us to a leadership position, it is because He has a specific
assignment for us. When he directed Moses, Gideon, and David to lead the Israelites, God had a singular purpose for them. When God elevated Joseph, Daniel and Esther into government, there were specific things they were to accomplish. Likewise when God called you to lead a business or a church, or whatever organization you are at now, He had certain things to accomplish through your life. Perhaps He wanted to bring a struggling company from unprofitability to profitability or to transition a church from an inward to an outward focused congregation. You may have been marvelously successful in accomplishing your task. Your people may love you and want you to remain with them for many years to come. But in your heart you may sense that God has a new assignment for you. Perhaps God has wired you for turning around struggling organizations, but not necessarily for managing healthy ones. Or maybe you are entrepreneurial in beginning things but not as well suited to manage them. God may be leading you to your next assignment where you can apply your particular giftedness to the maximum effect.
10. Availability of successor.
A final indicator that your time in your present organization is up is that a suitable or superior successor becomes apparent. God always has something new and fresh for those who walk closely with Him and are faithful in their calling. Leaders don’t need to tenaciously cling to their positions and fend off the next generation of leaders from their job. If someone is perfectly capable of doing your job, perhaps they should. The presence of a worthy successor may well indicate God is readying your organization for your departure.
God can use any of these ten ways to send a clear message to you about leaving your current organization. However, you may experience other factors that mimic a divine message. Some leaders incorrectly assume that when things become difficult or opposition arises, God is telling them to move on. On the contrary, opposition can come when you are in the center of God’s will (Exodus 5:1-23). Jesus never left the center of His Father’s will, yet He faced relentless opposition and suffered agonizing crucifixion. Likewise, you can be certain that if you are doing God’s will, someone is going to eventually oppose you!
The fact that you feel inadequate is not evidence you should leave your post either. God often calls people to tasks that seem beyond them. God will regularly put you in a position where you must walk by faith, for without faith, it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6).
Finally, do not assume an assignment is for life. Your calling is permanent; the positions through which you fulfill it could be many. It is becoming increasingly rare for God to call someone to one job and leave them there for the remainder of their working life. That is because God wants to grow people and often this occurs through a variety of experiences and challenges. If you sense God is releasing you from your current position, meet with trusted, godly friends and share the evidence with them. You might want to avail yourself of a spiritual leadership coach who helps you process what God is saying. Make sure you are not merely justifying leaving a difficult post. Pray earnestly to make sure it is God who is initiating something new. Keep your heart pure before God so you can clearly hear Him.
We live in challenging days. God is reassigning many of His servants. He may well have a new dimension of service for you. Until He moves you, continue to faithfully do what He called you to last. But when God speaks, don’t be afraid to go with Him to your next assignment. There is no greater joy than walking with God as He uses your life to make a difference wherever He leads you.