# Seeking the Resignation of a Pastor



## blhowes

Composing the letter to a local church gave me things to think about. I was wondering - When is a congregation justified (or not) in asking their pastor to resign (assuming its not a sin issue)?


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## rbcbob

They may do so when he no longer meets the requirements of Titus 1 and 1 Timothy 3.


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## blhowes

Joshua said:


> When the Presbytery rules so.


Under what circumstances would a Presbytery generally rule so?


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## raekwon

But the question assumes that it's not a sin issue. What "charges" would exist in such a case?


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## JennyG

what if his doctrine were at fault?


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## tcalbrecht

blhowes said:


> Composing the letter to a local church gave me things to think about. I was wondering - When is a congregation justified (or not) in asking their pastor to resign (assuming its not a sin issue)?



Pastors often initiate a change of church for a variety of reasons. Churches have the same privilege to be relieved of their pastor. 

From the URCNA Church Order:



> If, for reasons other than such as warrant ecclesiastical discipline, *either a minister of the Word or the congregation he is serving *desires to dissolve their pastoral relationship, that dissolution shall occur only upon mutually satisfactory conditions and only with the concurring advice of the classis. If the released minister desires to receive a call to serve another congregation, the council from whose service he is being released shall announce his eligibility for call, which eligibility shall be valid for no more than two years, whereafter he shall be honorably released from office. If the minister released from his congregation desires to leave his office in order to seek non-ministerial labor, he must receive the approval of the classis before doing so. (Article 11)



Similarly, in the PCA BCO:



> 23-1. When any minister shall tender the resignation of his pastoral charge to his Presbytery, the Presbytery shall cite the church to appear by its commissioners, to show cause why the Presbytery should or should not accept the resignation. If the church fails to appear, or if its reasons for retaining its pastor be deemed insufficient, his resignation shall be accepted and the pastoral relation dissolved.
> *If any church desires to be relieved of its pastor, a similar procedure shall be observed.* But whether the minister or the church initiates proceedings for a dissolution of the relation, there shall always be a meeting of the congregation called and conducted in the same manner as the call of
> the pastor.





In presbyterian circles, the Presbytery/Classis has a say in the matter. The sufficiency of the grounds are ultimately a matter of advice and consent from a broader group of churchmen.


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## Montanablue

Josh, I could see a situation in which a pastor and a congregation mutually decided that they're not suited for each other. For example, the congregation cannot support the pastor's family despite their best efforts; the pastor is struck with some type of health condition that prevents him from serving that particular congregation; the pastor is unable to connect with the culture of the congregation (this might especially happen if a pastor has gone to a foreign congregation or an ethnic congregation.

I would think this type of thing would be EXTREMELY rare, but I could see it potentially happening.


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## Montanablue

I reread the OP, and you're right - I'm not really addressing the original question. My bad. I was thinking that the congregation might be the first one to bring up these issues, but in the end, it would be a mutual agreement. (And probably overseen by the prebytery - although I'm not presbyterian, so I'm never exactly sure how these things work)

I apologize for being irrelevant! (It happens so often...)


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## Montanablue

Ah ha! The silver lining!


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## CharlieJ

What if he is getting older, and he's not really able to keep up the workload, and the church is suffering b/c he won't let go?


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