FOR PREACHERS ONLY: WHEN TO LEAVE

One thing I discuss with myself every anniversary of July 15 is whether I still have the drive to remain at my dear church that meets at 747 S. Memorial. I adore this people. Their endurance of me is to be recognized as a faith testimonial that there are yet a people who believe God can override the man in the pulpit...and love the little guy anyway.

I've never been tempted to exit due to difficulty. I am highly self-conscious, to the extent I seek guidance from my elders, as to whether my time is up. Each day I am here is one day closer to my departure.

My friend, Wade Hodges, www.wadehodges.com , now has a second book published.

When to Leave (How to Know It's Time to Move On...Because You've Stayed Way Too Long) is a call to all in such positions to weigh two of our tougher and conflicting questions: Should I stay? Or, Should I go?

Wade discusses openly the arguments that seem to await upon our pillows about 10:00 pm. We surely hit these walls.

I'm in a rather unusual position on this topic as I have been at Memorial Drive for 34+ years. It hasn't been easy. Yet, it is still thrilling. Hundreds have left because I wouldn't. I believe I have single-handedly caused more attendance growth for area Churches of Christ than any other minister in Tulsa. This saddens me; but I must grow up and grow on.

Honestly, there are those who would not walk across the street to hear me preach...and I don't blame them. If I were still the yeller and shouter I once was as a preacher, I wouldn't go to hear me either.

From When to Leave, Wade issues humorous declarations shuffled alongside sobering ponderizations.

• "There is always an easy solution to every problem---neat, plausible, and wrong." H. L. Mencken



• When you leave too soon, especially amidst difficult circumstances, you miss the opportunity to learn lessons that only hardship, resistance, and disappointment can teach.



• Why do so many great professional athletes play one season too many and retire only after it's become painfully obvious that they no longer belong on the court or field anymore?



• His followers didn't want him to go. They had just gotten him back from the dead. They wanted to cling to him, to hold on and enjoy the new reality of the resurrection with him. He left anyway.



• So at some point you have to ask: Am I actually doing a disservice to the church by staying? Am I hindering people from developing a faith of their own?



• If you sense you're losing your ability to dream, and if you can no longer summon the necessary energy to take bold and risky action that could lead to something wonderful, then you may have stayed too long.



• You started going along to get along.



• "The only thing holding some churches together is lack of communication." Randy Harris

One thing about Wade Hodges that has remained true from the get-go; regardless of personal injury and pain, he never quits imagining what God might do to guide us to our best. I like that about my friend.