Should former pastors still attend their last church?

He had been voted out of the pulpit. A new pastor was hired. Old pastor still performed weddings and funerals while working a secular job. The folks who had wanted him to stay refused to accept the new pastor. How should demo
denominstional leadership have handled this situation?

In the churches where I’ve been, the outgoing pastor typically finds another congregation to worship with allowing the incoming pastor to form the relationships and bonds with the rest of the congregation.

I think it was rude and inappropriate for him to stay and possibly a sign to other personal issues that need to be dealt with.

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I think when a Pastor steps down he should find a new church community. It is honoring to the congregation and new pastor and allows the church to move forward. Weddings and funerals are interesting as those are personal events, but, often times, at a church. I can see wanting the pastor you are closest to or who may know the deceased (in a funeral situation) to perform the ceremony or speak. That is tricky.

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I’ve never heard of a former Pastor staying on with the church they pastored. Everyone I’ve known left their position to move on to pastor another church. They’ve come back,invited, to homecoming services to preach. I think that’s fine. If he’s been voted out, there’s a reason behind that and no I don’t think he should stay on. The church leaders need to deal with that soon or there’s going to be a lot of confusion and division. None of which should be allowed in the church. Just my two cents worth anyway.

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I grew up in the Episcopal Church. The priests had no choice. Decisions of who pastored where were decided by the denomination. Kind of like professional athletes being traded between teams, you went where you were told.

My wife and I now attend Assemblies of God. I can see the wisdom of not having a former pastor in the congregation. As others have said here, it can cause division, particularly if the choice of the new pastor wasn’t completely unanimous.

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I think in those cases, @CoffeeTalk , it is ok to ask the former pastor to officiate.

Yes,for a wedding, funeral or another personal event taking place I agree with you CoffeeTalk.

One issue is a young, new pastor being intimidated by the presence of an older pastor.

This topic was so interesting that I convinced our editorial team to publish an article on it.

# Should Former Pastors Still Attend Their Last Church?

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I think he should have step aside fully and allowed the new pastor to build relationships without distraction.

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