Guy Duininck: I Can't Believe They Left My Ministry !
Ministers who are insecure often default to the self-preserving conclusion that if people withdraw from their ministries, it is because there is something wrong with or ill-motivated in those who withdrew.
And that could, of course, be true.
But secure, right-hearted, maturing ministers Always consider the possibility that perhaps they have given people Good Cause to withdraw from them. They acknowledge, "I might be wrong." They think, "I may have done or said something foolish or offensive." They consider, "Perhaps I'm not as wonderful a minister and spiritual leader as I thought."
Secure and maturing ministers take a very close look at themselves FIRST to see if they have been unwise, harsh, untouchable, or simply unskilled in their work.
If you are a minister, don't immediately Jump to the self-defending and self-preserving Default Conclusion that there must be something wrong with those who withdraw from your ministry. It might be, rather, that you gave them Good Cause to withdraw.
