When you plant a church and it grows, how do you step away and make room for its future without you?
I thought I might ask Mike Bullmore, author of the recent book The Heart of Preaching: The Functional Centrality of the Gospel in the Life and Work of the Preacher. Bullmore served as the founding and senior pastor of CrossWay Community Church in Bristol, Wisconsin, for 25 years. He then moved to be a teaching pastor at Park Community Church in Lincoln Park, Chicago.
For years, Bullmore prayed about the day he would step away from the church he founded. “I have prayed almost from the beginning that when that time came, it would be very evident, not just to my wife and I, but to the whole church, that God is at work.”
The church raised up a young man for leadership. Bullmore began to think, “I’m wondering if this is the guy that God has to replace me?” Bullmore anticipated that God would one day invite him to enter a different season of stewardship, primarily mentoring other pastors, and he wanted to transfer the baton in his 60s while he still had vigour and strength. He had a vision of what would come next after his current assignment was done.
“It’s been on my mind, wanting to do it well and with a sense of trust in God’s timing. That’s one of the things that’s been stabilizing and steadying for me: just a sense of God in all of this, that it’s the right time, both for CrossWay and for us personally.”
In 2023, Bullmore resigned. I’ve talked to many pastors who find it hard to let go of a church they’ve pastored for so many years, especially one that they planted. But Bullmore didn’t find it hard at all.
“I don’t want to be Pollyannaish about it, but I do not think that’s going to be a struggle for me. There are so many other things I’m anchored in. Without sounding glib, I feel a deep connection with the Lord and a deep confidence in the gospel. It’s what I’ve preached for 25 years, and I really don’t sense anything has shifted or wavered at all.
“It hasn’t been hard for me to let go of a position of prominence within the church. People obviously look to you, but it hasn’t been a platform for me. It’s been a joy to serve. God’s been very kind in allowing me to walk away without regrets, but also without feeling like I’m giving up my life here.”
Bullmore says that leaving was 90% sweet and 10% filled with longing. “This is a church that we love dearly, and we continue to love.”
Almost immediately, Bullmore began to serve at Park Community Church. “In this new opportunity, I just find my heart quickly rising to the opportunity to care for another body of believers. And obviously it’s not CrossWay. But God’s given us an excitement and energy for this new work as well.”
I asked Bullmore what advice he would give a pastor who is shifting ministries.
“My advice would run along the lines of stewardship. God’s given us opportunities. He’ll decide for us what those opportunities are, but he’s expecting us to be faithful in our stewardship.
“Also, joy. There’s joy in the work, and we should look to see the goodness of God in the things that he calls us to do. My dad was just a remarkable man. And one of the things that he taught me was gratitude for the privilege that God’s given us. Yes, there are going to be hard times. Thinking about stepping away from something you love can be challenging. But gratitude brings stability to just about any transition or any situation in life.”
I don’t know what I expected in my conversation with Bullmore, but I came away with some lessons. Pastors should see themselves as temporary from the beginning. Early on, they should pray about succession. They should strive to get their identity from the Lord and cultivate a deep trust in the gospel that will sustain them when they step away. Sometimes they should quit before they need to if they sense God calling them to another season of ministry. And while they serve, they should live with gratitude for the blessings that God has given them.
We can love the ministry God has entrusted to us and still release it with confidence and gratitude for the privilege of serving him.