Wisdom from (apprarently) the voice of experience.  And I would echo Jan’s comment - train others...who will be left to lead the church you are leaving, at least for a while.  More than likely, if the senior pastor is being targeted, any pastor “on his side” will be the next one with a bullseye on his chest...or back.  How you prepare these advocates and the example you set for them will be critical for the future of the church. 

I would add another thought: be prepared to do whatever may be necessary to avoid splitting the church you are leaving. I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest that God is rarely glorified in a church split; avoiding that will very likely mean leaving the area, leaving ministry for a time, or at least leaving the type of role that would attract your supporters toward your work and away from the church you’ve left.  Chances are, the conflict will cause people to leave the church; think long and hard before being a catalyst for that.

Finally, get help; get counseling...for you and your family.  Especially if you have adolescent kids (or even college-age kids).  Trust me (another voice of experience): you will all have lots of hurts to deal with, and you need help to do that.  Forgiveness is part of that, but don’t fall into the trap of believing that forgiveness is a one-time event; it’s not...it’s a process, and it may need to be exercised daily, very often in faith.  (On this, read Oswald Chambers’ March 31 entry in My Utmost for His Highest.)

That’s a good point.  And I don’t know very many pastor’s families that could just book out of there and move on.

We stayed a year and a half after getting burned by a church.

It was hard work to try to encourage those who were with us, to keep going. While we adjusted to the huge life changes we were going through and grieved.

I think this kind of thing is a lot like going through divorce.

The worst thing a parent can do in that situation is to get the kids to take sides.
And too often I see that happen in leadership with the congregation.

Yes, justice should happen.  And we need to do our best to reconcile (been there too!)
But most of the time, unfortunately, it takes years to process this through.  Hopefully, it will come eventually while we’re on earth.

There are certainly plenty of times when the pastor is at fault; the article’s recommendations (and my own) still apply, even if some may need to be reversed, like forgiveness.  As to Wendi’s comments on training, I would suggest that a big part of the training is specifically in how to come under new leadership.  Operating in a transition period is a big challenge for all involved, precisely because it involves, to varying degrees, a shifting allegiance.  But with good leadership (outgoing and incoming) and good mentoring, it is possible for even a conflict-caused transition to be made smoother.

My folks have been with a major Christian outreach organization for over 40 years, and have moved to new ministry roles many times (never under pressure, thankfully!).  One of the best principles I learned from my Dad is this: I need to work myself out of my job. Apply this carefully - especially if you’re a senior pastor!  I have used this principle in just about every position I’ve held, in both ministry and business, and it has been very helpful.  I don’t ever want to be in a position where if I leave, the work will stop.  It may change over time, and that’s okay - I’ve got to let go of it; but if it stops or slows down too much, then I have failed to adequately prepare the people I work with to carry on in my absence, and I have failed the people I work for - my business customers and/or supervisors, my congregation.  [These aren’t total or insurmountable failures, but they are significant ones.] It’s like the 2 Tim 2:2 principle.

what a blessing it has been to run up on this post.  thank you for helping “direct” me to follow His word instead of my own.