Writing a letter to my pastor

[Timmy]

Originally Posted by Ferd

Now this is just me... but if I were leaving, I wouldnt go into much.

You arent going to change his preaching. You arent going to get him to see things your way. so why rehash it all?

I would just point out that there is a church close by that you feel led to help. That you are moving your family over there and God Bless and Godspeed.

you arent going to get points for showing this man the error of his ways, but you will lead him to think poorly of you so.

Good post. Especially the correct spelling of "led".

[Ferd]

Originally Posted by Timmy

Good post. Especially the correct spelling of "led".

ha! like I can tell if i spelled it right or not! LOL.

[Real Realism]

If you are at peace with the decision to leave, despite the outcome of the conversation, I agree with Ferd that it would be prudent to skip the "negative" and be as gracious as possible.

Unless you're content with the likelihood of your pastor taking your leaving as a result of his stance on tithing and not reengaging with you upon your return - I wouldn't mention them. No matter how kindly you try to broach the subjects and ask him to clarify his stance - mentioning those issues in the same breath as saying, "Pastor, I feel led to move on to a church in a town that's part of my sphere of influence." - He's only going to latch on to the negative reasons. No fault to him, IMO, but that's just human nature.

If it's more important for you to clear the air with him before you move on, then by all means, have the conversation. But just know what the consequences are likely to be.