Why Leave a Project You Feel Passionate About?

This is a question that I have been wrestling with for several months. I have written about what I have learned from facilitating the Searching for Work group in the previous post. What I did not address in that post is why I am walking away from a project I feel passionate about.

It has been a difficult decision to make, but the reason behind the decision is very simple. I chose to form a networking group as an outreach mission of my church to support unemployed people who were actively searching for work. I was confident that I had the interest and experience to lead such a group. However, I made it very clear to the leaders of my church that I needed their support to create an awareness of the program and encourage the unemployed in our congregation and the community to participate. Without sufficient numbers to form a critical mass it would be difficult to sustain meaningful dialogue in this type of group. They promised that support.

For the group to succeed, this support was critical. A sufficient number of people with a common goal were required; so that effective group networking and dialogue could occur, affording participants an opportunity to advance their searches. Unfortunately, only lip service has been given. That lack of support has been a disappointment and has caused much frustration for me.

The result has been that the group remains small, albeit successful. Word about the group’s existence is spread by word of mouth. More people from the community attend than from my congregation. Networking and the flow of information occurs in the group mainly among those who have the common purpose of searching for work. In addition to the small group of people actively searching for work and making progress, there is an equal and sometimes larger group with different agendas. This subgroup puts minimal or no effort into their searches, and therefore makes minimal contributions.

The lack of concern for the plight of the unemployed in my church is both alarming and disheartening. Unemployment is painful! It is painful to both individuals affected and their families. Loss of income, savings, personal property, and the resulting emotional and psychological stress are just the tip of the iceberg. The longer term impact of job loss is also traumatic. Where will the unemployed find work in a slowly recovering economy? Competition for available jobs will increase dramatically, and some people may never return to the type of work they formerly performed. Most will not return to their former compensation levels.

The unemployment problem is enormous, yet for the past year my church has been silent, and has done little to reach out to the congregation and the community to publicize the mission of the Searching for Work group.

My disappointment over this lack of concern has reached a point where I must walk away from the project knowing some good has been accomplished, yet so much more could have been done. It is that simple!