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church fires employee

Conflict?  Ask Ken:  When and How Should I Fire a Church Staff Member

Orginally published on Thursday, January 06, 2005 at 8:42 AM
by Todd Rhoades

Dear Ken, I am the senior pastor of a church that averages between 150 – 200 for Sunday morning worship. I have a number of questions relating to letting another staff member go. Here they are: When is it OK to fire a ministerial staff member? What role should the pastor have? What can/should he do to make sure that person is treated fairly even in termination? 

What should the Pastor do in the time leading up to termination, the termination itself and the follow-up? Staff members often feel "betrayed" by their pastor when they are under fire. How can this be avoided? I used to be of the opinion that the only time a staff member should ever be dismissed is for moral, ethical or illegal failings. Now I'm starting to wonder if there are other legitimate reasons. I'm wary about allowing a church to fire a staff member for a reason other than immorality because once they do it once, it becomes easier to do it again. I'm wondering if he should even be in ministry. Is it appropriate for the Pastor to tell someone maybe they should think about another line of work? Is it ever OK to dismiss a staff member for "unsatisfactory job performance"? The ideal picture is that this minister remain and be successful for a long time. From the Lone Star State

Dear Pastor,

You have raised a number of excellent questions. Hopefully, others on this blog will offer their advice as well.

I am going to restate your questions because I see an even larger dilemma. Congregations, especially those your size, commonly describe life in the church as being part of a “family,‿ with love and acceptance being hallmark characteristics. Hence, even if a person is not gifted in a certain area and is asked to serve in a different area, such a shift doesn’t affect that person’s membership in the church. 

The same, however, cannot be said about a paid staffer. For example, if an associate pastor was hired to run small groups and has no administrative skills to do so resulting in a floundering small group ministry, a shift out of that ministry often means leaving the church. Why? Because if the church needs to hire someone else to carry out what it considers to be a vital ministry of the church, it probably doesn’t have the funds to find or create a new position for the displaced staffer. The larger dilemma is, how does one “let go‿ a staff member for shortcomings when the church promotes the full acceptance of all despite their shortcomings? 

Should an announcement of resignation be made, it is a confusing and upsetting message to many in the congregation. That’s when a number will come to the defense of the staff member. That’s when stories of how this person helped during times of trial will surface. That’s when the board or Sr. pastor are called into account. That’s when, in defense of their decision, the board or Sr. pastor feel compelled to list the associates shortcomings. That’s when matters begin to feel like a personal attack. That’s when supporters of the associate pastor begin to list the shortcomings of the Sr. pastor and remind everyone that he is not being asked to leave. Yikes! The larger dilemma is, the principles that are called upon to apply to the goose, are not applied to the gander by the very geese who promote those Biblical principles!

How to Minimize This Problem

The Bible says that money is a root of all sorts of evil. Though I say this “tongue-in-cheek‿ as it relates to staff, the reality is, money plays a role in this issue as described above. Because certain ones in the church are paid to do their work, unlike the bulk of volunteers, a different standard is applied to those on staff. Generally speaking, “performance‿ takes a higher precedence than “relationship‿ for church staff, and members need to be made aware of this dichotomy. 

Because of this, it is critical for churches to have clear job descriptions against which to measure performance. Just as important, and because the church is a grace-oriented institution, it must also establish performance improvement plans for staff members who fall significantly short on performance.

More can and will be said. Next week I will continue this discussion, specifically delving into the subject of performance improvement plans (which you raised).

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen‿ (Jude 24-25).

Your Conflict Resolution Consultant,

Ken

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Ken Newberger, an experienced church conflict resolution specialist, earned his Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary, has ten years senior pastoral experience, and is in the dissertation phase for his Ph.D. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at Nova Southeastern University, one of only two accredited doctoral programs of its kind in the United States. If your church needs individualized help, please visit Ken's website or call 301-253-8877.


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 TRACKBACKS: (0) There are 53 Comments:

  • Posted by
    Saturday, January 15, 2005 at 7:54 PM

    I would like to add a comment to this discussion. First of all, I am quite suprised that no one has mentioned that ministry is not a job. It is, and should be, a calling. The Bible says that a man who devotes himself to this kind of work is due support (payment) for doing so. Again, many have made reference to how the church has been negatively influenced by corp. america. Very true! however, I believe you have missed the most important way in which this is happening. There is no Scripture that gives authority to a senior pastor. The ministers are to be elders who are in mutual submission to one another. The one who preaches has as much a responsibility to answer to the music or youth pastor as does any other staff memeber to him. The conflicts over “job performance” almost always arise out of the need of one to “set an agenda” for the others. It is a power struggle plain and simple. The church has only one senior pastor—JESUS CHRIST! If we have staff members who meet the qualifications of an elder then, in all cases except moral or ethical failure on his part, every staff member has an obligation to listen to and work with every other elder. Since there is no hierarchy there can be no firing—only working together because we a commanded to “be of one mind.”

  • Posted by
    Thursday, March 30, 2006 at 3:43 PM

    Hello,
    I am a youth leader in a church just starting out.  Our Senior Pastor is a very flexible person, and listens to everyone.  Recently a new man that alot of people know, began to preach severely on certain traditions that were not biblical that the church practiced.  Surely, i have checked scriptures and it adds up and prove his teaching is correct.  The senior pastor listened and being the obedient man he is towards God he made new changes.  This is all good, but i have come to notice that all the visions for the church suddenly is coming from this man.  It seems as though he is the one leading the church, to the point it makes the senior pastor look out of place.  The man dictates who has the gift for leading a worship service, He dictates who at the present time can enter into the five ministries, he doesn’t take counsel but say his gut feelings are strong and that we should trust him and listen when he says something.  I feel so bad for the senior pastor because it seems like he takes orders from this man and not from God. By the way the man I speak of is now the church music director because at the time he is the only one who has skills in that area.  He is also the Head teacher in our teaching staff.  Don’t get me wrong i am not trying to give a bad picture of the man, but i am concerned.  I guess my question is if he is doing all this work and the senior pastor just stand next to him, is that ok, if it is i thought God called pastors to sheperd the flock not music directors.  Lastly, how should i address this to the senior pastor.  I am so afraid to be judgemental, because i don’t want to be the one stirring discord in the church, please help, but my motives are pure if there was any hint that they weren’t i ask God to keep my mouth from speaking in the matter.

  • Posted by
    Thursday, March 30, 2006 at 4:57 PM

    Wow, you’ve described a tough situation, MD.  In answer to your question, “how should I address this to the senior pastor?” I would first recommend a posture and attitude of humility (Philippians 2).  I would also encourage you with Paul’s exhortation to Timothy:  “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young....” (Please read the rest of the passage in context! It’s 1 Tim 4:12.)

    With that attitude, I would schedule some one-on-one time with the senior pastor – which I hope you have on a regular basis, anyway.  (I’m assuming you’re not at a mega-church with a dozen pastors, but that you have fairly good access to the SP.) When you meet, share your observations and ask for his feedback on them.  Where to go from there depends entirely on what he says.  Feel free to contact me directly, or touch base with Andy McAdams at Church Dynamics ().  Andy’s had 30+ years as a pastor and now consults with churches on a wide range of issues, from leadership to discipleship to conflict.

    By the way, I am curious what “traditions” were declared to be unbiblical.  And how did the “new man”, who is the music director (by default, it seems), “begin to preach”.  Do you mean that he literally started preaching in the services against these (supposedly) unbiblical traditions?  Or do you mean that he began to “preach” to the senior pastor and/or others in leadership?  What is his theological training or background, compared to yours and the senior pastor’s?

    Here are some other questions for you to consider, if you haven’t already:  What is your view of scripture as it relates to church methodologies?  At two extremes are (1) if the Bible doesn’t expressly permit something, it should be forbidden, and (2) if the Bible doesn’t expressly forbid something, it should be permitted.  Do you view the New Testament as prescriptive or normative for how we ought to do church today, or is it primarily describing what the early church did?  (Personally, I lean toward the latter - the NT describes the early church, but does not tell us how to do church today.)

    Keep us posted.

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