While I can see the author’s point of view, how would he react if the first thing a pastor did upon arrival was to fire the whole staff and replace them with people he knew and trusted? That fits within his point of the pastor choosing his staff. However, you are now getting rid of the very people who know your congregation and have served them longer than the pastor has.

Just like Gman said above, it can be very dangerous to have the pastor as THE only person to hire/fire. In an ideal world, we could trust that a pastor is doing this all for the good of the kingdom, but in our fallen world it can be good to have some checks in place to keep this power under control.

I would have felt a lot better about this article if the author had addressed situations where the pastor goes on a power trip and hires/fires without a good reason.

Josh,
You can’t be serious about the Pastor/visionary thing. Where do you find that in scripture? I thought protection of the flock and leadership devolved to the eldership. There are several passages in the NT that specifically line out the role and purpose of elders. The role of pastor is just one aspect of the eldership. and I think that the church has been hijacked when the ‘pastor’ usurps the elders role and becomes the supreme overseer. This is just a case of history repeating itself because the same type of authority usurpation led to the formation of the Catholic structure and the separation of a priesthood of beleivers into the Clergy group and the Laiety group...two words that cannot be found in the NT and are only propagated by folks that don’t take God’s advice on church governance seriously.
Where is the role for the spirit in the hearts of each believer in a church where the pastor’s vision is the only one that resources are aimed at. Even the Apostle Paul did not assert spiritual supremacy over his co-workers in the Lord. He called them yoke fellows in Philippians 4:3. Which one would you have wanted as church visionary, Peter or Paul when they were in a doctrinal struggle over observance of Jewish customs in church yet Peter did a huge work among the jewish community of his day. Sometimes single men with visionary authority are idjuts and their worst instincts are held in check by the rest of the elders. The spirit works in ALL believers WITH POWER. The Spirit gifts all believers to work for heavens purposes...not some pastor guy’s vision. Sometimes a Nathan is needed to get a big headed David back on track.