Combinations of them are, although I’ve yet to meet a lazy pastor.

One element I have seen when pastors are fired (or the leave) is unclear expectation from the church or the pastor during the hiring phase. Either the church is unclear in what they are looking for or the pastor is unclear in who he is as a leader.

I would assume that unclear expectations were a part of the following issue:

1. Control issues (who should run the church)

3. Church’s resistance to change

4. Pastor’s leadership style (too strong)

7. Pastor’s leadership style (too weak)

8. Administrative incompetence on the part of the pastor

10. Conflict with other staff

12. Disagreement over doctrine

15. Pastor vs. deacons*

Pastors need to work hard in the interview processes in expressing their personality, gifts/weaknesses, strengths, leadership style, theological orientation, etc. They also need to work equally hard in obtaining an accurate view of what the church is looking for in a pastor.

Derek

1, 2, 3, 4, 7 . . . I think these often result because a pastor and/or the church really doesn’t understand who they are or what they want.  Either side could spend a good amount of time at the front end talking about how important it is too them to reach lost and broken people, but when shoe leather is put to this passion, the _______ hits the fan.

We are currently facing the consequences of hiring someone who really doesn’t know who they are.  At first we thought that he had intentionally misrepresented himself during the interview process.  We’ve come to the realization that he really believes he is something he is not.  I’m not sure how that didn’t surface through reference checking, but we missed it and are now dealing with the consequences.

As far as lazy or poor work ethic, I have definitely seen this in ministry.  In ministry there is much less accountability for time and outputs than in the corporate world (I know this, I’ve worked in both contexts).  It’s not uncommon for people in ministry to use their work time for their quiet time, to wander into work between 9 and 10, finish the day between 3 and 4.  How does this play with the volunteer who works a 50 hour per week job, gives 5 hours to his/her ministry and gets up at 5am to spend some time with the Lord before work.  Yes, I know that ministry workers are always on call (especially pastors), but I have also seen resistance to accountability for use of time or evaluating the effectiveness of ministry . . . and when there is resistance, it says something, doesn’t it?

Wendi

i think another possible reason for terminations might be the “personal insecurity” and/or paranoia of staff members >>(i.e. “he wants my job, so we must get rid of him!")

Sometimes a person looks great on paper, interviews great, references check out great but they do not fit with a team. 

Another reason is a leaders/pastors inability to grow with the job.  It has to do with capacity.  Far too many churches hire people for where they are and not where they want to be in the future.  I am convinced this is a huge problem too often overlooked. 

I also believe it is my job as a pastor to continually seek growth and improvement.  To seek feedback and to develop my skills and my gifts.  It is my job to make sure I am not my own lid or I am not the one keeping myself from growing.

ADB,

It is arrogant to assume Wendi’s church hasn’t sought God. You cannot over-spiritualize staff hires.

God calls a person, but “the church” hires them. You have to focus on the issues related to both.

Derek

Perhaps the list should be put into further context - it almost does not matter what the issue is.  What matters is whether the people feel that on the balance it is more or less costly to keep the pastor than suffer the implications of a search process.  This is called legitimation of power. For example, the churches filled with laity that don’t want to grow or change organizationally will change pastors regularly.  “Jobfit” with the key wealthy lay leader’s desires for the church is often at the bottom of it all.

Ultimately, there are plenty of presenting reasons for pastoral termination, some appropriate and some not, depending on context, which may be identified. But what makes the critical difference as to whether those issues rise to a firing offense is the underlying fleshly or spiritual degrees of compatibility between staff and laity in terms of their partnership with God.  Great churches have great spiritual partnerships.

Wendi,

I want to tell you I am sorry.  I did not mean to be insulting or arrogant or even dis-respectful in my post to you. I understand that it came across that way and I sincerely ask for your forgiveness if I have offended you in any way. 

Very seldom do I ever send email or post on blogs and I see how the tone of that post could be see as and taken very offensive as well as aggressive. 

Again I am sincerely sorry. 

My heart is truly that God will bless you and your church in this situation.

When serving on the Pulpit and Pew think tank we discovered ... by far ... the number one reason pastors quit (or are fired) is around conflict issues.  Power issues with board members, lay-leaders, and staff members are all part of this challenge.  Also, we often found that many pastors do not return to the senior pastor role as the pain is so significant (for the husband, wife & children). 

Handling power issues, pastoring churches that have deep traditions that are holding back it’s ability to grow, conflict management training, and not being niave to the issues that often accompany pastoring ... are all topics that would be helpful in our Seminaries and Colleges.  I sense that many of these pastors (that were fired) will have ongoing battles with grief and feelings of rejection.  Many should “pastor again.” That next church could bring healing.

ADB –

Thanks so much for your sincere apology.  I appreciate your humility and of course forgive you. 

I hope you will continue participating in the discussions here on MMI.  I have found it to be a great forum to learn from others and also hone my own written communication skills.  In today’s world, this method of communication is becoming the norm, but as we experienced on this thread, sometimes our words are perceived differently than we intend.  MMI participants are generally very gracious when they don’t understand something I’ve posted or find it to be overly critical.  Reading and participating in MMI helps me learn more about ministry outside of my corner of the world, and also helps me better understand my own motives and perceptions.  I for one, would love to hear more from you.

The title of this article is “reasons for church staff turnover,” but I think the list seems to refer to SP terminations.

Wendi

Wayde, Conflict is the cause of most church issues.  It is not about change, but how do we do that change.  My degree is in conflict management, figured that way I could always get a job in the church!!  Just kidding (sort of).

It is also possible for you to grow out of your position. We are all familiar with the truth of growing pains. Sometimes the pain is just too much for a pastor or a church.

I agree that both the church and pastor need to be perfectly honest with one another during the hiring process. For the pastor, the goal is not to get a church and for the church, the goal is not to get a pastor. The goal for both is to discover God’s will.

Thanks, Ricky,

I was wondering when you were going to criticize the viability of the biblically-ordained role of pastor. I ask again, if you hate churches so much, why hang around here?