I agree with Dj that pastors need to be held accountable and remain touchable and approachable. Nothing bugs me more as a pastor then for someone to have an issue and not come to me and talk to me about it. And when they do approach me with it, I deal with it ASAP.  I have worked for people and seen pastors who run from confrontation and in doing so they try to sweep issues under the rug and hope that they will go away. But my mom used to tell me when she taught me how to clean house, “The problem with the dirt that you hide is that it eventually begins to stink and then you have two problems instead of just one.”
I have only been at my current church for four months now and this is my first senior pastorate. I recently approached the board about putting together an accountability group of other men for me with the hope that it would grow into other men’s groups. I need and want that accountability. It helps one to avoid pitfalls and if wrongly accused, it gives someone a witness on their behalf.
We do not have a plan like Todd spoke of and even though they may not work 100% perfectly, it would still better to have one then to ;fly by the seat-of-your-pants.’ We will look to work on a plan after reading this article, thanks Todd for the insight.

I agree with djkeyboard all pastors and everyone under them must be answerable to someone or a board.  We are not Christ and since we are human we all have the possibilty of falling.

We know we need to always keep our eyes on Christ but Satan knows our weak moments also
and when we have a weak moment if we do fall or even die suddenly of a Heart attack or whatever while we are looking to Christ we need to put in order along with the church or the board a plan so that God’s work will go forward.  As the bible admonishes us everything in decency and in order.  This is by the word something we should do in our churches.

Dear Friends in Christ: 

Preparation for transition is a problem for those who think that “it” is never needed and for those who will never train-up another because they believe they will be in the pulpit longer than Methuselah.  My wife and i have just left a church (to resetablish a work in our local area) were we were considered “pastors’ in name only.  The pastor had a bad habit of bringing in guests where he made mission trips even though he has elders and others who could fill his pulpit.  Security in authority was always in question by those individuals.  Having worked secualr jobs, this problem of giving authority and responsibility is not new.  We, as long as we are in the flesh, will never live up to what Jesus did - - -preparing for His departure and handing over the reigns to Peter and the 10 others (not a typo for Matthias was not appointed until Jesus ascended in the Book of Acts 2:9-17). 
Anyway, now he is alone without “in-house” support...what would happen if he was unable to carry on.  With a church of 40 members, I believe it would fail (I’m sure big churches would split as well) , unless the Lord’s Divine Mercy set another immediately in.  We must be prepared.  As I recall, there are a lot of scriptures which instruct us to prepare.  We’ve become too lax in this country, and myabe God is shaking those branches and sifting the wheat for the last day revival.
Your Brother in christ
Pastor Bill

Dj is right that pastors are servants. Jesus is the ultimate servant and our ultimate example. He came to serve, not to be served. Pastors are also leaders. Jesus is the ultimate leader. And how did he lead? By serving! We as pastors are called to be leaders, but we are called to serve those we lead, not ask those we lead to serve us. A part of serving others is preparing them to be leaders and disciples. By rising up leaders and disciples we are ensuring the continuation of the Church. To go along what Pastor Bill said, the true test of a leader is how his organization works without him. If we leave a church and it crumbles, we did not do our job empowering others for service to the Kingdom. I have always felt the one of our jobs as a pastor is that from day one in a new ministry we are to be getting that ministry ready to turn it ove to someone else because, even if we do stay in that ministry as long as Methuselah, one day we will no longer be there and somebody else will have to lead/serve it.

Ok - sounds like Oliver has a bitter taste in his/her mouth.  I’d be careful not to lump all mega churches into one summation.  There are many of them who really do a good job of church discipline, eldership training, accountability groups and effective koinonia.  However, there are also quite a few who don’t do well in these areas.  As for making excuses for them, I would agree that we sometimes give too much latitude to those in senior positions.  We should be careful not to diminish their calling by disrespecting their position.  But, we should also revere the position to such a degree that we hold a high accountability to the person holding it.  Likewise, the person holding the position should recognize how crucial it is that they live a pure and open life, for the sake of the ministry. 

Let’s not toss out the baby with the bath water......let’s all work to improve the level of communication and accountability in the church.

Without wishing to promote a public argument, I’d like to respond to you, Oliver.  From your own posting, I’d like to answer your initial question.  Who put it there? 

The truthful answer is that you put it there. We are instructed in scripture to never let a root of bitterness begin within us.  The passage is a progressive one...the root of bitterness will result in an outgrowth of other responses, utlimately rendering us useless for His kingdom causes.  I suspect from the tone in your writing that you’re there. 

Life is full of lousy things.  Since the church reflects our humanity (because we are in corruptible bodies and won’t be perfected until we trade them in for the incorruptible ones..) we are going to consistently have to deal with sin and shortfalls in our congregations, leaders, pastors, and elders.  It’s the real world, so deal with it. 

You sound like you expect utopia here on earth.  Won’t happen, so grow up.  The good news is that you are not responsible for the sins of others.  You are responsible for your own, and your own attitude.  My advise to you is to quite blaming others for your sour taste, look in the mirror and recognize that you’ve left your first love of Christ somewhere in your past, go back to that point and revisit the cause, ask forgiveness for abandoning your call in Christ, and pick it back up.....quit your whinning.  Others didn’t give you a sour taste - you’ve chosen to become sour. 

Been there, done that.  This is experience talking - been at ministry for more than 30 years, been through many disappointing times in church leadership, been sour myself - realize that you are hurting no one but yourself, and you are solving nothing by being bitter.  Quit shining your martyr badge....you haven’t died for Him yet.  Try living for Him instead.

I am not bitter people in the church, and I am not looking for a perfect church, dont get me wrong.  I blame the leadership 100%.  We have to stop making excuses like saying “its the real world” and we are “all sinners”.  these are excuses.  I had more support and geniune care from an unsaved boss at a fortune 500 company than I did from a so called ‘pastor’ who used blackmail, manipulation, and every unethical practise you can thing of.  Its pretty sad when unsaved people treat you better and run a more professional organization than does a church.  You say many mega churches do a good job of discipline, and fellowship!  right!  name ONE.  I will visit it.  Most mega churches ideas of fellowship is going on picnics, and outings.  Outing after social outing.  The church is nothing more than a glorified country club!  Lets give more money to keep these sick organizations propped up!  Fellowship is not going out to dance the jitterbug!  the movie Lord of the Rings did a good job with the word fellowship.  It was people on a quest.  Today, the mega-church is full of people who are narcasistic, materialistic, up to their ears in wealth, selfishness, and comfort.  Its a pathetic mess, and most people are so blind to it!  wake up!  The only contingency plan all mega churches need is to close their doors.  I am single, and i couldn’t bring anyone else into this world with the church the way it is.  Never!

whew.  For someone claiming to not be bitter, you sure sound like you are.  You sit in a seat of judgment and castigate people you don’t even know, or have a clue about.  If that’s what you call being an effective person for Christ, I feel sorry for you. 

I’m not going to respond again, so this is my last post back to Oliver.  You seem to have it out for any church that draws any kind of crowd.  While I would be wary of those offering washed out religion, those without the preaching of the cross, the blood of Christ for salvation and the Lordship of Him in their lives, there are some who do.  I think of John MacArthur’s church, Rick Warren’s, David Jeremiah, and many others who hold true the Word and preach it well.  They have large churches and are very efffective in today’s society. 

I don’t know your life.  God does.  I would wonder just how effective you are personally in other people’s lives?  How many have you won for Him.??  Who do you influence to the cross with your spirit and approach?  There are plenty of critics in the world, we sure don’t need another.  I’ve never seen a statue erected to honor a critical person. 

You’ve indicated you’ve been hurt by leadership in church.  Guess what?  Who hasn’t?  Leaders don’t walk on water.  They put their pants on just like everyone else.  I’m pretty sure they have bad breath, smelly armpits and other quite normal human qualities.  So why should any of us expect them to be different than we?  You seem to have a problem seeing people as God sees us.  God sees the faults, the sin, the shortsightedness, the pride, the ego and the selfishness.  Hello.  I’m not excusing this, I’m simply recognizing that we live in a fallen world, in fallen condition with fallen people.  All of us, including you and me. 

The sooner you come to grips with this in your life, the sooner God can begin working grace through you to others.  Right now, all you seem to offer is venom.  I think the snake was Satan’s ploy, wasn’t it? 

I am praying for your release, for you are trapped at the moment.

I will try to be more composed.  let me just try to explain where Iam coming from.  I am coming from years of ministry in these sick churches.  I don’t think Warren has done anything effective, his ministry is an exampe of the problem.  I happen to know first hand of how his ministry is causing numerous problems every where it goes that i cannot get into.  But i would point out his lack of doctrinal knowledge, simplistic sermons that are theological incorrect and full of falsehoods.  he is a marketing machine.  I am done waiting to see something in that Evangelical culture (and all of their approach) that shows any kind of maturity.  These leaders like warren and Haggert may be my brothers and sisters, but I am tired of making excuses for them.  They are what they are.  If this is where people want to be, fine, I dont believe that the coincedence of the shallowness of these leaders and their ministries and their preoccupation with the culture and techniques is unrelated to their moral failures, and destruction they leave in their wake.  (in people lives) Shallowness breeds shallowness breeds shallowness.  you are right that one ever erected a statue to a critic, guess what? i don’t want a statue!  the warren of this world want statues, not me.  I hope that someone somewhere will see the truth of what I am saying.  i think as a movement evangelicalism is going to die, slowly kill itself off, just like liberalism.  i think it may be dead already.  and history will prove me right, when they right the obiturary of evangelicalism, it will be laid at the feet of warren inc.