Monday Morning Insights

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    How to Fire a Church Employee

    Check this out:  Let me know what you think…

    Josh writes:

    •The pastor should get to choose the staff.

    That’s right (and no, I am not the pastor of our church). A pastor is hired to be the visionary of the church. His primary job is to teach and lead the church to accomplish God’s purpose and plans – on some level, he is the “oracle” from God. Can others hear from God? Of course! But the pastor is responsible for the church, and if he’s the person leading the church, shouldn’t he be able to decide on the staff? (I’m not going to talk about how pastors often lose respect by not stepping up to lead and how that allows the church to question whether he hears from God or not.)

    •The staff should love the church enough to leave (quietly).

    The church is bigger than a staff person. I am unaware (although I am sure that it has happened) of a church that has ceased to exist because a staff person left or was let go. Yet, I have seen staff members fight and cause splits in the churches they are asked to leave. Honestly, if you knew that your pastor did not want you to be on staff, why would you want to stay?
    Here’s the article...

    What do you think?

    image


    There... that got your attention.

    I found this article, written by Josh Whitehead, an executive pastor, on advice for dismissing church staff members. I'm sure this is a timely thing for many churches... but is still kind of a harsh thing to write about. Here are some of Josh's points:

    1. The right staff is about good stewardship.

    2. I have never met anyone who believed they should be fired.

    3. It is not always spiritual (but sometimes it is).

    Definitely agree with number one. Not sure about number two. And of course, #3 is true...

    Comments

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    1. Gman on Thu, May 21, 2009

      Unfortunately though there are some power hungry and EGO maniac pastors who abuse their staff and youthworkers who think it is all about them.


      There are several church systems that don’t have THE pastor as the CEO ... and I think it can be dangerous to have THE pastor as the only source to Hire and Fire without Cause ...

    2. Peter on Thu, May 21, 2009

      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.

    3. Fred on Mon, May 25, 2009

      Where did my posts go? Can’t handle the truth? http://www.mondaymorninginsight.com/images/smileys/smile.gif

    4. Steve Long on Mon, June 08, 2009

      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.

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    6. Ed Hardy store on Sat, July 11, 2009

      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. very wonderful.

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      Even the Apostle Paul did not assert spiritual supremacy over his co-workers in the Lord

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