A couple of weeks ago I read a new post by Thom Rainer, founder and CEO of Church Answers and the author of over 40 books on “church stuff.” Thom is a very smart guy and a keen observer of the American Christian scene. The post was called “Anatomy Of The Firing Of A Pastor.” I thought it was great, but it left me longing to talk to the pastor who was the subject of the article. I found myself hurting for him and wanting to hug him and scold him in quick succession and to get some thoughts into the blogosphere that might be helpful to others.
So with Church Answer’s permission, here’s Thom’s article, “Anatomy Of The Firing Of A Pastor,” followed by seven thoughts from yours truly about “How To Not Get Fired Next Time.”
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Please read these first few sentences before you look at the subheadings. I want to be clear about a few points.
First, some pastors are fired for moral failure. This article does not address that category of firing. Second, my article makes some church members the bad guys. I want to be clear that they are the exception and not the rule. Third, I realize that each firing has its unique characteristics. What you will read is a typical pattern, not a fixed sequence of events for every dismissal of a pastor.
This article reflects on seven phases of the firing of a pastor. I have worked with countless pastors who shared their stories with me. These phases are common in many of them. Also, I will use a recent conversation to provide a real narrative of a real pastor in a real church. I made some slight adjustments to protect the identities of the pastor and the church.
Phase 1: The Pastor Made a Decision a Power Broker Did Not Like.
This phase can begin with an individual or with a small group of members. It can be cumulative decisions or one decision. The church I’m using as my case study began with one person who had significant influence in the church. The pastor declined to recommend the power broker’s family member for the open worship minister position.
Phase 2: The Power Broker Forms a Negative Coalition Against the Pastor.
At this point, the pastor has no idea that the power broker is working against him. He is still unaware that any opposition is taking place. The power broker never meets with the pastor. Instead, he goes directly to the personnel committee of the church. It is a strategic move by the power broker. He has considerable influence over five of the seven members. The other two are weak and will not question the power broker. Also, the personnel committee acts as the pastor’s supervisor.
Phase 3: The Negative Coalition Gathers “Fake Facts” Against the Pastor.
The power broker never mentions the issue of his family member not being recommended for the worship minister position. Instead, he leads several of the members of the personnel committee to create a false narrative about the pastor. “He didn’t visit Jane in the hospital when she had surgery.” “He spoke rudely to Marion.” “He made some decisions where he did not have authority.” “People are saying that the pastor hardly ever works.” “People are saying that he is not friendly to anyone.” “People are saying that all the new members who have joined the church under his tenure are causing trouble.”
Phase 4: The Negative Coalition Asks to Meet with the Pastor.
The pastor is caught off guard by the requested and unscheduled meeting with the personnel committee. The pastor contacted me (Thom) to ask if he should be worried. I told him that I was concerned and that he should be prepared even though he couldn’t think of any reason why there would be a problem. The expressions and body language of the personnel committee immediately communicated a bad situation to the pastor when he came to the meeting, especially since he thought most of them were his friends.
Phase 5: The Negative Coalition Presents the Concerns to the Pastor and Asks for his Resignation.
All of the concerns were false and prefaced with these three cowardly words, “People are saying.” The pastor’s first thought is to fight the charges since he knows they are false, but the power broker makes a sinister comment without explanation, “If you do not resign, your family will suffer.” The pastor accepts the four months of offered severance and signs a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). The NDA clearly stipulates that if he says anything negative about the church, he will lose his severance.
Phase 6: The Pastor Announces his Resignation the following Sunday during the Worship Service.
The NDA prevented him from saying anything other than that the dismissal was not due to moral failure. The church is stunned. The absence of any explanation causes the rumor mill to create multiple false narratives.
Phase 7: No One Comes to the Pastor’s Defense.
This church is congregational in its polity. The personnel committee does not have the authority to fire a pastor without a congregational vote. Such is the reason the personnel committee demanded his resignation. Any member of the church could have met with the personnel committee and demanded transparency. But no one was willing to rock the boat. Pastors typically tell me that this phase is the most painful. One pastor called it “the sinful silence of the majority.”
In this particular case, the pastor was able to receive a call to another church just as the severance ran out. Most pastors are not that fortunate. A number of pastors never return to vocational ministry after such a traumatic event. The pastor and his family are traumatized.
In most cases, the church that fires the pastors suffers as well, sometimes for years. One member of the church noted in my story told me, “I will regret forever that I did not speak up. It took me a year to ask my former pastor for forgiveness. Since the evil event took place, it’s like a cloud of darkness is over our church. I wonder if it will ever go away.”
It is a sad story. It is a tragic story.
Sadly, it is a story that is much too common.
I would love to hear your thoughts.
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Here’s a link to Church Answers if you’re ready to sign up for Thom’s blog:
Here are my “How To Not Get Fired Next Time” suggestions
Suggestion #1 – Develop the emotional maturity, the God-given confidence and the gentle assertiveness that you’ll need to be a successful pastor. You have to be able to speak the truth in love and listen to the truth (or not) even when it’s definitely not spoken in love. You need the assertiveness to tell people what you and your family need and how you feel you’re being mistreated.
I say this seriously and in love: If you need to spend a few years doing something else for a living and growing into the person who can “make it” as a pastor, it’s okay. God understands. Your seminary classmates and fellow pastors at your association may not, but God does. The pastorate as we know it today is an extremely difficult job; it is not for the faint of heart. If you don’t need to flee to a secular job, it’s also okay to become a pastoral associate or serve a parachurch ministry for a while. Find a pastor you greatly admire and attach yourself to him, whether they pay you or not. This would be time well spent.
Suggestion #2 – Find out about the official governance and leadership styles of the church you are looking at, as well as the unofficial (shadow?) governance and leadership styles of this congregation, before you accept the call.
You need to know what the constitution and bylaws say about how decisions are supposed to be made and you also need to know how decisions are actually made. They might be very different. If they are, you at least need to know this before you move to town. You need to learn “how the game is played” on this playing field. One of my teachers said that “The pastor must know the constitution and bylaws like the referee knows the rule book.”
How will you find out? Interview the previous pastors going back to 1961. Ask pointed questions of the pastoral search committee (not very valuable, but do it anyway). Now interview the pastors going back to 1861. Talk to other pastors in the community. Talk to people who have left the church. If at all possible, talk to denominational officials who know something about this congregation.
Suggestion #3 – Make sure you find out who is accountable to whom. Who does the pastor answer to? Who can fire him? What is the relationship between the board/council/consistory /session and the pastor? Is the pastor the boss over this group, the slave to this group or the employee of this group? What other boards or committees is the pastor expected to lead or to be led by? Is there some sort of “pastor relations committee” whose purpose is to give the pastor regular beatings? What is the authority of the congregation? How is that authority exercised in real life? Is this church elder led, pastor led, board led or committee led?
Negotiate a pastor’s ministry description which is taken seriously by all the right people. Make sure you know what you’re going to be in charge of and what you’ll only be observing. What does it mean when it says that the pastor is an “ex-officio member of all committees”?
In my job description at my long-term pastorate we said that I had a five-fold relationship to the elder board: We were brothers as far as our Christian walk; I was the “hands-on” pastor to each of them and their families; I had one vote, just like the other members of the group; I was the overall directional leader of the group and I was accountable to the group as my boss. Was this complicated? Of course, but it was doable as soon as we clarified it this well.
Suggestion #4 – If the church has a board/council/consistory/session of some sort, do your leadership through this group. Think: Concentric circles. You have a great idea. You convince the leaders among the official leadership team. You convince the rest of the leadership team. You convince a larger circle of leaders. You convince an even larger circle of leaders. You convince the congregation.
Insist that the official leaders of the church function as the real leaders of the church. Do not allow shadow or ghost leaders – usually senior saints who no longer want the responsibility but still want the authority – to control the church from the wings. Be patient and sweet and understanding with former leaders whose support you need to go forward. But I don’t recommend being sweet and patient with former leaders who bluster and bully and gossip. They are not worthy of respect. Work through proper channels, do right, watch your tongue and let the barking dogs bark.
Suggestion #5 – Do not allow the pastor (you!) to become the issue. I’m repeating myself already, but Thom’s article betrayed a pastor who seemed to be leading the church by himself in that there was no mention at all of the actual leadership board – and there should be only one of these – of the church. It isn’t going to work for you, as the new pastor, to lead the congregation directly with no “band of brothers” beside you. It might work for you ten years from now but at least initially, every change in the church – and change is always the issue, isn’t it? – must be proposed by the leadership team, not by the “Lone Pastor.”
Suggestion #6 – Pour yourself into the development of the board/council/consistory/ session/leadership team, by whatever name it’s called. You may have to disciple, mentor, teach, or train this group for years before you can actually lead the church effectively through them. In a congregational or elder led church this is essential.
If you are pastoring an episcopalian style church, with your authority coming from a bishop or other denominational official, you might be able to skip this step and lead the church as an individual. However, from what I’ve seen and heard, even in a top-down leadership structure church, you can’t do much without the support of an “invisible board” of influential people. Correct me if I’m wrong folks, but from what I’ve seen, everything in America is ruled democratically, to at least some extent.
Suggestion #7 – Go to work immediately to create a healthy culture of Biblical problem solving, complaint processing and conflict resolution. Thom’s pastor friend was confronted by a committee which solicited gossip; this should never, ever happen to any pastor.
While it’s true that many churches have a long history of handling these real-life issues in ungodly ways, this can change. With patient, persistent teaching, the development of policies and covenants which insist on handling things in Godly ways as well as assertive and kind-hearted confrontation, immature churches can grow up quickly.
Being fired as a pastor sounds and feels terrible but the dismissed pastor is in good company. For many of us it’s a painful learning, growing experience. We can respond by getting bitter or by getting better, as well as older and wiser. By the grace of God you can recover from this brutal experience and know blessing in ministry which you could not have imagined.
