Let’s say you’re the pastor of a growing church.\u00a0 The church has just brought in a new minister to assist you in leading the congregation.\u00a0 He\/she might be a worship pastor, minister of music, student minister, or in charge of education or pastoral care.<\/p>\n
One of the best things a pastor can do with the incoming minister is to make him\/her aware of\u00a0your expectations.\u00a0 You will want to think them through and write them out, then share them after you both have agreed that God is leading him\/her to your church.\u00a0 Give the person the printed copy and don’t lose your own.\u00a0 This may be necessary if the time comes when you have to deal with a rebellious or lazy staff member.<\/p>\n
In sharing these, do it graciously, not dictatorially as though you are going to be looking over their shoulder all the time.<\/p>\n
You could even follow this by asking for their expectations concerning you.\u00a0 I guarantee you they have them.\u00a0 They will expect you to deal with them as ministers of the gospel, to give them room to do their job, to pay them well and protect them on their off days, and to support them when the criticism is unfair.\u00a0 If\u00a0 the new staffer is expecting something from you which was not spoken and never implied, you\u00a0want to know that up front before you get too deeply into the employment process.<\/p>\n
What follows are things I shared with our staff members in six churches over forty-two years.\u00a0 Some of them evolved, while some of them were there from the first.\u00a0 The list is not complete, but only things I recall at this vantage point…<\/p>\n
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–You are a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ.\u00a0 I promise to always treat you that way, and not as a “hired hand.”\u00a0 I will go out of my way to magnify your ministry from the pulpit.<\/p>\n
–But you must conduct yourself as a God-called minister of the Lord Jesus.\u00a0 You will have no private life in which you may do as you please without it being a reflection on the Lord or the church. (I once knew a church pianist who moonlighted in a bar.\u00a0 She insisted her private time was of no concern to the church.)<\/p>\n
–No one expects perfection from you.\u00a0 If you will work hard and give your best effort, if you make a mistake sometimes or if some event does not go off as well as we all had hoped, we will still be there to support you.<\/p>\n
–Laziness has no place in the ministry.<\/p>\n
–Never surprise your pastor.\u00a0 I once had a student minister announce from the pulpit that the summer mission trip would be to New England.\u00a0 That was the first I had heard of such.\u00a0 You may believe he and I had a heart-to-heart talk the next morning in the church office. And yes, we did take\u00a0that mission trip.\u00a0 I had no desire to punish him, only to see that things were done right.<\/p>\n
–Never share your disagreement with the pastor with someone else in the church.\u00a0 If you and the pastor are having a problem and you share it with a friend in the congregation, no matter how much he\/she insists, they will pass it on to a few people who promise to tell no one.\u00a0 When you and the pastor get together on matters, that juicy piece of gossip is still making the rounds in the congregation.\u00a0 (When a staff member did that once, I gave him a severe reprimand in private and warned him that a second time would be grounds for dismissal.\u00a0 He never did it again.)<\/p>\n
–If you cannot carry out a task\u00a0you’ve agreed\u00a0to do, you must get back to me and say so.\u00a0 Never leave\u00a0your pastor\u00a0expecting something from you which you have no intention of carrying out.<\/p>\n
–Pay attention during the sermon.\u00a0 Show the congregation how that’s done.\u00a0 If you want to take notes on the sermon, so much the better.\u00a0 (If the pastor ever mentions you in the middle of his sermon, woe to you if your mind was wandering and you have no idea what was said!)<\/p>\n
–Do your job.\u00a0\u00a0 If as minister of music, let’s say, the choir is growing smaller and weaker, because you have been too busy that week making hospital visits or counseling people with problems,\u00a0the congregation will conclude\u00a0that you are not doing your job.\u00a0 Do your job.<\/p>\n
–If you have a problem with your pastor, do not expect me to be sensitive enough to pick up on it.\u00a0 Either handle it yourself with prayer or come and tell me about it.\u00a0 Worst of all would be to let it fester and grow to the point of endangering our relationship.<\/p>\n
–To run up great unpaid debts in our city will be considered the same as some obscene sinful act.\u00a0\u00a0Bad credit\u00a0will ruin your reputation, set a horrible example, and bring shame upon our church.<\/p>\n
–I will do all in my power to see that you are paid as well as the church can afford.\u00a0 Your job is to live within your income.<\/p>\n
–If a church member gives you something of value–I’m talking about more than a mess of collard greens or a new necktie or a $100 bill for doing a funeral–you should make the pastor aware of it.\u00a0 Even if I say it was fine, I will appreciate your telling me.<\/p>\n
–Sometimes members of the ministerial staff have disagreements or rivalries.\u00a0\u00a0We expect the two of you to act like adults and not children.\u00a0 We will not tolerate childish jealousies or silly competitions between ministers, period.<\/p>\n
Once a trust level is established–and that will often take a couple of years–then all these considerations will be taken for granted and will never be referred to again.<\/p>\n
A healthy relationship between pastor and ministerial staff is a beautiful thing.\u00a0 Let’s do everything we can to build one of those!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Let’s say you’re the pastor of a growing church.\u00a0 The church has just brought in a new minister to assist you in leading the congregation.\u00a0 He\/she might be a worship pastor, minister of music, student minister, or in charge of … Continue reading