How to fire a staff member, and have him like it

There are healthy ways to do the most unpleasant of things.

Nothing is more difficult, more unpleasant, and with a greater possibility for collateral damage than terminating a minister on the church staff.  Few churches get this right.  Many end up doing far more damage to the kingdom of God than if they had left that staff member where he was and done nothing.

To be sure, there are occasions when terminating a minister on the spot with no advance notice is necessary. I can think of several reasons…

–He has been arrested and there is probable cause.

–He is guilty of a serious immorality and people were hurt by him.

–He is doing teaching something blatantly unscriptural and insisting that he will continue.

–He is being disruptive in the church and doing great harm.  Let’s say he is leading a movement to get the pastor fired.  He should be terminated on the spot.

However, even in those situations, you as a church leader have more people to think about than just that one person.  If he has a wife and children, you owe them the Christlike care and continued ministry of the church until their lives straighten out.  If that minister has the trust and affection of church members, you owe them the assurance that this matter is being handled in a way they would approve of if they were doing it.

In all other cases, however, no minister should ever be terminated abruptly without attempts being made to correct whatever was wrong.  He or she should never be surprised by the axe falling.  They should have seen it coming long in advance and have been prepared.

Here are some ironclads about this business of terminating ministers on your church staff….

1) The minister will be needing to know the truth.

I hear stories that go like this:  “The chairman of the personnel committee called me in and said I should clean out my office, that they were having to let me go.” The reasons are always something nebulous like: The church is hurting financially and can no longer afford you, We made a mistake bringing you in because you are not a good fit for our church, or The leadership of the church has determined that we need to go in another direction.

Give me a break.

Tell him the truth.  Those are not reasons for terminations.  These could be the basis for shifting job responsibilities or even reducing salaries and benefits, but not for termination.

2) The pastor should act like an adult and handle this difficult assignment himself.

Do not shove it off onto the chairman of a committee. Either you are the leader of the church, pastor, or you’re not. If you’re not, please resign and find an honest way to make a living.

3) Except in the cases above (illegal, immoral, unscriptural, etc), no firing should be done abruptly but only at the conclusion of a lengthy series of efforts to get this right.

4) Always keep uppermost in mind that you are dealing with the fine china of human lives.

These people are going to be affected by this turn of events for the rest of their lives.  Get this right! May I go so far as to say, if you do not, if you get this wrong and hurt a lot of people (as you will if you drop the ball) and handicap this person’s future ministry for a long time to come, you will stand before the Lord and give account one day, and you will not enjoy the experience.  Remember you heard it here.

5) If you moved this family to your city, you owe them a great deal.

They came to your city because they trusted you. Sure, they were trusting the Lord’s leadership, but they trusted you too, pastor (and other leaders). Now is the time to show them that you are trustworthy.

If the staffer must be terminated, then you must face the fact that a minister cannot simply go out and find a position with another church, but the process could take many months.  Furthermore, they will probably need to move away, perhaps “back home,” where you found them.

If you are unwilling to take care of an adequate severance package, continuing health insurance for a suitable period, and moving expenses, then the solution is simple: Keep them on staff.  Find ways to make this work.

6) The worst reason for terminating someone on the planet is “you are not a good match for our church.”

What in the sam hill does that mean?  I’ll tell you exactly what it means: Someone in authority around there does not like you. And that someone is calling the shots.

When a minister is found to be an awkward fit for the church that has employed him or her, you don’t just “up and send them back home.”  You make it work.

There are people with relational skills, human resource training, and godly wisdom who may be brought in to advise in this situation.

7) Do nothing quickly, impulsively, or under pressure.  Make sure you have made every effort to find a workable arrangement with the staff member.  Stay on your knees in prayer.  Fast for a time.  Take this as seriously as you have ever taken anything. After all, it can happen to you, too, pastor.

Which reminds me to tell pastors this. I have known of churches that terminated staff members turning around a few months later and cutting the pastor loose too.  You taught them how, pastor, and they learned well.

The pastor would do much better teaching his lay leadership to learn to work with staffers they are having difficulty with.  Divorce may seem to be an easy way out, but it rarely is, and often costs far more than it saved.

Finally, I have 3 questions for the church leaders who want to abruptly terminate a staff member without just cause:

1) How would you like to be treated this way?

2) Can you honestly face the congregation and tell them what you have done and why?  If you are unwilling, then don’t do it.  They will need answers, make no mistake.  If you have none to give, then do the right thing and get this right.

3) Can you turn around and teach what Scripture says about “God hates divorce” after you have so unfeelingly divorced a sincere and God-called minister?

When the message came in the middle of the night informing me the associate minister on the church staff was being terminated, I didn’t get any more sleep.  My heart was broken for him and his young family.

I found myself saying something I have never uttered in all my days. “On behalf of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, I apologize to you.”  Later, I realized those words were from the Holy Spirit and not from me.

The Lord is hurting today when He sees what our churches are doing to these ministers, their families, and the congregations that love them. He calls them into the ministry and then you mess them up.  I tell you, He does not take this lightly, friend.

An elderly deacon, a retired banker who thought he knew most everything about every subject, told the pastor whom he was trying to get fired, “You won’t be without a church long.  You’ll be able to get another church in a heartbeat.”

The pastor said, “Then my friend, that just shows that you do not understand how the system works.  Churches will want to know why I was let go at my last church. They will suspect hidden reasons.  They will be afraid to talk to me.”

The deacon, widely respected in his community and congregation, was insistent that he was right.

The pastor’s scenario came to pass.

A few months later, when that pastor found himself out of work and began circulating his resume’, he discovered that churches one-tenth of the size he had been serving were suspicious.  He ended up going many months without a church and finally was led to a church a fraction of the size of his previous congregation, taking a serious cut in income.  He was okay by that, incidentally.  I tell the story to say that the layman was mistaken in thinking his callous action would have no affect on the future ministry of that pastor.

The fine china of human lives. A serious, serious matter.

People are fragile, church leader.  Handle with care.

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