This article by Joe McKeever is a must read for anyone and everyone in Church Leadership! It hits home with not only me, but hundreds of Pastor's who like me have been hurt by the very people they strived to love and lead to a closer walk with Jesus.
This is the most painful subject I ever deal with (and I write about plenty of them).
The very nature of church conflict demands that the pastor be found in the midst of the firestorm. Sometimes, he is an innocent bystander, sometimes she inherited the problem, sometimes he is the problem and at all times he or she tries to be a healer.
In every case, the pastor gets bloodied in the fray.
The church consultant we brought in to help us deal with a 30-year split in the congregation did his interviews, took his polls and then announced, “McKeever is not this church’s problem. But he has become the focus of it in the minds of many. So, I’m going to recommend that he leave and the church start afresh with someone new.”
Sheesh. Thanks a lot, friend.
But, that’s how it happens sometimes. A pastor was trying to help the church and was downed by friendly fire, as we call it.
At other times, the pastor is neither a healer nor an innocent bystander. Sometimes, he or she isthe problem and the congregation decides to take action.
The only question is, “What action?”
The most severe action a church can take is to terminate the minister. Fire him. Oust her. Send him packing. Vote her out. Force him from the pulpit.
Call it whatever you want.
Termination is the death stroke, the ultimate statement that “this man’s or woman’s ministry in this church is beyond repair.”
But consider what it says when a minister is voted out.
Terminating the preacher is an announcement to the world that this preacher is a failure and we do not recommend him to any church anywhere.
The typical church, however, would balk at that and insist, “No, we don’t want him out of the ministry. We just want him out of our church.”
No matter, friend. This is the result of your action.
Do not miss that.
By firing the minister, you are guaranteeing he or she will be out of the Lord’s work for some time, years in all likelihood, and in many cases, permanently.
I recently posted a simple paragraph on Facebook stating, “If you are going to fire a preacher, you’d better have good reason, friend. Because you will face a holy God and account for your behavior.”
Within hours, the number of “likes” reached the hundreds. Two days later, it was past a thousand. Furthermore, the “shares” are out of sight. Clearly, this post struck a nerve.
And something else happened.
A number of ministers have left comments saying they were terminated by a church several years ago and have not been able to get another pastoral position since. “Search committees are suspicious,” they say. “If this guy is so good, how come he’s unemployed?” One said, “It’s as though there’s a black mark by my name.”
One brother called to ask if I would be a reference for his application to a fast-food restaurant.
The quickest way to put a minister out of the ministry permanently is to fire him or her from a church. Because that’s often the result.
For that reason …
The only time to vote to fire a minister is when you want to put him or her out of the ministry altogether.
Now, there are times when that should be done.
There are men and women in the ministry who should be out of work, and the sooner the better.
A Baptist pastor I knew frequented casinos to gamble and would order alcoholic drinks in restaurants, making no secret of either. He needed to be canned, and he was.
A Baptist pastor I know of (but never met) was a practicing homosexual who made overtures toward the young men in the congregation. He was quickly terminated and sent on his way, as he should have been.
So, what is a church to do if the congregation wants to get rid of a preacher but not disable his or her ministry for the future?
Here are seven thoughts on that.
1. Make sure it’s “the whole congregation” and not just a few powerful individuals.
In most cases, when someone (or a committee) tells the preacher, “A lot of people are unhappy with you,” or, “You no longer have the support of the congregation,” they are dead wrong. In most cases—I have no stats to back this up, it’s my strong conviction—a few people have decided the preacher has lost his effectiveness and needs to go. But they are often wrong.
2. What you should never, ever do is offer the pastor a severance package if he or she will go quietly.
That smacks of manipulation of the worst sort.
3. Another form of pressure is to tell the pastor, “If the church votes to fire you, you get no severance.”
My response is, “Oh? Who said so? You? And who are you to be making that decision for, the congregation?”
A church can do whatever it chooses to do. It does not have to be cold-hearted or cruel.
4. Churches considering firing their ministers should think about a dozen aspects …
… including whether the Lord will be pleased with this, the reputation of the church within the denomination, the effect on the future ministry of this preacher, whether other churches will be willing to consider him or her, the effect of this on the pastor’s family, how many people within the church will be irreparably hurt by this termination, and so on.
5. It’s possible to take a vote on a pastor—one which he or she might lose—and it not be the death sentence for his or her ministry.
A church could actually vote: “We think Pastor Tom’s ministry here is finished as of today, but we love him and affirm him. And we will continue to provide his income until another church calls him as pastor.”
Or, it could vote: “We thank God for Pastor Eddie and pray for him. We believe his ministry here is nearing an end, however. We hereby request the administrative committee (or whoever) to work with Pastor Eddie and his family to provide a smooth transition and suitable support for them as long as is necessary. The committee will report back to the church regularly.”
Or something similar.
The point being, it’s not necessary to cold-heartedly fire the minister and cast him or her into outer darkness. It is possible to be redemptive in letting a minister go.
However—do not miss this—in most cases, the congregation will not vote to terminate. Pastors tend to have much more support within the church than a few people may think.
6. Avoid this manipulative ploy that some cruel leaders attempt. They tell the pastor, “If you force this to a vote of the congregation, you will be responsible for the church split.”
That’s almost humorous, it’s so blatantly false. It’s also dishonorable to God and unworthy of any self-respecting Christian.
Otherwise, find some other way.
If you’re a member of the congregation, it’s better to move your membership than to tear up a good church just because you don’t care for the present minister.
7. Ask a friend to tell you if you are acting unkindly, vindictively, harshly or unreasonably.
If you are, then apologize to everyone you know and make a pledge to sit down and be quiet. Once you “get in the flesh,” you are no longer qualified to deal with this matter because the devil is in the driver’s seat.
Consider this story from a pastor friend of mine:
My story: I was given a one-year leave of absence from my church. This lasted from August 1989 to August 1990. A few months prior to my leaving, I dealt with a search committee for a church that was twice our size, running around 2,000 in attendance. However, I ended it by informing them that the Lord was not going to let me run from our problems, that I had to see this thing through. Then, after I was unemployed, churches running a hundred in attendance were skeptical of me. It was as though I were a leper.
The only reason the church that hired me considered me was that they were recovering from an internal explosion 18 months earlier, leaving them with half the congregation and all the debt (several million dollars). The salary they offered was slightly over one-half of what I had been receiving at my previous church.
My situation is unusual—only in the 12-month package the church gave me. It is typical, however, in the difficulty in finding a new place to serve.
Only if the preacher’s ministry should come to an end—and only if you are willing to stand before the Lord and take account for your actions, which you and I will—should you vote to terminate his or her pastorate.
In all things, act like Jesus.
Better to put up with a lazy preacher or an ineffective one than to soil the name of your church and hurt a lot of people. As Paul said to the Corinthians, “Why not rather be wronged?” (1 Cor. 6:7).
“Dear Lord, save your church, please.”
Joe McKeever spent 42 years pastoring six Southern Baptist churches and has been writing and cartooning for religious publications for more than 40 years. This article was originally published on McKeever’s blog.
