RIGHT or WRONG? How to leave

Posted: 3/02/07

RIGHT or WRONG? How to leave

How should a pastor or other staff person relate to a search committee and terminate a relationship with their church? What ethical guidelines should shape such a situation?

As anyone associated with a Baptist church has experienced, the comings and goings of church staff members always are trying times. Since Baptists celebrate the autonomy of the local church, staffing churches comes down to decisions and actions of individuals, committees and congregations. In such a situation, any event affecting changes in congregational leadership always will be scrutinized and questioned by others and must be guided by ethical principles.

Human-resource professionals encourage people to present their resumes and interviews so as to offer the best possible version of themselves. But vocational ministers should be guided by integrity instead of the drive to be employed. While a search committee wants to see the best image of a person, the committee also desires to know what ministry actually will look like under this person’s leadership. Even though a minister believes a church may want a traditional/conservative/ fire-and-brimstone-preaching pastor, the progressive/liberal/narrative preacher he/she truly is should not be hidden in the hope that once hired the congregation could be changed. And vice-versa. A lack of integrity in representing oneself to a search committee can lead to a disastrous relationship between a minister and the church he/she is charged to lead, as well as the failure of the church to reach its intended mission.

When it comes to terminating a relationship with a church, it is better to look at the situation as terminating employment rather than relationship. Most ministers hope the ministry they worked toward with a congregation will not end when he/she no longer is employed. For that reason, concern for the congregation should shape how a minister leaves his/her ministry position.

A few suggestions for showing that concern include:

• Developing lay leadership—especially when a minister knows a change is coming—can help preserve the consistency of congregational ministry after the minister leaves.

• A minister should seek to keep rumors from hindering the end-portion of his or her work in a church. If the possibility of a departure is leaked to only a few people, rumors may begin, and he/she could lose the trust necessary to continue leading a congregation.

• Although a minister may experience frustrations with his/her place of service, one’s last Sunday is not the time to unload everything he/she may have wanted to say. A staff member’s departure is difficult enough for a congregation without the burden of hearing about all the church’s dirty laundry.

A final appeal to congregations and personnel committees is appropriate here: While leadership turnover is hard for a church that values consistency of ministry, please do not underestimate how difficult the changes are for the ministers and families who pour out their lives in the service of Christ’s church. While the situation of ministers coming and going is stressful for a congregation, a concern for the welfare of a minister and his/her family is a vital part of a church expressing the love of Christ to their leadership in return for the leadership and care that has been provided.

Meredith Stone

Recruitment coordinator, Logsdon Seminary

University pastor, Crosspoint Fellowship

Abilene

Right or Wrong? is sponsored by the T.B. Maston Chair of Christian Ethics at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon School of Theology. Send your questions about how to apply your faith to btillman@hsutx.edu.