In response to a humorous article about getting rid of your minister, a reader posed the obvious, but more serious question, "What are the proper procedures to use to get rid of the Pastor?" Just as obvious is the awareness that no one simple answer can possibly fit the great variety of reasons and situations for initiating a change in the church's pastoral leadership. At the same time, sincere laymen need guidelines. The reality is that almost every church, at one or another in its history, senses a need for a change, and mostly such changes are made at a very high price. Much more thought needs to be given to this subject, and what is offered here is for the purpose of getting the conversation started rather than pretending that final answers are being provided.
A great number of factors need to be taken into consideration.
First, who is asking the question, "How can we get rid of our minister?"
All church-goers may be created equal, but not all are necessarily to be treated equal. Is the questioner a member, an officer, a ministry leader, or a staff person? Each of these may procede somewhat differently if they feel there is good reason to initiate a process leading to the removal of the pastor of their church.
Secondly, what is the stated reason for wanting a change in pastoral leadership?
Is there a perceived personal offense? moral indescretion? financial misappropriation? doctrinal departure? failure to accomplish basic pastoral duties? leadership incompetence? inability or unwillingess to work with lay leadership? lack of membership growth for which the pastor is held respnsible? a basic mis-match of pastor/church ministry philosophy? Most will agree that how we go about making a change largely depends on what the reasons may be, with great care being given to clearly identify such reasons rather than just reacting to a general sense of disatisfaction.
Third, a large number of considerations need to be taken into account.
*What is the cultural, denominational, and historical setting for this church?
*Is the pastor hired or called? Is the pastor full-time or bi-vocational?
*How was the pastor chosen by this congregation: was it by election? by appointment? and was the invitation to serve open-ended or was it for a particular term?
*How long has the pastor served this particular congregation?
*What provisions would there be for the pastor's family support if it were to take a long time for relocation?
*Are there any built-in mechanisms for the pastor's ministry evaluation? Do both pastor and people have a clear understanding as to what criteria have been used to evaluate the effectiveness of the pastor?
*Is taking of a "vote of confidence" a possibility, and if so, who may initiate, oversee, and examine the results of such a vote?
*If a thoughtul, prayerful evaluation suggests that significant improvements need to be made in the Pastor's professional performance, are there any possible options to termination, such as continuing education, counseling, or a sabbatical?
*Wherein lies the real authority and influence for this congregation?
All of these matters need to be brought into consideration, and hopefully all of the principal players will be involved in the conversations.
But the question still persists, how do we go about getting rid of our minister?
Perhaps it goes without saying, the starting place is personal repentance and prayer. The very first person to talk to is the Lord of the Church. Pray for the pastor, and if there is opportunity, pray with the pastor.
Only after much prayer, and a clear indication from the Lord, should the next step be taken to talk alone with the pastor. Understandably, many people refuse to take this step, often out of fear. However, the Word clearly states, "perfect love casts out fear." Too many people attempt to bolster their courage by talking with other leaders or members, checking to see if there is some agreement on the need to initiate this change. The results of these kinds of hallway or parking lot conversations are almost always harmful, tending only to polarize the congregation and hinder the chances for a harmonious resolution. If a member or church leader thinks they have witnessed something unbecoming to the office of pastor, or something which they feel to be harmful to the Body of Christ, the requirement is the same - make every good-faith effort possible to speak directly with the pastor alone before conferring with other members or leaders.
The third step depends on the response to the second. If the pastor is not one to be easily threatened by a properly communicated concern, then he may be willing to broaden the discussion in a special meeting between him and the church officers or board. If the pastor is not willing to initiate such a meeting, then, after futher consideration and prayer, the member or leader may go to the leading layman and request that they together go and discuss the matter with the pastor. This assumes that the leading layperson fully understands the necessity for confidentiality. If this meeting can take place between the pastor, the leading layperson and the concerned member/leader, at that meeting it should be decided whether the matter should be brought to the attention of the church board or denominational officials, depending on the particular cause for the complaint, and the polity of that church. If it turns out that the matter is not one for outside intervention such as in a case of moral failure, the next step would be for a closed session discussion with the church board, pastor, and member who has brought the concern to the light, perhaps under the leadership of an experienced, unbiased minister or consultant invited in for this purpose.
At this point, if there is an emerging consensus that a pastoral change should be made, prior to any official motion being made to that effect according to the church's Bylaws, it would be well for there to be discussion about what provision would be made for the pastor and his family should he be willing to render his resignation if it is asked for. Of course, in most churches, the pastor has the right to have this question decided on by the membership, and in certain circumstances he may feel that due to there being false accusations, he may need to push for that kind of a meeting. However, even that decision should be made with a full commitment being made for fair and adequate provision should the pastor need time for new employment or calling to be secured.
If after these discussions there remains a consensus among the leaders that what the pastor has (or has not done) warrants his being removed from his responsibilities, then a formal, written request should be made to the pastor asking him to submit his resignation. As much as two weeks should be given for the pastor to finalize this decision. If the decision is to not resign, then, in most autonomous churches, a meeting of the membership will be called and a vote taken as to whether or not the pastor's ministry in that church will be terminated. At this meeting, the membership should be advised as to the several steps already taken to address the stated concerns, and how the church is prepared to provide for the pastor if the vote is for dismissal. It would also be well for there to be a balanced presentation, not only pointing out the reasons for dismissal, but giving due credit for successful ministry accomplished by the minister.
Finally, it must be said that even with all necessary precautions taken, there will always be some amount of confusion, disillusionment, hurt feelings and other negative experiences. However, if humility reigns, especially in the hearets of the church leaders, everyone can be brought to a place of trust in the Lorde who heals the hurts and gives guidance for the furture of the ministry both of the pastor and the church.