Firing a Church Staff Member (part 2)

When I’ve done all I can do to help someone succeed and they still are not doing what is expected, it’s time to let them go.  So…how do you conduct that meeting?  Here’s what I’ve done in the past:

• Plan to meet with them at the end of the work day.
• Have your documentation with you at the meeting.  Times you have met with them, what you have discussed, performance reviews, plans for change, etc.
• Write out what you are going to say.  This will help you say what you need to say.  Nothing more, nothing less.
• Discuss the steps that have been taken to clarify their position and help them succeed.
• Share with them why you are letting them go.  Be specific.  God can use this to help them see character faults that need to be changed.
• Let them ask questions, but don’t get into an argument.
• Try and keep the meeting to 30 minutes max.
• Have someone there with you as a witness.  Don’t do it on your own! 
• Spend time affirming them as an individual and help them see qualities, traits, gifts, etc. that God has given them.  Don’t demoralize them or abuse them.  God loves them, you should too, and they should know it!
• Encourage them to seek God and understand what He has for them to learn from this process.  They probably won’t hear this, but it could be one of the greatest lessons in their life.
• End the meeting in prayer.

Sometimes this goes well.  Other times it goes south REAL fast.  I continually have to tell myself that “All I can do, is all I can do” in these situations.  I can’t control how they are going to respond or how they are going to feel.  I can control what I say and how I act.

In Part 3 I’ll discuss how to inform the rest of the staff and the church.  This is one step where mistakes are made that hurt the church and the individual.  I know because I’ve seen it done and made some mistakes myself.