Saying goodbye to a “good” church staff member
I’ve mentioned before that I’ve served on 5 different church staffs over the past 25 years. That means I’ve said goodbye four times. Saying goodbye is never easy, at least it shouldn’t be. In my experience there are two ways supervisors or pastors can treat a staff member who leaves, with dignity and honor or disgrace. There are numerous scenario’s related to staff members leaving, but for this moment let’s try and tackle one scenario at a time. Saying goodbye to a “good” church staff member.
When a staff member determines that it is time for them to move on, we as supervisors have some decisions to make that can impact not only the staff member leaving but the church and their future replacement. If someone has done a good job, then we need to share what they have done with the church and let them leave feeling like a king or queen with honor and dignity.
Hopefully their decision to leave has been one bathed in prayer and they are confident that God is leading them to leave. In fact, that’s one question that I specifically ask when someone says they are leaving. I want to know if there are other reasons why they are leaving. Some call this an exit interview. If there are other reasons and they are leaving due to bad working conditions, I need to know and then either try to fix them before they leave or before the next person comes. But if God is calling them somewhere else, who am I to stand in their way?
I’ve left a church feeling like a total failure due to how I was treated by the pastor. I did everything I felt God wanted me to do, everything that the pastor asked me to do, and more. Why did I feel like a failure then? It had everthing to do with what was said and what was done during the time I announced I was leaving and my last day. My decision was questioned by the pastor in front of the entire church. I was made out to be a traitor for leaving. I wasn’t even treated with the same respect as some former staff members that had stabbed the pastor in the back. I was disgraced. God was not honored. The church was not edified.
When a good staff member decides to leave we need to support them, love on them, and model to the church that God calls people to do some things that make no sense and take us out of our comfort zone. It’s a great teachable moment. Don’t squander it. Use it. Challenge your congregation to listen to God and follow His voice.
If we treat someone the right way who poured their life out for the church while on staff, God is honored, the person leaves confident, they will be more likely to come back and visit, and your church will be challenged to listen to God and respond to His call.
Make sure you do the right thing. Honor those that serve the Lord with all their heart, soul and strength. If you do, it will be easier to find the next staff member and you’ll have a friend for life.
Next time we’ll look at “Saying goodbye to a “bad” church staff member”