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Responses (cont):

Pastor Rich Huston – Arvada, CO
I’ve seen pastors handle staff a lot of different ways, but something I heard years ago has stuck with me.  The comment made was,”If you want to really find out what a pastor is like, ask his staff, especially the clerical staff.”   There is something that rang true to me about that, having seen some pastors that did treat their staff poorly.  I personally feel my responsibility is to treat my staff like I would like to be treated, or in other words, to be Christ-like toward them.  Years ago as I served under several pastors, I needed mentoring and felt like I was simply being asked to do a job, rather than developed as a person and staff member.  I think in our American culture we are more interested in organizational success than growing people.  It seems to be a rare pastor and church culture that fosters relationships that encourages growth, mentoring and spiritual fathering.  It’s my aim to provide this to those I work closest with in ministry. I’ve found that some respond to it and some don’t.  Regardless, I feel it is my responsibility to try my best to provide the opportunity to have a warm and growing relationship with my staff.


Pastor David Harbison – Belleville, IL
One of the first things, and maybe one of the most important, is to not overwhelm them. We want staff members to succeed and not to fail. We want them to develop and grow into a greater capacity for leadership. So we want them to continue on and not give up because they feel inferior. We as leaders should remember how difficult it was for us in the learning process and the times we felt like quitting because we felt like we were so inadequate. With those memories we want to continue to encourage our staff and affirm our confidence in their ability to perform the task that we have assigned them. Consistent affirmation helps them to feel our support for them and provokes them to give it their best shot. And once they have successfully performed their task, lets let them know how much we appreciate a job well done.

Secondly, we must understand the need to provide the proper level of authority to go with the amount of responsibility we give to our staff.  You see, if we are going to expect them to be responsible for an area of our ministry than we must also allocate the proper level of authority to perform the task at hand. Otherwise they will not be able to make decisions necessary to achieve the goals that we have set for them. Obviously we will have to go in to great detail what we expect and what level of authority we are willing to relinquish to them to perform adequately. Then they won't have to keep running back to us and ask "can I do this?” or “can I do that?" They will have the confidence to make necessary decisions.  Remember, this can only work properly if you have set proper parameters.  I would recommend doing so on paper and having them sign it so they know what boundaries not to cross, and if they were to do so you can take them back to a point of reference and remind them where they went too far. This helps to remove gray areas that may cause problems. One might think that this could be extreme, but I have realized that it really helps to provide an area of protection for the staff much in the same way proper boundaries helps your children to feel safe because they know what you expect from them and they are not just trying to figure it out along the way. I have done these things in our ministry and they have worked very well for us. Unfortunately, we had to discover these concepts the hard way, but they have proven to be invaluable in the development of our staff that, at present, have become a tremendous blessing and an asset to our ministry.


Pastor Jerry Piker – Laurie, MO
Your staff personnel are your eyes and ears for the people. You should always be aware of this so you can see what is going on with your congregation. I believe you should impart leadership skills into your staff and cause them to do the "work of the ministry". If your staff personnel know and show your heart, the rest of the congregation will know and show your heart.


Pastor John White – Decatur, AL
We should be responsible for training our employees to perform their jobs in the manner we require. That means continuing education, seminars, training material, etc. All of which means spending money and time on them. I believe that if we properly train our employees by investing into their lives by educating them, our ministries will be stronger. I have experienced that after we have invested greatly in an employee, they end up leaving us or not able to perform their duties. However; that is just a fact of life, and every corporation in the world has experience the same thing. That is just a risk we take, and it should encourage us to prayerfully and wisely choose our new employees.

We should also be very sensitive to our employee’s spiritual needs and personal problems. Not only will they affect our ministries, but we as men and women of God owe it to them. We are first of all ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ and then we are employers.

In conclusion, walk in love, treat our employees with dignity and respect, and pay them well for their services. Honor them as a valuable asset to the ministry by investing in their lives and the returns will be great.


Pastor Tim Gilligan – Ocala, FL
First of all, people will go where you let them or where you lead them. John Maxwell maintains, and unfortunately he is right, that everything rises and falls on leadership. I believe that through regular interaction, communication and meetings (both formal & informal), you as the leader need to set the course and parameters of where you as an organization are going and what is expected of each one. When a staff member is not performing to the standard you desire, you find yourself disappointed in them. Disappointment is not in what you find, but in what you expected to find. And so often the problem we have with a staff member goes beyond the gap of what they did versus what you wanted. Perhaps the real problem is that you did not make it clear what you wanted, the standard.

Also more than just giving all the details and tasks that are expected, give them the values and priorities you hold important. These core values will govern and propel the performance of your staff. Also, by having clear guidelines and core values, in many cases, it will be easier to see and understand why some staff members are or are not performing at the level you need and desire.

Also, never forget that what is rewarded is repeated. Positive reinforcement is incredibly motivating and valuable.