Alternatives to firing

The firings continue. I have never seen a time when as many good men have been fired from the works they have been with. I’ve had 7 or 8 good friends, faithful servants, dedicated ministers who have been fired in the last several months (K., H., B., S., K., R., A., M, this is for you). It could just be that I now interact with more preachers than ever before, or it could be a warning to preachers not to be my friend :)! I hope it’s not the latter. I love my preaching friends, spending time with them, lifting up their hands and growing with them are among my favorite things.
A quick disclaimer or two: I most often hear only one side of the firing. Another one. Of the eight guys listed above I’ve never heard one of them preach more than twice, so I don’t know what it would be like to hear any of them week after week. I suspect if I were an elder there would be times I would be tempted to fire the preacher. And I KNOW there are times I would have fired me! I also know that ANY preacher, regardless of how loved he is by the majority of the congregation has guys and gals “firing” at him and the elders get the blunt of it.
The whole firing thing is ugly and painful and while maybe sometimes necessary I’d like to think some with you about “alternatives to firing”. There isn’t always another way but here are some thoughts and I imagine in the comment section there will be others even more worthy than mine. You might share this with the leaders where you worship:
Is there another way? Well maybe...maybe not, but here are some thoughts:
1. I don’t know that there is a way to fire a guy (or let a guy step aside) gently but I do think a church should not just forget them when they are gone. Think further down the road than the two or three months you may have agreed to on a “parting”. Check on them. Have they found a place to go? What is their financial situation? Could you help them more and be “bigger” than any issue that may have caused the parting?
2. Check on his family. How are they? Let them know they are still loved. Don’t let them feel like their dad is a failure - he probably just wasn’t the person you needed at that time. Don’t let them feel like they are why he was fired. I can remember growing up thinking that if I did not behave as a preacher’s son dad may get fired for my actions. That was probably a long way from reality, but at a young age that was my perception. It may be that you are just bored with this fellow and want someone different to “feed” you 30 minutes each week - BUT this is his life, his soul!
3. How about instead of releasing him - helping him! What a novel thought.
a. Is he lazy? Tell him so! Talk to him. Help him learn to keep a schedule. Let him know specifically what is expected of him as your preacher.
b. How about sending him somewhere to learn. We are preachers and we need to improve our skills. If the guy is just boring (a rather relative term - no don’t send me comments on “yes, Dale, I know your relatives are boring”) send him to learn from some guys who aren’t. This is time to retool. How many jobs REQUIRE continuing education hours? Why would one think that there is no need for the same for those of us who preach?
c. Give the guy some time away! Even God rested on the 7th day! Jesus took time away with His disciples to rest! How many times have I heard some elder or member say - “he used to be good, I don’t know what happened?” I DO! He is carrying every burden of every member in the church on his shoulders and into the pulpit. Preaching is emotionally draining and it is 24 hours a day. It cannot be “left at the office” like a professional counselor who “leaves his clients” at the office. These are not clients, they are souls and Family. If he is getting rough around the edges - give him a few weeks away - a couple of months away - PAID and let him recharge. Make him turn off his cell phone one or two days a week. In several of the cases above the guys had been at the congregation 15 years or more and I tell you they were just burned down!
4. Realize the grass may not be greener in another pulpit. As true as it is for the preacher it may be for the church. If you fire this guy you will only bring in another one. He too will have “issues” and present challenges. Churches often become like people we’ve seen who jump out of one relationship and into the next without even thinking! Why not fix the one you are in? Preacher guys, if they fired the previous guy for no real reason, you’d better look carefully.
5. Do him a favor...tell him the truth...it may be he needs to bless people with other skills God has given him.

Maybe one more note here. Let’s be honest about it preachers, we’ve all fired more congregations than we have been fired from. When we leave one place for another in the churches eyes it is pretty much us firing the congregation.
OK, I figure I’ve left myself open for all sorts of shots from this one. Look forward to it...I think. What have you seen, could you think of or that you think might be a creative alternative to firing?