Five Signs of Dysfunctional Transitions

Pastors change churches often. Sometimes for good reasons, sometimes not. Too often deception is involved. Below are some of my favorite examples:

1. The Secret Search. By this I mean the minster actively pursues a new place of ministry. Maybe he has good reasons for doing so, but he keeps it secret, even from other staff and church leaders. In a worst case scenario no one knows until the minister stands up in a service and announces he is leaving. In the business world a two week notice is the norm. For professionals, a four week notice is common. When a pastor resigns and leaves, even if he leaves two weeks later, and no one knows it is coming, hurt and hard feelings are sure to follow.

2. The Vacation Search. In this example I am thinking of the minister who takes a “vacation” while he is in reality going to preach in another church, often in view of a call. While I have no problem with using a vacation Sunday to do this, it does trouble me when deception is involved and vacation is a cover what is really going on. What level of threat must be present for a minister to hide something so important? Surely someone in the church should know.

3. The Secret Search Committee. I have actually had a search committee ask me if they could visit one at a time in a worship service so that no one else in the church would know what they were doing. Their church was from another state and no one in my church would have known them anyway. The fact that they wanted to be secretive about their actions was a warning to me. The committee presented the arrangement as if they were saving me from potential trouble. But upfront deception seems trouble enough to me.

4. The Divine Trump Card. Often have I heard the words “God is leading me” when in reality the minister should have said “I can’t afford to stay." What is worse: admitting a financial incompatibility or being untruthful concerning the work of God in the minister’s life? But it almost never fails, the minister can lay down the divine trump card, “God is leading,” and no one can say much about it.

5. The Leverage Option. In my circles ministers typically don’t see large increases in salary without changing churches. Even if the church they pastor grows significantly the salary often lags behind. I have seen ministers use a second church as leverage to gain a raise. Unpack all the problems you see in that one. I’ll wait.