I had to "fire" a volunteer staff member this weekend. It was really a peaceful experience with all parties agreeing that to continue wasn't going to be in the best interest of anyone involved. No huge drama, yet a difficult process to walk through for us. Does anyone have any advice for the future and how to handle this coming Sunday when I announce it to the congregation? I would share more details, but...you understand, right?
After posting this and receiving two great comments. I should shed a little light. It wasn't actually a firing as much as a mutually agreed upon departing. The reason I said "fire" is because, as the Lead Pastor, I am ultimately responsible for the decisions made. Also, if this was a larger, mature church, this would have been a full-time staff position. Thanks again for the comments, I'm still open for more!
3 comments:
We believe in "firing volunteers" too. It's hard, because that means when you fire one, they are an attender at your church. It's a lot easier to fire a "contracted" person who is not in your church for those very important coordinator jobs. When they get fired, they leave with less of a mess. I'm talking about contracting people at $25 to $50 a week (sometimes more if needed). Contracting people keeps your church planting team fresh. Contract someone for two Sundays a month.
As for the announcement. I would not announce something like that if I could keep away from it. The only change position wise we've ever announced is when the student pastor left. Your church is at a size where you can contact all of your core leaders/attenders for you to either email or call each one of them.
The main reason I would recommend you not announce is because #1 - you don't have to and #2 you will have people there in your service (young Christians and guests) who will not understand. #2 is the big one. Meet people where their faith is and most people's faith can not handle that type of stress. Most people do not understand that conflict is also part of the church. They think that all church conflict is bad, negative, or that something is wrong. And they usually label the something wrong with "the pastor." Whenever a transition happens like this, the first question is, "Pastor, what did you do?" - Even if they don't ask it to your face, they are thinking it in their heart.
Soooo, call your core and email those you know won't have any questions but need to know.
Also, when someone asks you why did they leave, you say, "I don't want to break confidence with this person, you'll need to talk to them directly."
(I keep saying I'm going to write a book about volunteering...this is one of the topics I would address.)
I find this topic very intriguing, especially since I've basically been a full time ministry volunteer for the past 20+ years. (Assuming "volunteer" simply means "not paid" rather than "not really qualified.") With that in mind, I would like to give input from an experienced volunteer's perspective.
In the particular situation described, it sounds more like a mutually agreed upon "stepping down" from a position rather than a "firing" - which is a HUGE difference. If I'm wrong, just take the following as information for the future.
It may seem like semantics but it is my opinion that it is very important to establish a consistent terminology base so everyone knows what is meant when certain words are used. Here are a few of the BIG ONES: releasing, firing, repositioning, transitioning, volunteers, volunteer staff, paid staff, leaders, etc.
Firing has a very negative overtone anyway so - of course - people are going to assume the worst. (Have you ever actually known anyone who was "fired" for a positive reason?) If it wasn't an actual "firing" then avoid using that wording with anyone. If you have a chance to make it positive then take it! Those chances come few and far between. People need to see that change can come for positive reasons.
Take heart! This will become less and less of a problem as your church and paid staff grows because your volunteers will be in less strategic positions.
Obviously, I agree with Pastor Bracy. However, I would like to add another view and opinion: I think it also depends on how visible this volunteer was. Were they just a volunteer or did they function more like volunteer staff? Full time or part time? Did you ever publicly refer to them in a way that made them appear like they were staff - even if you never gave them the official title? Many times people don't even know that volunteer staff ARE volunteers - they think they are regular staff. Then, when the person "disappears" without anything being said, it comes across to the public as if a staff person left and no one is saying anything...so it MUST be bad. It is my opinion that if they were volunteer staff, you should handle them the same as you would paid staff - especially if you can make it positive. ( i.e. if a secretary leaving would get an office party then a full time volunteer secretary should receive the same treatment. If they're moving on to some other type of ministry then celebrate it.)
Make sure you and the volunteer agree on what is going to be given as an explanation. Use the same terminology. You want everyone to say it the same way. If not, people tend to think the pastor is the one not telling the real story. (That stinks but it's true!)
Most churches - especially church plants - are dependent on volunteers to some degree so it is very important that you carefully consider how you are going to handle them. People are watching and it could impact their decision to serve in the church (or anywhere) in either a positive or negative way.
Like Pastor Bracy recommended, make decisions based on what's best for the sheep but remember the volunteer is one of those sheep too. People are going to talk no matter what. Use care in how you handle the people God sends to help during various seasons. If you do right by them you do right by the one who sent them and you will be above reproach. I believe God will bless you with more help to do the work of the ministry because He can trust you with them.
As far as staying at your church: if a volunteer staff person were released and they really approached their position with a "staff" mentality, I would think they should usually leave - just as a staff person would. However, it might be possible for a volunteer who was a coordinator or lesser position to stay at your church - but it would be a rare exception. Though its unavoidable, most volunteers become injured to some degree during the decomissioning process and are in too much pain to stay without it spilling out to others. It totally depends on their maturity level and pain threshold.
Finally, do everything in love. Let your method have their heart and best interest in mind. Yes, its even possible to fire someone with love. You fire the position, not the person.
You know what, for those of you who do firer a volunteer to make yourself look good that is terrible.
You have to understand those volunteers who are firer BELIEVE they have every right to do what they want to do because they are offering their time for FREE, they see they are not getting anything in return. So if you are an organization and you want QUAlITY volunteers you are going to have to pay for it, payment could be in desplaying some valuable experience, otherwise people will not want to volunteer for your organization, there are so many other organizations out there, why would they want to volunteer for your high demanding organization when another organization could treat them better. Many people have this belief that nothing in this world comes for free, so if you want someone quality to do your dirty work, make sure they know what they are getting in return, many people out there are selfish, it's just human nature. No organization can function if doesn't know how to deal with human nature.
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