The Pacynskis: Firing a Friend
By the time Greg Pacynski came to his third church, he was ready for major responsibility. He had proven himself in teen work and was now minister of Christian education at a large church in Birmingham. This put him in charge of all ministry to infants through college age. High on the list as far as the church was concerned was the need to get the youth department under control. The recent years had seen a rapid turnover of youth pastors. Greg looked at the salary allocation for this post and thought he saw part of the problem already. But he determined to make do with what was authorized. He and a search committee went to work. Their first choice was a graduate student who served well for six months but then left to pursue a doctorate. The second youth pastor looked good on paper but soon revealed fatal flaws. Brian Lovell was stiff in front of a group; he almost seemed not to like kids. "I knew at the end of the first week we were in trouble," says Greg, "and the church board was going to say, 'Same old revolving door,' before long." When he tried to coach Brian, the man would nod agreement but then proceed on an opposite track. The youth group began to shrink precipitously. Brian's quick explanation: lack of parental support. Brian and Jolene lived only two blocks from Greg and Kara, and the two staff wives became close friends. Says Kara:
She became pregnant not long after they arrived, and I kind of took her under wing, helping her choose an obstetrician and get started making plans. We were back and forth for coffee a lot.
But as the trouble began to build at the church, I began to hear more and more sob stories. Our relationship went into a chill, because here I was the wife of her husband's immediate boss! It was hard ...
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