HOW PASTORS AND ASSOCIATES GET ALONG
A Leadership survey probes what's right, wrong, and fixable in church staff relationships.
James Berkley
January 1, 1986
A curious shift in the "shop talk" was noted recently among a group of pastors who get together each year for a retreat in California's beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains.
In the early years, stories typically began: "You won't believe what my senior pastor said after our rock concert last week!" One associate pastor reported he was up to his ears in parish work while the senior minister indulged his interest in stained glass.
"How can I say it?" he fumed. "His distinguishing characteristic is insensitivity. He called on one lady whose husband had just died-mainly to ask if he could have the man's stained-glass materials. He wants me to get out and 'bring in more pledges,' while all he talks about is his last trip to the great French cathedrals."
But as the years have ticked by, new laments are now being heard: "We just called an assistant pastor, and the first thing he did was criticize our covenant groups." Another tells of hiring a bright, young assistant-the daughter of a career youth worker-who in the interview voiced marvelous ideas for sparking a dormant group of teens. "We opted for the quick fix," the pastor says. "Well, by the time a year had rolled around, she had shot her wad. Talk about disorganization; she set up a choir tour and didn't even have a choir! Then she left, seduced by another church after sixteen months."
What is happening to this retreat group, of course, is simply a change of villains. These pastors have become the bosses they once judged.
But is life in a church staff relationship really as bad as the folklore? To find out, LEADERSHIP surveyed both heads of staff (pastors) and staff pastors (associates). The 350 responses represented a demographic spread of readers, including both sexes and a wide range ...
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