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Accountability With Church Staff

By Steve Marr

Pastor Jeff had been senior pastor for 5 years at his church of 250 members. While the church had not grown, most of his congregation gave him high marks for personal contact and preaching good sermons. But others had left the church, or never joined, because of problems with the other church staff members.

The office secretary, Annette, was often late, took many days off, and was disorganized. As a result, key work was never finished, or was late. Annette forgot to give Pastor Jeff important calls.

Associate Pastor Ed never seemed to make all his visitation calls. He failed to follow through on some assignments and was often late for committee meetings. Some members declined to serve on committees headed by Pastor Ed. Privately, they shared their discouragement over his poor leadership.

Pastor Jeff didn’t hold these staff persons accountable. As senior pastor, he would often cover the extra work himself, giving up time with his family, time preparing sermons, and time leading other church work.

In spite of the fact both Annette and Pastor Ed were failing in their jobs, Pastor Jeff felt he could not take action. Annette had been a fixture in the office for 22 years, and Ed was everyone’s friend.

Accountability

What is needed in this situation? In a word: accountability. Accountability is defined as "the obligation to give a reckoning or explanation for one’s actions and responsibilities." In the case of Pastor Jeff and his staff, it also means clearly defining work or ministry responsibility and then ensuring that each staff member follows through.

Pastors often fail to confront poor performance because of their fear of church reaction. This perspective—that ministry must be nice to all employees—often masks an unwillingness to tackle issues.

Scripture instructs us to "walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called" (Ephesians 4:1*). Each Christian must be called by God and working in the area of his or her calling. Then the gifts and graces to be successful will operate in their lives and ministry.

An inner-city pastor was cited as a failure for only obtaining one new family for the church in a year. However, over 20 youths became Christians under his leadership. Fortunately, he and the church realized he was not called to be a senior pastor, but was instead a dynamite inner-city youth pastor. He took a youth pastor position with a large inner-city church, and his ministry blossomed. Had the original situation never been confronted, the church would have continued to struggle, and the inner-city church would have been denied the youth pastor God called.

While some workers are misplaced, others are not working up to their capacity. Because someone is busy does not necessarily mean he or she is effective.

Diligence is more than hours and activity—it is work focus. Paul gave us an example, "I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air" (1 Corinthians 9:26).

Taking steps to improve

Meet with each staff member and outline in writing the standards and results you and the church expect. Be willing to give and take, but do not retreat from the minimum requirements. Confirm his or her understanding in writing. Then outline the importance of each task. Help each staff member understand the issue is not what you want, but what the church needs to fulfill God’s mission.

For example, Pastor Ed might agree to make a minimum of four visitation calls per month and be on time for each meeting. Annette might be instructed not to exceed her allowed sick and vacation days, and salary would not be paid for additional days worked because of her disorganization. (Perhaps a time management course would be a wise investment for the entire staff.)

Follow-through is critical. Meet at the start of each week and evaluate how each person is doing with his or her goals. Praise positive results and correct poor performance. Do not gloss over deficiencies. The Lord’s work will suffer if tasks are not done well. Most often, work will improve with clear direction and enforced accountability.

If failure continues, sit down with the staff person again. Outline the previous agreement and ask the person to explain what is keeping him or her from accomplishing the assignments. Provide coaching, mentoring, and suggestions, but reinforce the principle that the responsibility belongs to each person individually.

Most often, performance will improve and the staff person’s successes can be celebrated. Do not forget to let this person know how his or her improvement has helped you.

When failure persists, discern the reason. Often, the giftings and talents are not a good fit with the job. A person may lack the ability to stay focused and disciplined enough to follow through on assignments, but may be blessed with an abounding creativity which can be successfully used elsewhere. Help your staff person discern what position might offer more success and provide the help needed to move forward into a new opportunity.

Taking a positive, proactive approach gives the best possibility of protecting relationships long term. Failure to act will result in poor performance and will increase the likelihood of a confrontation in the future.

As God holds us accountable in our lives, hold your church staff accountable. The result will be personal growth for you, your staff, and ultimately for God’s kingdom.

Steve Marr is president of Business Proverbs Management and the Widow’s Mite Foundation, Tucson, Arizona. He has authored Business Proverbs, a workplace devotional. His radio feature, Business Proverbs, is heard on 950 radio stations internationally.

*Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible.