In this conversation, we talk about what we’ve learned about hiring well and how to navigate firing people well, too. Maybe you’re leading a church staff and facing a big decision regarding staffing, or perhaps you’re curious about how a church staff might handle a staffing issue at your church. We hope that this conversation leads to greater health and trust among the staff at your church.
You hire people for where you’re going not where you are… many pastors hire out of a panicked need or a felt burden right in front of them… most of the time, when I’ve hired people from that place, I’ve regretted it…
You’re looking for people who can train others… if you want to use the Jesus model, the people that Jesus called close to him were able to multiply others…
I have found that character, chemistry, and competency are a good litmus test for the people you are looking to hire… Chemistry is the tricky one… I want to work with friends, with people that I like… when you are shoulder to shoulder doing the hard work of ministry, it is almost impossible to do it with people that you don’t like…
We’re not promoting tribalism here… we want diversity… but at the end of the day, we have to enjoy being with one another, even if you look and think differently from one another… the relationship has to be good for both parties…
The hardest person to fire in the local church is the guy with high character, who everyone loves, who is just terrible at his job…
Don’t keep people in a place where they are not going to flourish… I owe it to them and to the congregation to steward the relationship well…
If we remember that people belong to the Lord, then “endings” can be “sendings” where people transition to new opportunities in godly ways…
QUESTIONS FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM
- Do you tend to hire for where you are going, or where you are? Why? How can you adapt your philosophy of hiring?
- What criteria do you use in your hiring process? What from this podcast challenged you in that regard?
- Are you stewarding people’s lives and the culture of your team and church well? How can you improve this through your hiring and firing practices?
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
“Necessary Endings” by Dr. Henry Cloud.