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Staff Communication
As a pastor, I had a situation where a church member confided in one of my staff members about a particular matter (they are friends). Because of the way it was shared, my staff member never conveyed the information to me. I ended up making some church-related decisions and taking some actions which I never would have taken had I known what the staff member knew. Am I wrong to be concerned that my staff member felt more loyalty to the church member than to me as the pastor? How should I address this to this particular staff member, and how should I communicate with my overall staff about what I expect regarding this type of scenario?
Responses:
Pastor Mark Williams – Rockford, IL
As pastor, you are the overseer for the souls of the people under your charge. Your staff members are to be eyes and ears for you in this regard. Please instruct them that there is no confidentiality clause against you in regard to those for whom you are responsible before God. Advise them that if someone wants to tell them something in confidence to let them know that as a staff member, you will be sharing this with the pastor because he truly cares for you and is looking out for your soul. If the person objects to this, then the staff member is to tell the individual not to share the information with them either. Then alert the pastor about the alarming communication. Staff members need to assist the pastor, not hinder, him or her in the administration of their assignment from God in the care of His people.
Pastor Walker Schurz – Lusaka, Zambia
A good friend of mine who has been in the ministry for over 30 years helped me understand a similar situation by describing “borrowed authority.” That is, an associate pastor, children’s worker, or usher acts on behalf of the pastor. They are using the influence that the pastor has loaned that person. Their position is an extension of the pastor and should be seen as such. They should never abuse that authority loaned to them for their own purposes or agenda.
If a staff member sees their leadership as part of the senior pastor’s, then there would never be an instance where they would need to keep information from the senior pastor. Staff should let members know in advance that conversations are done in confidence, with the exception of the pastor they report to. That way there is not a surprise in the future.
As a senior pastor, I desire for my associates to grow, develop, and exercise godly influence to help bring God’s will to bear in the lives of our members. I want them to have deep and true relationships with the members of the church they interact with. They also need to know that information that will help me lead and keep me informed should be passed along to me. I regularly meet with my associates over counseling issues or their interaction with people to stay informed and so that we can plan courses of action together in tough situations.
Some materials that could help your staff along these lines would be In Search of Timothy by Tony Cooke and A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards.
Pastor Stan Saunders – Chillicothe, MO
It is difficult to answer this question in simple terms. We have developed an attitude and atmosphere of trust amongst our staff. When staff shares confidential information with me, they know it will stay with me. They try to handle everything they can, without involving me. If it is something they decide that I should know, they share it with me. In the scenario mentioned, I am sure my staff would talk with me about the concern with the church member. They have a great love for the ‘house.’ The house is more important than any individual.
This level of trust and communication is developed first by the lead pastor. We don't share everything about every "counseling" situation. However, we do not keep secrets from each other either. To rectify the scenario situation presented, I would have an open discussion with the staff about how these situations should be handled in the future. Perhaps, this was more of a communication issue more than a loyalty issue. Do staff members know the expectations of the lead pastor in these situations? Assuming staff knows what to do is unacceptable. These discussions must take place, so all staff is working from the same page.
Pastor Michael Steward – Powell, OH
Great question. When we were on staff at another church, these types of things would pop up and would cause problems. So when we started LFC, this was one of the things that we knew we wanted to address from the onset. Simply put, we hate strife and try to prevent it at every turn.
When we established our Ministry Staff, we let them know that they are an extension of us and anything of significance that someone tells them, we must know about. We instructed our staff to stop the person who is confiding in them, and they are to specifically let them know that any info they share will be shared with us. I also address this occasionally from the platform. I let our people know that if they tell our staff something, they are essentially telling us. This is also addressed in our Membership Classes as well. It is important for the people to know that we are their Pastors and the staff is assisting us. We explain the purpose behind all this to our staff and congregation. When you take the time to explain the "whys," 99% of the time it removes any awkwardness.
Pastor Ray Almaguer – Glendora, CA
Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon thing to happen in a church. A Pastor must communicate to his staff exactly what the expectations are in matters like this. Did your staff member know that he was supposed to convey this information to you? As leaders we cannot assume our staff will know what to do in a situation like this; we must give clear instructions (written is best) to our staff members. It sounds like this may have taken place in a counseling session. Our staff is instructed to let the counselee know that what is shared in a counseling appointment may be conveyed to others in church leadership if it is deemed pertinent. For example, if they tell me or another staff person that their child has a problem with violence or pornography or drug abuse, I will let the Youth Minister or Children's Minister know to keep an eye on him.
I agree that your staff member should have conveyed this information to you, and you should be very concerned if you really believe he feels more loyalty to the church member than he does to you or the church. I think you should address this particular staff member in private. The first thing I would suggest to do is to praise him and appreciate him for all he does. Then you need to find out whether or not he knew he was supposed to convey this information to you. Be sure to give him the benefit of the doubt. If he really didn't know, then the fault is with you as the Pastor for not making your expectations clear. If this is the case, take the high road and apologize. Instead of saying, "You should have done thus and so..," you should tell him something like, "This was my fault. The next time you're in a situation like this I would like for you to do thus and so...," and then let him know how to handle it.
If he truly did know he was supposed to convey this to you but simply chose not to, then you have a problem. The overall church was affected by his decision. You need to decide how firm you're going to be about this, and you need to let him know this will not be tolerated in the future. Let him know why you feel so strongly about this.
If this staff member didn't know he was supposed to convey this information to you, then chances are your other staff members don't know it either. I would suggest you do a teaching on this in your next staff meeting. You don't need to mention this particular incident and embarrass your staff member. Just let them know how important it is for all of you to communicate with one another at the leadership level.
Pastor Dennis Cummins – Puyallup, WA
I believe this can be a constant struggle with staff members that lack experience and character. I do understand that they don't have to share every little detail with us that is shared with them by church people, but there are issues that need to be passed onto me as the pastor to help me make better, informed decisions. This is where a staff's experience and character come into play; when knowing what is needed to pass on to me and what is not.
This is also dealing with an issue of loyalty as well. I tell my staff that good news flows down the chain of command and bad/concerning news flows up the chain of command. There is nothing that is to be held in confidence when church people come to them and communicate issues or concerns relating to me, another staff member, or the vision and direction of the church. This is a non-negotiable. If it is apparent that they have sided with a few people in the church to come against the vision or myself, then I have no choice but to let that staff person resign gracefully or I will remove them. In my experience, yes this does cause some issues, but I believe it mitigates the potential outcome of what it could be if left alone or ignored. I have informed every staff member that they have grace to grow and make mistakes, but there is no second chance if loyalty is broken. We must be united and agreeable to move ahead. If they are causing strife or division behind the scenes, then they must move on.
You can and should set clear expectations with your staff, but I have found that you can't teach integrity and character to a staff person that lacks it. They are in leadership for other reasons than to be taught and to serve. It takes a lot of work to get the right team on the bus, but it is well worth the sacrifice and pain that one goes through to get there.
