Dear Consultant,
Our congregation recently did a Church Health Survey, and we rated our church as “unhealthy.” Our senior pastor, though, thinks the survey was simply wrong. He is convinced that our church is healthy, but I don’t know anyone else in the church that agrees with the pastor (including other staff members). I doubt we can improve much if our leader doesn’t see the need. I’m one of those staff members who disagree with our pastor. What do you recommend we do?
The reality is the church will not improve if the leader isn’t leading the change. This situation is unfortunate. As a staff member, I would personally set down with the pastor and attempt to have an honest and open discussion about the condition of the church, the results of the survey, and the future direction of the church. I would ask him to share with me the reasons he believes the church is healthy. Ask him to show the evidence of health in the church.
Then, as humbly as you can, share with the pastor why you believe that the survey is correct in its description of where the church currently is. Make sure that you don’t cast blame on anyone for the church’s condition, but gently urge the pastor to look objectively at the church. Perhaps, I would even suggest some books for the pastor to read. Possible books would be Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever, Rethinking the Church by James Emery White, Why Churches Die by Mac Brunson and Ergun Caner, and The Everychurch Guide to Growth by Elmer Towns, Peter Wagner, and Thom Rainer. These books present a strong biblical depiction of what health looks like in a New Testament church and what the diseases that plague the church look like.
What you want to make sure not to do is pit yourself against the pastor. There will most likely be some church members who will want to release the pastor and find someone who can lead them better and toward growth. It would be easy to join their campaign because you disagree with the pastor. At some point maybe the pastor will need to leave, but you don’t want to get involved in running the pastor off. Allow God to direct the pastor as he desires without interfering . God will move him if he needs to be moved.
Try to be an encourager to the pastor. Let him know when you meet with him that you are on his team…that you are praying for him daily, that you support him, and that you will stand with him as he leads the church toward health.
I understand that standing with a pastor who refuses to believe the church is unhealthy when the evidence is clear will be difficult to do. But supporting him and keeping the dialogue open with him will be what is best for the church. Proverbs 18:19 says, “A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a citadel.” If you attack him, you will lose your brother and destroy any hope of helping him understand better. And the offense will only fuel the fire that will inevitably be stirring in the pews as some seek to dismiss the pastor.
The survey that you have done must have some qualitative data associated with it. How many people have joined and left your church over the last several years? How does your baptismal ratio compare to your state and the national averages? What are the giving trends for the last decade or so? Numbers don’t lie. If your survey has only collected qualitative data, then gather answers to at least the above questions. If you still believe your church is unhealthy, present the numbers to your pastor and ask him to respond to each one that indicates an unfavorable status.
If a church is healthy, there should be measurable fruit from the health. Generally, a healthy church is a growing church.
James and Chris you both make valid points and helpful suggestions. I think there is an essential problem at the heart of the pastor here. There should at least always be a degree of discontentment with how things are - even the pastor of a growing church should recognize that there are always areas that need improvement. Sadly I fear in a situation like this if a pastor ignores the need for change and ongoing growth and health of the church then he will lead his church through a period of plateau and decline.
James, you are absolutely right in commenting that a staff member must tread carefully. He would not want to stir up division or further alienate the pastor. I would suggest that a staff member would highlight and celebrate the things that the church is doing well, acknowledge the good things stated in the report rather than just focusing on the bad. Then maybe seek ways to lead the pastor and other key leaders to go through the report together, not to bash the church or degrade the ministries, but to carefully and prayerfully take time to consider and respond to each finding and suggestion. Perhaps through this process of open dialogue the pastor may recognize that this report presents an opportunity rather than a threat to his ministry there.
First of all I would want more information to properly answer this question. Like what kind of questions were asked and what were the responses. However, since I do not know this information and I only know that you completed one and your church was listed as unhealthy then I will have to be general. I think the best course of action would be to bring it up at the next staff meeting and if the pastor is the only one who disagrees ask him to account for each of the negative responses. It is important not to miscommunicate. Perhaps he knows some information that you do not. If he cannot explain why he believes the church is still healthy then counseling may be your next step. (Confronting sin/pride and dealing with it in a biblical way (with love).) It would also be helpful as Josh said and compare your church with the national averages to baptism ratios and other church growth statistics.
In response to Matthew Spandler-Davison:
I agree with Matthew Spandler-Davison that a pastor should always stay shifted in the growing gear so to speak. If a pastor ever gets comfortable with where his church is at he will stop evangelizing and so will the rest of the church. Like Dr. Lawless says, a church mimics the personality of the pastor. Therefore I believe it is definitely a sign of problems within the pastor’s heart if he is not willing to discuss ways in which the leadership may guide the church to grow more. Specifically grow in the area of conversions. Presenting the truth in a loving way is important too. Simply firing a pastor before working with him is usually not very fair to the pastor.
As a number 2 guy I have been in this situation several times. Taking the data to the pastor and giving any hint of questioning his views on the survey is the equivalent of “a challenge.” This rarely goes well unless you have a strong relationship with the pastor - one in which you both have shared these kinds of honest conversations many times in the past.
The survey can be a very helpful tool but it does not necessarily need to be the hub in the center of the church or staff wheel, nor is it the final word on the matter of church health. In other words, the information gathered through the survey will be helpful and can be the impetus for progress but should not be a divisive force.
Suggestions:
1) Pray, pray, pray for your church, your ministries, your pastor and your staff. God is so much bigger than the health of your church and the tenure of your pastor. He is also in control and has a plan for you, your pastor and your church. Wait on Him.
2) Use the information gathered through the survey to improve those ministries that you can affect. I know this will be limited without pastor buy in and leadership but you can make a difference so put your talents to work and see how strong you can make things in your current situation.
3) Recognize that you are still learning yourself. Read all you can on the subject of church health and view your personal ministry as a lifelong pursuit that goes far beyond this pastor and this church. Who knows? God may be preparing you for something that will require you to grasp church health through the eyes of experience and your are gaining that experience now.
I can tell that you care about your church, and you want to help it change for the better. However, that won’t be possible if the senior pastor does not believe the truth about the church’s health. This is a tough situation because you don’t want to come across in the wrong way and disrespect the senior pastor. Here are my suggestions:
1) Pray that God would open his eyes to see the truth. Prayer should be the first thing that we do in all things, but especially in situations like this one.
2) Suggest that the church host an open forum with its members to discuss the results from the survey, and find out how they feel. Maybe the company can provide a representative to help explain some of the results that are hard to understand.
3) Since he does not seem to believe the data, suggest that a new study is done by a different company. If the church really is unhealthy, the same results will show.
4) It is always possible that the senior pastor is right, and that the results from the study are wrong. So, be open to that possibility.
In response to Josh Flowers:
I agree. There should be measurable fruit if the church is healthy. And yes, generally, a healthy church is a growing church. So, if there is no fruit, and if the church is not growing, pray that the senior pastor will see that and pray that he is willing to guide the church in a new direction, one that will be healthy.
I also see that you advised the person to talk with the pastor about the numbers, and to ask him to give his thoughts on each different result. My only recommendation is to use caution. Some pastors might get offended if someone did this. So, if this is done, it needs to be done with much grace and humility.
Any survey can have positive and negative aspects to it as far as its legitimacy. Maybe this church is really healthier than the survey indicates, but regardless, this pastor of course should be willing to address the issues brought up in the survey.
If I was on staff at this church and agreed with the results of the survey, or simply felt that the church was unhealthy, I would first want to discuss the issues with the pastor. If the pastor thinks that the church is healthy, but is still willing to work on the items addressed in the survey, then that is at least a good first step.
I think patience would have to be a key thing here. If you believe in the senior pastor and know him to be a godly man, then he may just need time to realize the state of the church. Pray for him and ask God to open his heart to the truth.
Also, if there is agreement among other pastors/elders and church leaders about the unhealthiness of the church, then it might be wise to have a few men discuss the survey and its results with the pastor in hopes of him realizing what it says. In doing so, come to him with humility and thankfulness so that he knows the church is not condemning him and his efforts, but simply wanting the church to become more healthy.
I think patience, prayer and humility are key in this issue.
I like what James Taylor says above about trying to encourage the pastor and standing by him. As I mentioned above, if you believe the pastor to be a godly man, maybe he just needs some time to realize that the church is unhealthy.
The pastor could very easily see the results of the survey as a condemnation of his work and service. He could be nervous about losing his position or even could be doubting his calling to ministry. Encouraging the pastor and letting him know you are there to help could be a great help to him and the ministry of the church.
It sounds like your pastor and the church health survey administrators have a different definition of “healthy.” There are several things that affect church health. I suspect if your church has a staff, some of the responsibility for that health lands in your area as well. All the advice given thus far is sound, however, I would be careful about how you approach your pastor and what you say to him. If he loves his church, which he obviously does, then the news that she is unhealthy is not good news. Sometimes it takes a while to process bad news. Sometimes it takes a few exposures and time to process this sort of information especially if it reflects poorly on one’s own leadership. And a rating of unhealthy reflects poorly on his leadership, weather you think it does or not. So regardless of what you say, he will internalize the problem, which is exactly what you really want him to do. In the mean time, pray for him, his ego, his pride, his wisdom, and give him some space. The more you push the more defensive he will become.
Hopefully, your staff will have ways to make changes that show how you have needed to adjust your own operations and ministry areas. Ask him for support in making those changes and show him that you are not threatened by change. But, do so without challenging him to change. If he is a godly man, a good leader, and really cares about his church, he will come around, although it may take a few years. I suggest someone on staff schedule a staff retreat once each year and a staff conference each year. This will place him and the staff in the “we need to improve” mode without you having to do anything except schedule the events. Try reading 360 Degree Leader by Maxwell. Give him some time to chew on it. If he brings it up, take the responsibility to fix it in your area and ask for his help and support to do so.
All of the preceding advice has great merit. I would be curious to know how large the pastoral staff is, and what the roles of the pastor are within that staff–what functions he delegates and what functions he retains. Depending on what the distribution of responsibilities are, Andy’s suggestion is a good one: “Use the information gathered through the survey to improve those ministries that you can affect.” Whose idea was it to administer the survey in the first place? If it was the pastor, then apparently he must have some suspicion that something is not right. It may be possible to address some of the results without using the survey as a tool to beat him on the head with. Comments like, “Well, the survey says…” will probably only entrench him deeper in his position. I appreciated James’ reference to Proverbs 18:19 in that regard. Also, not knowing the personalities involved, and intending no offense, I have to ask the question: Could this be a case of “Everybody is saying…” when the reality is it is only you and a few others who are saying? Sorry, just asking. I doubt this is the case. I would avoid pushing any panic buttons. You have time and prayer in your favor. Prayerfully, over time, you may be able, along with other staff, to take more of a back door approach to implementing change and bringing the pastor around. At this point, I would avoid drawing any lines in the sand. Does the pastor think the survey is wrong in all of its parts, or might he be open to acknowledging room for improvement in a few of its parts? Try to approach it without overwhelming the pastor, and making him feel like a failure. Maybe you could approach the discussion on a strengths basis. In other words, ask, “What are some strengths of our church, and how might we capitalize upon those strengths to do an even better job in areas addressed by the survey?” A nagging issue that lingers throughout this discussion has already been addressed: Is there a pride issue on the part of the pastor? For that matter, pride could become a divisive factor for all the different parties and personalities involved.
Like Andrew R. said, more info is needed for practical counsel to be given. I think it is wise to make sure we always ask more questions before we dive into advice giving. It helps to avoid becoming the “Answer Man.”
Here are a few of the ones I have mulled over: 1) How long has the pastor been there? 2) How long has the staff been there? 3) Why was the survey given in the first place and whose idea was it? 4) Is there an outside consultant associated with the survey that could be consulted? 5) What areas on the survey indicated a lack of health? 6) Are these areas the pastor is directly or indirectly responsible for? 7) What is your church government like? Who is the right group of men to help the pastor see that there are legitimate needs that should addressed? 8) What is your position on staff - are the executive pastor with a wide-stewardship or the youth or worship pastor with a more focused-stewardship?
Since you are the one asking the question, I would it rephrase to ask: What should “I” do rather than what should “we” do. The potential for division and strife is just as unhealthy as your current situation, perhaps more so.
First, I would suggest begin to pray the Family (Lord’s) Prayer over your pastor and your church. Following this pattern will cover all the core spiritual warfare issues and keep your heart tender before the Lord.
Second, I would suggest reading Rainer’s “Breakout Churches” so you can get a feel for how breakouts require either changing pastors or the pastor changing. It will offer hope for the pastor changing. It will explain “blind erosion” which may help you better understand your pastor’s denial. You will see that it may take a crisis for change to occur but on the other side of that crisis there is potential growth. (Granted far more churches change pastors than change with the pastor, but the book is a good read for your present situation.)
Third, I would evaluate where my own ministry stewardship is unhealthy and address the areas that I am accountable for before the Lord. Perhaps you example of faithfulness and fruitfulness will help transform the situation rather just threaten the pastor.
Fourth, like David I would strengthen myself in the Lord. It is easy to lose heart in a situation where your leader is not leading. You can become bitter, discontent, and a murmurer and influence others to be the same way. Serving in an unhealthy church is one thing, becoming a contagion yourself is another. Build a relationship with another person in ministry outside of your church for fellowship (but don’t use them as a garbage dump!)
Fifth, I would strive to remain above reproach. I would not undermine the pastor with other staff, other members, or with my family at home. I am not advocating passivity but integrity. Do what you would want others to do, if you were (or someday may be) the pastor in a similar situation. When addressing concerns, follow the guidelines of Matt 18. In the end, after much patience, perseverance, and prayer, it is better to resign than to rebel.
God is sovereign and building His church as Andy Stallings wisely pointed out. Who knows, the Lord may have unexpected blindspots to reveal in your own life and ministry through this process.
Welcome to the plight of middle management :)
First off I would say remember that you are not the pastor! The pastor is still the pastor and you still rest under his authority. I believe that God gives special grace to those that lead his flocks and also gives them special insight into the people. He may have a better pulse of the people than you think.
Any survey tools is simply a tool and must be interpreted. A low score in an area does not simple mean there is a problem spiritually in that area. The question could have been confusing, the language to ambiguous, the topic to generic, etc. A low score could also indicate that people are not happy with where they are in, for example, their prayer lives. This same discontent may be motivating them toward growth in that area. Sometimes a church that scores all high scores in a survey is much more unhealthy than one that scores low. At the end of the day all church wide surveys are simple opinion polls.
If you still believe that the pastor is wrong. I agree with the other suggestions so far, go to him one on one, or bring it up in a pastors only staff meeting. No matter what the course all meetings should be in humility, love, respect, and behind closed doors.
In response to Tony Wolfenberger:
Tony great advice from the heart of a caring lead pastor. I agree it takes time to internalize news that reflects directly on how we lead and who we are. As men, our identity is very much wrapped up in what we do vocationally. Perhaps the pastor feels if he admits the results of the survey are legit, he will have to provide immediate answers, changes, programs, etc.
I also agree with the recommendation of Maxwell’s 360 Degree Leader. Leading from the middle of the pack or the second chair is not always easy. It is tempting to become an “armchair quarterback.”
I like your suggestion of taking the initiative to make changes in the staff person’s own area of stewardship and letting the pastor in on those changes. While that could be potentially threatening, a pastor with the right heart could find it tremendously transforming. It may show him that he is not in this alone and has a staff that is ready to come alongside and help carry the load!
If the pastor is correct (which seems unlikely) he still has a major problem that needs to be addressed. The problem is that his congregation and staff have the perception that the church is unhealthy. Even if the church is healthy, the perception itself is a major problem. He needs to meet with the leaders of the church, and probably the congregation, to explain in detail why their interpretation of the Church Health Survey is incorrect. If the pastor is right, this will be a great teaching opportunity and can be very effective in changing the direction of the church by changing the incorrect perception.
In the more likely event that the pastor is wrong, the above process can be the first step in helping him realize that his view of the church is unrealistic. In preparing to support and explain his position, his own research and analysis should cause him to see his error. If he is a reasonable and teachable man, the Lord can use his own efforts to teach him the truth. If the survey results truly show an unhealthy church, as he attempts to develop an explanation for each survey category the truth should become evident to him.
If the pastor is not reasonable and teachable, and just refuses to see the truth even when it is evident, then there is a greater problem. For the church to make the changes required to become a healthy church the pastor must take the lead; he cannot do this if he is oblivious to the problem. The first step is to determine why he is blinded to the truth. He may feel insecure and feel that an unhealthy church would be a reflection on his lack of abilities as a pastor, he may not have the training and experience to recognize the signs of an unhealthy church, or he may just be looking through “rose colored glasses” and refusing to see the obvious.
Once the root of the problem has been determined the church needs to work with him in a very loving way to help him overcome the problem. He may need to be reassured that the church and its leaders share responsibility for the church’s condition, no one is blaming him. The church may need to pay for additional training or education. Others, who are gifted and strong in areas where the pastor is weak, need to come along side him for encouragement and support. Regardless of the type of assistance offered, it must be done with love and kindness.
Remember that he is the pastor and should be treated with due respect. It may be that he is aware of flaws in the survey, or in the way it was administered or interpreted; give him the opportunity to explain if this is the case. If there are no other problems with this pastor, and you believe him to be a godly man, he must have a reason for doubting the results of the survey.
Regardless of which scenario above takes place, the process must be saturated in prayer from the beginning to the end. This is a fragile situation and God’s guidance and protection must be sought for the pastor, the church, and every individual involved.
As others have mentioned already step one must be prayer. Pray that God reveals the needs to the pastor, while also opening your eyes to why he sees the health of the church differently than you do. Again a great reminder is the need for qualitative data. It is necessary to have him define what a healthy church is. Than see if your defenitions are different or if even with his defenition the church would be considered unhealthy.
While this is a sensitive situation it is possible to do everything within your role to encourage and urge change for the glory of God.
I strongly agree with Matthew Spandler-Davison in his statement that there should always be a measure of discontentment in the heart of a pastor, even though Paul spoke of being content in whatever state he found himself in. The sense of contentment in this church would tend to foster laziness toward a pastor’s work ethic and apathy toward the lost world around the church.
It is however a very touchy situation since this staff member is dealing with his pastor’s heart. And we all know that only God can change a person’s heart. So in that sense I also strongly agree with Andy Stallings to “pray, pray, pray for your church.” Pray in private that revival would come to his pastor’s heart, even if it has to start in the pews rather than the pulpit. I would venture to encourage this staff member to pray with his pastor, and to be so passionate as to pray that revival begin in his own heart. That demonstrates a humble heart that isn’t seeking any fame for himself.
Then, and only then, after waiting for the Holy Spirit’s leadership, I would address the church situation from a standpoint of personal discernment of strengths and weaknesses, and asking the pastor what he as a staff member can do to help strengthen any weak areas. This allows the pastor to have input even though he is seemingly unaware of these weaknesses.
Again, prayer is the key, and waiting on the Spirit to do his work of changing hearts so that God can have his way in this church.
As others have said, it would be helpful to know what type of questions were asked on the survey. I would definitely pray before talking with the pastor. After praying about it and if you feel God leading you to talk to the pastor, you could set up a meeting with the pastor, but as others have said, don’t lash out against him. Let him know you care about him. Ask him to tell you why he thinks the church is healthy and ask him to defend areas where numbers seem to clearly show that the church is not healthy.
Response to James:
I think James makes some great points. I like the idea of recommending books for the pastor to read such as Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever. I also think that it is important to be an encourager to the pastor; however, it is also important that someone is holding the pastor accountable to his actions. I hope that the pastor has someone who is asking him the hard questions. If the church is clearly unhealthy and the pastor refuses to see this, then someone does need to point this out to the pastor, but it needs to be done in love.
I agree with many of the comments already posted above. Everything turns on leadership. If the senior pastor is unwilling or unable to initiate change then change will be difficult. Also, like Chris I have some questions. Who suggested that the church do a health analysis? If the the pastor believes the church is OK then it was probably not his idea to start with. Most pastors will not accept an analysis he did not believe the church needed. You have the cart before the horse here. The pastor must first be dissatisfied with the status quo before he will be willing to seek help. So, how do you help the process along? You do not want to be labeled critical or “a complainer.” The pastor is going to have to see the problems himself. First, pray that God will reveal the truth to this pastor. Pray that God will give him a vision for what could be. Also pray for wisdom on your part as well. I agree with the other posters that you should look for ways to improve church health in the areas you can control. Also, try to maintain a positive and encouraging attitude. You will not have credibility with the pastor or the congregation if you are seen as a critic or a complainer. Keep the lines of communication with the pastor open. Affirm any positive efforts he makes. After all, God has called him to lead the congregation.
I would advice caution to the staff member as Jay Worthington and Jerry Workman have stated for several reasons.
1. Although the question brought to the consultant by the staff member saying the survey states the church is unhealthy, that can have a broad meaning and also be very subjective.
If a congregation is scoring under 75 in all six purposes on the Church Health Survey, then the Senior Pastor is in serious denial about the spiritual state of his place of ministry.
Another scenario is that the church scored in the sixty percentile in 3 purposes of the church, and the high seventies to low eighties in 3 other purposes. Thoses scores do not represent an extremely unhealthy congregation, but does identify areas of where God’s purpose is lacking in the congregation.
2. Other factors that would have an effect on the survey are:
The number of respondents- If the number of respondents is under 10% of the weekly attendance, it is probably an inaccurate picture.
Conflict History- If the church has had a serious conflict in the past five years from which they are recovering, it will lower the scores on the purposes.
Experience of the consultant- An inexperienced consultant may point out the congregation’s weakness in the purposes without weighing the strengths in purposes that exists in the church (An illustration is a church with a high score in evangelism, discipleship, and worship that has low scores in fellowship, ministry and prayer could be a congregation in transition). The ill equipped consultant could deem the congregation “unhealthy” without taking into consideration other factors that are effecting the ministry of the church.
I would ask the staff member to consider all of these factors before prayerfully talking with his pastor. If there is denial about the health of the congregation, the pastor needs respectful confrontation. If the state of the church not totally clear, be cautious.
It seems quite likely to me that the pastor’s reluctance to acknowledge the presence of serious problems in the church stems from his feeling a sense of ownership and personal investment in the church’s well-being. In discussing the matter with him, therefore, I would encourage you and the other church leaders to emphasize the spiritual unity of the entire congregation, and to stress the fact that your purpose is by no means to blame the pastor or any other individual in particular. Approaching the church’s difficulties from the standpoint of the objective unity of all Christian believers can allow that spiritual unity to serve as the foundation that enables the congregation as a whole, and the pastor in particular, to “bite the bullet” and embrace the practical changes which are necessary. Moreover, even if the pastor should persist in declining to think of the church as being in an unhealthy overall state, he ought nevertheless to show openness to the particular concerns that his leaders and members bring to him. It would seem advisable, therefore, for you to reflect and seek the Lord’s wisdom concerning what particular issues and problems are most urgent for the church to address at the present time, and for you to encourage certain other faithful leaders, including lay leaders, within the congregation to do the same. You can then present to the pastor, not a vague, all-encompassing criticism of the church and his leadership of it, but rather a set of practical suggestions for how a few definite aspects of the church’s life might be improved. As he sees concrete evidence of improvement in those areas, the pastor may then become open to other suggestions; in fact, he may gain the courage necessary to face up more adequately to the church’s actual condition, and may suggest other possible improvements himself. I am reminded of the statement quoted from Dr. Thom Rainer to the effect that the way to tackle a situation in which a large and potentially intimidating degree of change is desirable is to begin by, as it were, eating one bite at a time.
If nothing else, this situation has the potential of putting Gal. 5:22-23 to the test in the pastor’s life, as well as in yours and any others. Character will surface. There is the opportunity to exercise humility and love by giving the other person the benefit of the doubt, seriously considering and weighing his opinion in spite of how entrenched one may be in his or her own. There is the opportunity to find one’s joy in a higher Source, in spite of any current tension or conflict. This is also a situation where one can model longsuffering, even though the events themselves, and injured pride, might pressure a person to be snippy, curt, and short in one’s reaction. How about gentleness? Will each player in the situation tread softly even though empowered with data and information that might enable him or her to do otherwise? Will there be faith to prayerfully wait upon God or to move forward as God might lead? Will there be the meekness to treat each other with respect and dignity even though you may be convinced of the rightness of your position? Does self-control guide all actions and speech? The exercise of all such virtues will enable one to know an inner peace, a peace that comes from knowing that, if nothing else, you have kept yourself above reproach.
I think it is important, amid one’s own personal frustrations with the pastor’s failure to recognize the lack of church health, to recognize from where the pastor’s aversions to such an idea come. As a few have mentioned, he is the leader of the church and any complaint or concern about the church can (and likely will) feel like a personal attack on him, regardless of whether or not it is. It is important to be very careful when attempting to speak truth to the situation and shed light on the issue at hand. The pastor is likely in a delicate state, as he has rightfully taken ownership of his congregation.
That being said, I also agree that there needs to be some sort of “tangible,” for lack of a better word, evidence that will offer some sort of support for the claim that the church is unhealthy, and some sort of direction regarding what needs to be improved. Statistical figures can be very helpful at this stage. Numbers like average worship attendance, total members, Sunday School attendance, additions, deletions, baptisms, financial giving, etc. can come in extremely handy when seeking to recognize trends/signs of poor health within the church. I would suggest compiling some sort of statistical sheet that will allow for simpler identification of weak areas in the church.
Also, if a majority of the church is in agreement that the church health is not where it should be, perhaps it would be wise to have church members and leaders anonymously fill out an objective, written survey, allowing for them to offer their comments and concerns about the church’s health. This would also provide a concrete starting point for recognizing the churches weaknesses, diagnosing the problems, and working toward improvements.
A leader is just what the title suggests: the one who leads in an established direction. If the leader of a church is not on board with changes a church needs to make/a new direction the church needs to head, it is guaranteed that the church will remain in its state of poor health. Conversing with the pastor about these issues is non-negotiable, but it must be done with his emotions and well-being in mind.
In response to Reid (post 7):
Very well articulated steps. I think you are spot on with your post. It is definitely most important to bathe this situation in prayer, especially because it has such a potential to create disunity between the church members and their pastor.
I also think that your suggestion about the open forum is a good one, though it would have to be very carefully thought out and planned so as to not result in disorganization, chaos, or “the blame game” within the congregation. If conducted well, however, I think that would be a useful opportunity for hearing more specifically what the congregation members and leaders see as unhealthy about the church.
Another survey (perhaps conducted by different people) would be wise, as it is always good in situations where there are distinct differences of opinion to get a second conclusion. This, of course, would prolong the process of diagnosing the spiritual health of the church though, which could present additional issues. It is important for the congregation to not let their frustrations get the best of them and not create division among themselves during this investigatory process, and I think that is where the other leaders in the church must step it up and lead by example in maintaining unity between the pastor and church members, being patient while the surveys/statistics are compiled and allowing the findings to speak for themselves.
First, I would confront him individually as a staff member and ask him what his perception of a healthy church is supposed to look like and be. This will allow both the staff member and the Pastor to see where they probably are going to disagree with one another. It does not say whether he has been confronted or not by the individual staff members so I would confront him individually. If he still cannot set this to be the case, I would have the other staff members meet with him individually. If even he still does not see it I would confront him along with the entirety of the staff. Hopefully, he will see it.
Secondly, one of the issues I would address is this area of evangelism. In my estimation, for a church to be healthy it must be at the least evangelistic. Therefore, when going to the Pastor, I would examine where he is evangelistically. Is he in constant contact with lost people? Can he indeed name 10 lost persons of whom he can pray for and share the gospel? If not, does he think his church can? If he can, this will give a barometer as to where he is individually.
Thirdly, I would examine the outreach within the walls of the church. Are their things in place that allow this church to be evangelistic? Is this church intentionally doing evangelism? This in my opinion gives evidence of whether this church is healthy or not. If their are not things in place, how can he claim he has a healthy church?
Fourthly, I would ask him to do a survey of his S.S. classes and get a number on how many people are in the Bible and praying regularly and I don’t mean just on Sundays. This will give a gauge on where his people are actually spiritually. If this number is low, then I would ask does a healthy church not practice the spiritual disciplines of reading one’s Bible regularly and pray regularly? This should open his eyes to see his church is probably not a healthy church.
These are just a couple of things I would address and hopefully his eyes will open to what the Church Survey has said. It is not lying.
In Response to Andrew Rowley:
I didn’t think about that. I would compare the church’s numbers with churches that look healthy especially in the area. How do these churches compare with the church in the case study? I would also compare this church with other churches within the convention that are the same in size. This will also give a barometer in which to measure as well. Again, as one said, numbers usually don’t lie. They often times speak to the reality of the situation. Comparing would be a good way for him to see the actual reality of the situation. In the midst of it all, I would pray that God would open his eyes to reality. Believe in the power of prayer.
I agree with Len Anderson. The fruits of the Spirit will be tested in everyone’s lives through this situation.
Another thought may be this…there could be some prevailing conditions that have uniquely defined who this church is and what their mission is. For instance, they may be ministering to an older population of Christians in their 70’s and 80’s and the church just across the street is blowing and going with 3500 in attendance and contemporary services, outreach, children’s ministry, etc…the pastor is content with ministering to the older population, helping them through life. They serve in ministries of the church, like ushers, teaching, etc…, and they witness to their family members, and the others at the senior center, but visitation, community ministries, and vibrant contemporary worship is not their thing. A young associate pastor who is ambitions, trying to get more people in the church so he can get a raise and better provide for his family, whose wife is dissatisfied with the church and lack of children’s ministry, and whose children are the only ones in their classes may have different goals than the pastor. The church health survey may be more aimed at making middle-class mega churches than churches for smaller segments of the population. We cannot discount churches for older people and call them unhealthy simply because the survey says so. Surveys are great, I love them, but the are not the final word. They help us know where to look and what questions to ask. The language on a survey could be vague, older generations define things differently, and so many other issues could be the case. Galatians 5:22-23.
In response to Matthew and Mike:
I couldn’t agree more that there ought to always be some level of discontentment as a pastor. That doesn’t mean that the pastor is unsatisified with the Lord. He is simply unsatisified with where the church is at presently. There is always more ground to gain, more people to win to Christ, more believers to disciple, more ministry to be done in the community, more people groups to be reached, etc. The church also should always be striving to be more and more like Christ. So on some level the church is constantly unhealthy, or better yet, the church is not as healthy as it could and should be.
There seems to be a motivation problem in this pastor. The church is motivated. It seems that they are ready to move forward. They have taken the survey, read the report, and are now ready to act upon it. The pastor is dragging his feet and living in denial. As the authors of the book The Everychurch Guide to Growth point out, the responisiblity of moving forward is 50% the pastor and 50% the people. But the way the Lord usually works is to use the pastor to motivate and create a level of discontentment within the people (pg. 44-45). Something seems to be wrong with this pastor. Why is he not motivated? He seems to be sticking his head in the sand of denial.
Therefore, it is crucial for this staff member to pray for his pastor and to make sure that his pastor knows that he loves him and will stand with him. He also needs to challenge his pastor, but he can only challenge him if the relationship is good between them. Dicey situation for sure.
Response to James Taylor in Post #1:
I greatly appreciate the overall attitude of your post, which was one of maintaining a spirit of unity and cooperation with the pastor. You idea of sitting down with the pastor for an honest and open discussion about the church, the survey, and the future of the church is wise. This is an opportunity for both the pastor and the staff person to learn. The pastor may be aware of problems with the survey, the way it was administered, or the way the results were interepreted, that ar causing the final outcome to be skewed. The pastor must have some reason(s) for contradicting the survey results; it would be wise to hear them.
If the pastor is simply being stiff-necked and stubborn, it is likely there would be other problems relating to him. If he has proven himself to be a wise and godly man, then it would be advisable to hear what he has to say and why he feels the way he does.
Response to Danny Hedgepeth in Post #21:
You are right to advise verifying the validity of the survey on a number of levels. For example, you state, “If the number of respondents is under 10% of the weekly attendance, it is probably an inaccurate pciture.” This is very true. Often, the most unhappy people are the ones who speak the loudest. If the survey represents less than 10% of weekly attenders, it is probably going to be heavily skewed toward the negative.
The original question used subjective terms, such as, “we rated”, “I don’t know of anyone else in the church that agrees”, and “I’m one of those staff members.” It would be helpful to have more objective information, such as, what percentage of the church is covered by “we rated.” Also, it seems highly unlikely that there is not even one other person in the church who agrees with the pastor.
My advice to this staff person is that when he sits down to discuss this with the pastor, he makes certian he is armed with solid, objective information. If his information begins to unravel under close scrutiny, it could cost him a lot of credibility; however, if his information is solid it could strengthen his credibility and earn him due respect.
I think James Taylor has some good points and advice. It is a difficult situation, but taking aggressive action against your pastor won’t help anything. This is a situation in which prayer and encouragement are needed. I would have the entire staff begin praying earnestly that God would convince the pastor of the areas that need change in the church.
I would also encourage the other members of the staff that agrees with you to look for ways that they can meet some of the needs that the church has and try to improve areas that they can. Maybe its how the church handles the preschool and a staff member could take the initiative to make it a safer and more edifying place. Maybe it is how the church welcomes its guests. A staff person could take it upon themselves to come up with good ideas to change the way they are treated, etc… What is important is that those who see the need for change don’t sit idly by, but are working towards positive solutions to help the church become “healthy”. Then all of you in one accord can offer solutions to the pastor instead of just telling him things need to change without giving him the support he needs.
Basically, find tangible ways to make the church healthier, get support from the staff and congregation, and bring those solutions to the pastor as lay-led or lay-mandated ideas that he really couldn’t say no to. Hopefully then your leader will see positive solutions to problems the church faces and gladly support them and be thankful for the work you and others in the church have done.
In response to James Grant:
I think you hit the nail on the head when it comes to unity. In situations like these the tendency is to go around the pastor to get things done. God has put this man in authority for a reason and I think it is very beneficial to promote unity within the leadership. This shouldn’t result in apathy, but it should spur on an action of prayer.
I believe that prayer is the key here. Taking time to fast and pray for your pastor is one of the most beneficial things you can do for him at this moment. He needs your support. Now don’t get me wrong I am not saying that you coddle him. I am saying that you ask the Lord to change his heart and open his eyes. He needs to know that you love him. As other have stated, he probably feels personally responsible for these failures, and seeks not to own them publicly. Let him know you are praying for him, and make it intentional. Set aside time everyday and be specific about what you would like to see happen in this pastors life. I believe God will honor this.
Just as has been mentioned, the whole situation has to be handled with prayer and humility. As a staff member, it is inevitable that you will disagree with the senior pastor. How the disagreement is handled will make all the difference in the world. What could be an opportunity for growth, of both the pastor and the church, could easily become a divisive conversation is the senior pastor feels attacked. Always approach a staff disagreement with humility and respect for the senior pastor.
Second, the time to change the areas under your leadership is now. Begin to change, cut, and add what needs to happen to become healthier, all the while including the senior pastor in the process. I recommend that you adopt the policy of never surprising him, as this helps build trust. Maybe this will spark some ideas in the senior pastor’s mind to begin changing, even if his perception of the church as being unhealthy never does.
Lastly, make sure that you do not spread your discontent among anyone else. It is crucial that the church see how you talk about and interact with the pastor, because they will follow your lead in this. If you cut the senior pastor down in your conversations and side comments, others will, too. By the same token, you should always defend your senior pastor as well. As mentioned above, it is ok to disagree, but do so behind closed doors. Present a unified, strong leadership core to the congregation.
In response to Jay:
I agree, welcome to middle managment!
It must be kept in mind that the Church Health Survey is simply a tool. The problem is that it is a self-perception. The church could in fact be healthy, but the survey is wrong. At that point, an evaluation of other numbers (baptism, attendance, small groups, retention, etc) would be helpful. If the pastor is seeing other indicators of church health in a positive light, then the survey could simply be bringing to light a perception problem. As Jerry mentioned, this could be an incredible teaching time should this be the case.
Per other comments, I would also highly recommend reading the 360 Degree Leader and Leading From the Second Chair. This will help influence how you, as a staff member, lead effectively.
I like what Tony said about the role of the church. Have you ever sat down with the pastor and asked him about his vision for the church? Maybe a better understanding of what God has laid on his heart for the church would help you decide whether you share that vision. If your vision for what constitutes church health clashes significantly with his, it might be time to move on. Or maybe, his vision will give you a new perspective on the ministry you are already doing. In any case, it can do nothing but good to ask the pastor to share his vision with you.
This is a tough situation to be in. It is always hard when the one who should be leading the church can’t see that he should lead her to a hospital. I would suggest you go at this the way Paul says to address an older man who has evidently done wrong. In 1 Timothy 5:1 he says not to rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. I think in the case of a pastor it does not matter if he is older or younger in age he is in a place of authority in the church and should be treated as such. Go to him in respect and try to help him see that the numbers do not lie. Not only that but if the people of the church are in agreement with the results perhaps some mature and wise lay leaders could go with you to raise the point.
I would try to keep in mind that he is hopefully being blinded to the facts by his love for the church and the people in it. He probably does not want to believe the worst about a people he loves and is striving with. Just like a husband would want to seek 2nd, 3rd, or 4th opinions if his wife were given a grave diagnosis by a doctor. We don’t want to acknowledge that something is wrong with the ones we love.
I would have to agree with what has already been said several times before me in that the best thing you can do is pray (posts 6 and 7 for example). While we can be instruments of change only God can bring it about. Perhaps God wants to use this time to totally unite the church around the pastor in love. Not to say that there are any issues between members and the pastor but you never know what someone may be harboring in their heart. But i believe it is hard to hold negative feelings toward someone you are actively praying in a spirit of love for. Pray for God to change his heart. Rally the people around him and have them pray for him. Pray that he would champion the church in the changes that need to be made for it to grow into a healthy body. We can’t know why God allows hearts to get into the condition they are but we do know that he can change them.
There could be many reasons why the senior pastor does not want to move forward. Usually problems are like icebergs; there are always issues below the surface. This post assumes that confronting the senior pastor is the right thing to do. Having said that, an important prerequisite is to understand your senior pastor and have him feel that you understand him.
To help understand him, I suggest an evaluation guided by a set of categories I heard once. The categories are: character, competency, chemistry and calling. Although the terms are self-explanatory, here is a succinct explanation of each. By character we mean their Christ-likeness or the fruits of the Spirit. It can also refer to both their inner motives and outward conduct. By competency, their gifting, talents, and skills come into question. By chemistry, we are referring to the quality and synergism of their relationships with staff and church members. Finally, the calling category discerns whether they are truly called by God to the ministry.
Having the above thoughts organized can help you see the situation a bit more objectively and concretely. Furthermore, taking the time to think through your pastor’s strengths and weaknesses will cause you to inadvertently think through your church’s issues, too, and how the two are interacting with each other. Using the analogy of the iceberg, you might discover what is below the surface.
Hope this helps.
Chris, I appreciate your thoughts dated March 28th, 2011 at 9:09 am. You reminded me that this entire process needs to be bathed in humility and prayer. I realize that many of the posts give similar counsel.
Confrontation is always sensitive and even volatile, so I appreciate your warning not to spread discontent.
The most important thing to do is to individually and collectively join in prayer. There are obviously some issues going on within the church due to the body recognizing this themselves. But this is further seen as the staff is divided on such a major issue. It is often difficult to hear that your work is “unhealthy” and could be blurring the pastors vision of what is truly going on. From personal experience, it is hard to be a staff member who is in disagreement with the senior pastor. Whether or not your idea is more clear or a better option for the church, there is the continual element of submitting to the authority of your pastor. In this particular situation, I think the first and most important thing to do is to pray for the pastor’s eyes to be opened to the reality that exists within his congregation. The next step may include meeting with the entire staff and to ask questions in regards to the perceptions of the church. This may open the door for the pastor to see that there are unhealthy issues within the church, as he hears his staff responding to the issues at hand. Beyond this, potentially meeting with a few key leaders within the church to discuss these issues with the staff team may be beneficial as well. The important this here is not to overstep your authority with your pastor. Proceed with prayer and tenderness.
In response to Josh Flowers:
I would agree that qualitative data would be very beneficial. But even more so, the spiritual growth and development of the congregation should take priority. If there survey does not show qualitative numbers and the spiritual growth is not evident, it may be time for a new survey. And a sincere look from the pastor at his church.
I think that the first step would be to organize a churchwide prayer meeting. Invite everyone - church members, staff, and the pastor - to come and pray for the church. At the meeting you can suggest different things for everyone to pray for, including but not limited to the ministries and specific concerns that you have. If you are faithful to pray for the pastor and all of the church’s ministries, then the pastor probably will not view it as an attack on him. He probably will appreciate the prayer. I would suggest continuing the prayer meeting once a week or at least once a month. God will work through the prayers of his saints, and he might even open the eyes and change the heart of the pastor.
My second suggestion is that you and the other staff members who do see the need to improve the health of the church should focus on evangelism and discipling new believers. If each staff member is faithful to disciple at least one person and live a lifestyle of proclamation of the good news, then the church should become healthier as many people come to faith and become grounded in the Word of God. You could encourage the pastor to join you in these efforts. Also, include as many church members as possible. If the pastor is not leading in this area, at least the staff members could. Perhaps the church will follow your lead, and maybe God will use your good example to convict the pastor of the need to do this too.
This is a response to the post of Glynn Reeves:
I agree with Glynn in his assessment that if you choose to rebuke the pastor, you should do it in a way that shows great respect for his authority and position. Also, you should always assume the best of him. It might be easy to assume that the pastor has bad motives or he is purposefully harming the church, but as Glynn said he could just be having a difficult time seeing or admitting that the church that he loves is not as healthy as he would like it to be. Everyone is sinful, and we are often blinded by our sin. Maybe he is blinded to the reality of the lack of health in the church. It would be good if you could lovingly help the pastor to see this reality and be willing to work beside him to do the hard work of reviving this unhealthy church.
Some, like Laura Beth, have hinted at what I think may be the issue, but the first thing I though was that the pastor himself may be the unhealthy one. The first thing I would do is actually talk to the pastor about his own spiritual life. It may be that he doesn’t see the issues because he himself has issues. Obviously, no one is perfect, but if he is struggling with some sin or a difficult situation in his own life, he may not be in a place to help others.
I also agree with Chris Flora, in that if you have the authority to change your own ministry to shore up some of the areas that are lacking, do it! You may not be the head pastor and may not have authority to change everything that’s wrong with the church, but if you begin making changes in the areas that you do have control over, then you are handling your responsibility to right the ship. Also, if the pastor sees change happening in your personal ministry, he may be more willing to listen to your suggestions later.
Why is it that the pastor is often the last to know, or at least the last to recognize white elephant? To acknowledge the unhealthy congregational condition would on the part of the pastor be admitting to certain failure. Leaders know that organizations rise and fall upon their ability to lead, cast vision, create alignment, and move the congregation forward in Kingdom work. Leaders often fail to know that visions need re-visioning and re-deployment. Leaders, particularly those int he #2 role, a faced with a dilemma: do I confront at the risk of possible termination; do I confront risking loss of friendship; if I wait to confront, how much longer?
Leaders concerned about Kingdom growth and advancement must address the problem. A wise leader once advised me that the most difficult conversations require greatest courage and posed the question, would I be a courageous leader on one who fled the necessary to embrace temporary comfort.
The pastor must be courageously spoken with. Eternity is at stake, the Kingdom is being neglected and the primary leader has closed his eyes to the reality before him. Bathed in prayer, surrendered the to Spirit with reconciliation the goal, and in all humility, the white elephant must be brought into the light regardless of the emotional stress.
“Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High” by Patterson, Grenny, McMillan and Switzler is an excellent resource.