The Small Church Board: Support and Care for the Pastor: A Critical Role of the Church Board

The numbers are both shocking and tragic. Only one out of every ten individual who start their career in ministry will end their career still faithfully serving the church. One out of every four pastors will face a forced resignation sometime in their career. While many churches love and support their pastors’ there are always individuals who seem to think that it is their calling to criticize and undermine the ministry of the pastor. Even more tragic is when a church becomes toxic and becomes a meat grinder of pastors, destroying the ministry of one individual after another and leaving in their wake broken pastors and pastors’ families in their spiritual toxicity. However, this tragedy lies not upon the doorsteps of toxic Christians who attack the pastors, but upon the board’s failure to confront and discipline these antagonists within the church. Even more tragic is when the board becomes part of the problem, attacking and undermining the pastor so that there develops an adversarial relationship with the pastor.

This is not to say that the problems always reside on the side of the people or board. There are often pastors who likewise contribute to the conflicts and problems between themselves and the churches they serve. Instead of sacrificially serving the church, they become power-driven dictators who seek to use the church for their own recognition. However, thankfully, this is not what characterizes many churches and boards. While there are rogue people and boards (and even pastors), most people and church boards sincerely love their pastor and desire to support his leadership. When problems and frustrations arise (which they will, for that is a part of any personal relationship), they desire to work through the issues with love, grace and forgiveness. The question then is how does the board support the pastor as well as develop an environment where the pastor can grow and thrive. Read more