Big News, No News, and Good News
Jim Ladd
The way Americans work has radically changed in the past three years. Many have participated in the “Great Resignation” and quit jobs they’ve held for a long time. Others have decided that they want more meaningful work, to work from home, or to relocate to another part of the country, and more.
Churches are not exempt from this great social shift. A Pastor friend of mine has had 17 full and part time staff leave their jobs in the past 12 months and he is finding new staff difficult to recruit, locate, or hire.
In terms of staffing at ECC, I have Big News, No News, and Good News for you today.
Big News
We, too, are experiencing larger-than-normal turnover this year. At my count we have nine staff members gone and one more retiring in mid-December, not including staff turnover at ECS, which has some routine school turnover each year. While every member of our staff is amazing and essential to our operations, some get higher visibility and make for “Big News”. Ken and Jalee Rice, Kyle Stutzman, and now Leif Holmes have ended their employment with ECC. Tom Milner is also preparing for a mid-December retirement after many months of planning. There are others, too, like Tracey Chandos, who have been powerful parts of our ministry teams for a long time, and have decided to relocate or leave.
Many of these people are my personal friends, and have been so for decades. And they continue to be. Loss is big news, and change can be disruptive, emotional, and anxiety producing.
No News
One of the more common questions I get as a Pastor is, “How come when we have staff members leave, there is so little communication about it? All we typically hear is that ‘God has called them elsewhere.’” Let me tell you why it often feels this way.
Church is not a typical organization - it’s more of a spiritual family. So staff changes, especially those whom we call, “Pastor” are more personal, and it would seem appropriate that more information be shared about when and why these changes occur. However, these people are also employees who have a right to vocational privacy in their decision making and in their personal matters. It would be quite odd for a public company or organization to announce staff transitions and offer explanations for every decision. We need to honor our employees this way, too.
Our standard practice is to allow the departing staff member to craft how their exit is described. Some even write out departing messages for public transmission, while others give us a sentence or two to use in answering the “why” questions. My deep belief is that vocational changes are the personal stories of the employee, and therefore it is their story to tell, not mine. So, if you want to know why a staff member has left, you can ask one of us and we will give you their prescribed answer. Then we will encourage you to speak to them directly if you want to cheer them on, or ask for more of their story. If that process then leads you to having questions about our Church operations, we are always happy to answer those, while remaining consistent about not discussing specific personnel matters directly.
Good News
I also have good news! We are currently in the process of hiring several new staff who are just plain amazing individuals! God has been faithful to bring us powerful new team members who will pick up where our previous champions left off, and carry us into a whole new season of excellence, passion, and growth. I cannot even begin to describe how excited I am about those who have already joined our team, or who will by year’s end. There are too many to describe here, but check out our staffing page on the website from time to time and update your prayer list! Good things are already happening and you are going to see exciting progress as these new staff members get going in their roles.
In the meantime, pray for those who have left us, those who have joined us, and those who will be onboard soon. God is good and great things are coming!!