Hiring Church Leaders or Breeding Sychphants?

I am a big fan of Granger Church. Look at their website, their mailings, all their communication is very well planned and intentional. It is by far the only church right now in the US who knows how to communicate, and they do it with consistency, conviction, and clarity. They preserve and extend their brand/identity very well. In fact, I would go so far to say that it is the first church that presents itself better in media (on paper, web, mailings, post cards, workshops) than in their messages. Usually, the worship message is great but the church's other touch points (i.e. signage, newsletters, and posters, etc.) are all homemade, mis-matching, Xeroxed, and/or unprofessional…But not at Granger. Because of that I am a big fan of their Communications Director, Kem Meyer. She is a leader and pioneer of the church communication industry, a real hero. And she is cool, too.

Because she’s so cool, I figured that all the leaders of Granger might just be the real deal ~bold Christians able to run the church without fear and truly according to Jesus' teachings. But I read the article, Hiring Criteria[1] by Tim Stevens, another Pastor at Granger and author of many books including, Pop Goes the Church. And I got the unfortunate sense that he is just like all the other church leaders who are sanctioned to do what they think is right-minded to lead the church, rather than doing what Jesus teaches the church.

In the article, Stevens says that churches should only hire from within the body of the congregation...only hire people who have been working in ministry for a while, basically, only people who ‘fit in’. When asked about job openings he says, “[I tell candidates], move your family to Granger, get a job, jump into a volunteer role and we’ll talk in two or three years.”

It sounds good and it seems to be successful for Granger, but I totally must disagree with this. I believe when church leaders have this myopic attitude, especially towards hiring practices, the structure of the organizational team morphs into a clique, and whoever has the strongest opinion, or the Senior Pastor’s ear, is typically the one who calls the shots, regardless of what the org chart would indicate.

John 13:20 says, “Whoever accepts the one I send, accepts me, and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” This is when Jesus is instructing his disciples at the last supper. And he is teaching them a lesson about not getting too big for their britches (essentially). It’s right after he washed their feet. It seems to me Jesus is instructing his disciples that they need to stay focused on serving – not on themselves – in so many words – I’m paraphrasing - he says, I know all of you. I have chosen you, yet I will still be betrayed by one of you – someone I know. Then without explanation he tells them to accept “whoever I send”.

For today’s translation, I believe Jesus instructs church leaders to be open to new faces and new talent..because as in this Biblical example, you generally are sunk by someone you know, not new...and also, and more importantly, Jesus will send people of His choosing to a church that is willing. Churches that inbreed executives from long-standing volunteer positions like Stevens suggests, can get caught in a trap of hiring yes-men (or yes-women) because that is the foundation of the relationship. It can mark the beginning of the end of a church's innovation and Kingdom advancement... and over time the staff will get dysfunctional results in their communication and decisions.

The strategy of hiring longstanding volunteers on the surface is successful...and it works for Granger. But I contend that 'circling the wagons' in hiring practices is a slow cancer. Eventually, the church's growth will slow, the fire in the belly of the congregation will wane, and the core staff (of bred sychphants) will all throw up their hands in bewilderment. The practice is comfortable and cost-effective. But it is one of this world. Pray then for church leaders to take the uncomfortable route, to take risks, to trust the teaching of Jesus, to open their hearts, and keep an eye out for who He chooses to run His church.

[1] Specific and Practical. 2008. A publication of Granger Church.