Open Letter in response to a church secretary whose job was cut

I received the email below from a church secretary whose church terminated her job because of the challenging financial times we are in. In the time spent praying over how to answer wisely, I realized that an answer to her questions and some comments on her situation might be useful to other church communicators, so I am answering in the form of an Open Letter.  Below is her email and then my response, her name and church are confidential.

In this tough economy many churches have had to make the tough decision to no longer have a secretary.  I am trying to communicate to the congregation that I love the Church and support the decision that was made.  On the other hand when I am in service I want to cry because for me this drastic a change is very scary.  So I may need a break not from God but from the Church so I can refocus and not be the cause of any problems (many do not agree with the decision).  Do you have any suggestions on how to communicate this in a positive way to the congregation.  (PS - I have not been able to have a Sunday to just worship since I started 3 years ago.  People always assume I am working if I am here, despite reminder that I will take care of that when I am working on Monday)

My response, an open letter

First of all, let me say that I honestly feel the pain that underlies your question. It is more than theory—my husband was on staff of a large church and we had a huge and successful Single Adult ministry that was our life—and his position was terminated because of budget cuts. While serving as a bi-vocational pastor since then, we have had some interesting experiences with churches promising to pay and “budgets just not working out.” Whatever the reason, when money, one’s income, and all those sorts of financial things get tied up in our church life, it not only becomes challenging financially, but messy and potentially very destructive to our own spiritual health and that of others in the church.

Ultimately, what you decide to do is between you and the Lord Jesus and I know you will be spending much time in prayer and in His Word to decide your actions, but since you asked, let me share some thoughts that I trust are guided by Biblical principles. I will try to summarize your concerns and then offer some thoughts and Biblical advice on them.

#1:  About your wish to communication to the congregation that you love the church and support the decision that was made.

For peace in the Body of Christ, which is commanded often, it would seem a good solution would be for that kind of communication to be made in a formal way from the leadership of the church and for that to be the end of it. The burden to communicate the decision and your agreement with it should not be on you. I am assuming it was the decision of the leadership, so they should take ownership of that decision. Some sort of letter, email or even an announcement in the bulletin such as this could be made:

“It is with much sorrow and because of the current economic situation, we will no longer be employing our beloved church secretary (your name here). If you have any questions about this decision, please contact the church leaders. Our secretary understands the economic decision and is supportive of it and asks that you not discuss it with her, but pray for future wisdom in God’s leading in her life.”

The leadership should also be very clear what they are going to do about handling the work you have done. Their decision affects the entire congregation and I hope they have a plan for dealing with it. If they do not, that is their responsibility and problem, not yours.

I know that those of us in positions like yours are used to running interference for leaders, protecting them, answering questions for them—but you cannot do it in this situation.

Many churches have and are facing severe financial difficulties. They choose different solutions. Some choose to end some staff positions as your church did. Others take across the board pay and/or benefit cuts and decide that no one will lose their job. Your leadership did not decide to do that and they must deal with the consequences. Deciding to end the position of church secretary is a far more serious than many in leadership realize. I think it is vitally important that they experience the consequences of their decision.

#2: On your comment: “I may need a break not from God but from the Church so I can refocus and not be the cause of any problems.”

There are two aspects to my response to this.

First, you may need to step away from your particular church (more on that in a minute), but absolutely do not consider stepping away from Church.  The Bible is very clear:

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.  Hebrews 10:23-25

We need the Church body—that is a vital part of our responsibilities in following  Jesus.  Even though a particular church or the people in it, may cause us great pain and frustration, nowhere does the Bible condone pulling away from the church. Think about Paul—the church did horrible things to him, but he was always part of one.  For Jesus his home church rejected him, but he continued to be part of the worshipping community wherever he was.

When we are alone, Satan can really get to us—remember he is the accuser of the brethren and he will whisper all sorts of things into your mind that can cause bitterness and pain.

Second, perhaps you need to be part of a different church. You have to really evaluate this  option with the Lord and I have no idea how or if you also have family involved in various ministries at the church. But sometimes, if the pain of what you used to do is too much (and you will be confronted with that with every church bulletin you see—if they figure out a way to do it) and if people keep wanting to talk to you about it, to keep from sinning by causing discord, you may want to go elsewhere.

That is very difficult—again, I know—when my husband’s job as Single Adult Pastor was terminated we actually felt we had to leave town (went to another state to study church planting for 9 months) because, in part, we had so many people upset at the church, wanting us to take sides, wanting us to do this or that, and we felt none of that was the Lord’s will.

We are back in the same town and working at a ministry we love in another church. Still, I cannot drive past the previous church without pain in my heart and when that happens,  I remember how Jesus cried over Jerusalem when they rejected him.  We forgive as we are forgiven and the though the pain may last a long time, it does quiet in its intensity.

Whether at your current church or another one, do not retreat—throw yourself into ministry. Our calling never ceases, no matter what the stress or sadness. If you are financially able, volunteer to help a church plant, a small church, or ministry who needs secretarial help. I am certain the Lord has given you many skills that could be of great use to the Kingdom. We found ministry immersion to be a great painkiller as well as an intentional act of obedience.

Comment on:  “I have not been able to have a Sunday to just worship since I started 3 years ago.  People always assume I am working if I am here, despite reminder that I will take care of that when I am working on Monday.”

Again, only those of us who work in church can really understand what that means. Though I understand, my advice on this is not sympathetic, but a gentle challenge.

Let me put this in the context of a philosophy of ministry that was summed up by a dear pastor friend many years ago when he said, “Life is ministry.”

If God has called us to a ministry, we are called 24/7. I fear we often allow contemporary standards of “fairness,” or similar expectations, to color our view of what it means to be  a “bond-slave of Christ.” One of the most egregious reasons I’ve heard recently for not doing a certain ministry is where someone advised a young Christian worker to stop doing a particular ministry when “it wasn’t fun anymore.”

How in the world we ever allowed the criteria of “fun” to decide whether we should be involved in a ministry or not, is beyond me. I think about the ministry model of the Apostle Paul, arguably one of the greatest and most honored servants of Jesus, and here is how he described his ministry life:

I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again.  Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes.  Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not.I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger? (2 Cor. 11: 23-29, NLT)

His ministry was obviously not fun. In ministry we are never “off” as Paul was not. In Acts, he often debated every Sabbath in the local synagogue and then it says during the week he preached in the market place or taught daily when he had opportunity. If people approach us at any time and day with questions and ministry requests, it is a complement that they consider us full-time servants of Jesus. Paul never seemed to take time off, but during all this, his life was one of continual worship—he prayed and sang hymns of praise while chained in stocks in Phillipi, and here is his advice on how to act in the church always:

1 Thes. 5:13: . . . .And live peacefully with each other. ¹⁴ Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. ¹⁵ See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.

¹⁶ Always be joyful. ¹⁷ Never stop praying. ¹⁸ Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. ¹⁹ Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Do not scoff at prophecies, ²¹ but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. ²² Stay away from every kind of evil. ²³ Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. ²⁴ God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.

Worship is much more than being able to listen to a sermon and sing praise songs without interruption—it is the continual attitude of our heart—of submission to the service of our God.

We must see ministry from a biblical viewpoint and here are some verses to challenge us to do that

1 Peter 2:18 Slaves, [my note: we are all bond-slaves of Christ] in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. ¹⁹ For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. ²⁰ But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. ²¹ To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. ³³ Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. ³⁴ You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. ³⁵ So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

Hebrews 10: 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. ³⁷ For, “In just a little while,
he who is coming will come
and will not delay.”

³⁸ And, “But my righteous one will live by faith.
And I take no pleasure
in the one who shrinks back.”

Hebrews 11: 13 All these people [the heroes of the faith, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah] were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. ¹⁴ People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them… . . Hebrews 12: 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Remember: it’s war…..

I often remind church communicators that they are the communication center for the spiritual warfare battles of their church. In all warfare, one of the first targets attacked by the enemy is the communication center, because if communications are destroyed, the army is disabled.

I do not know what your church is planning to do to staff this vital post, again, that is the decision and responsibility of the church leadership, but I do know our Lord never discharges any soldier from His army.

Perhaps He wants you to use your skills as a guerilla communicator—or perhaps He has a new job for you. Whatever it is, chances are it will be harder than the last one. It seems , if we are honest, that difficulties are given to us to make us strong, not as excuses to take time off. Again, we see the Apostle Paul, who after suffering so much, was again imprisoned. This time he was not under house arrest, but chained in a dungeon and the end of his imprisonment was not earthly freedom, but the loss of his life.

Yet with joy unspeakable and full of glory he could write his last words:

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:6-8

At your church or another, working as a church secretary or in another ministry may you, may we all keep the faith, fight the good fight and finish the race our Lord has given us.

My prayers are with you,

Yvon Prehn