Pastor is Defamed By His Own Board then Fired

By Raul Rivera

In 1999, the board of deacons and elders accused Pastor Thompson of stealing church money. It began when several elders and board members went to the bank to check the church’s finances. The banker told them that the church had a $51,000.00 CD in its name. Confused, the elders and the deacons held a meeting and asked the pastor about the CD. The pastor replied by telling them that he had no idea how the church obtained a $51,000.00 CD. The pastor tried to convince the elders and deacons that there had to be a mistake concerning the CD. Needless to say, the elders voted to terminate the pastor and made public statements that the pastor and his wife had taken church money to buy a $51,0000.00 CD “for their own purposes”.  They also called the pastor a “thief and liar” before members of the church.  This incident caused the pastor to not only lose his ministry; he was also not hirable because his reputation was too badly scarred.  

Losing your church because of social trends

Imagine with me for a moment how you would feel if one day you, the pastor of a church, were blindsided by your own board and accused of being a thief and a liar.  Then your board fired you and made it public to the church on several occasions, including the local news channel. This happens frequently all across America. The social trend of today is less respectful of spiritual leaders and authority. One of the results of this social attitude is over 1,000 churches per month ending up in court. 

Relationship and church government 

This case speaks to the importance of the relationship between the pastor and the board of directors/elders of the church and how closely it needs to be guarded.  Moreover, it also speaks to the type of government structure a church ought to have.  In most churches there are three types of government structures.

1. Voting membership churches: In most voting membership churches the members vote annually on pastoral salaries and whether the pastor shall continue his/her post. That can be difficult on many pastors, often causing stress during the Christmas holidays. It can also lead to the pastor having to choose between preaching the Word with vigor and zeal versus pleasing those who have the power to vote him/her out.  Very few pastors are able to successfully navigate the annual stress of potentially being voted out without compromising the truths of the gospel. 
2. Board led churches: Many church organizations are also set up where the board has full charge of every aspect of the church.  The pastor is hired by the board to faithfully carry out certain duties, which include preaching and other various sacerdotal functions. However, like a voting membership church, the board can dismiss the pastor at any time, even if he/she was the founder.
3. Pastor led churches: Conversely, there are some churches that are 100% pastor led. The pastor has the power to make the final decision on everything and can overrule anyone at any time he/she wishes. He/she can never be dismissed from office no matter what he or she does. As you may well know, that type of government structure can lead to abusive power and a falling away from the truth of the gospel.  

Pastor and board led church with accountability board

For many years now, we have consulted with churches on how to best establish a structure that gives the pastor the authority to run the day-to-day affairs of the church yet with a healthy dose of accountability. I usually refer to this sort of structure as apostolic bylaws because the pastor has the ability to run the church but also the accountability to be disciplined or removed from office if he/she abuses power, embezzles, lives in unrepentant sin, or ceases to act in the best interest of the church.  

How should a pastor be removed from office?

After years of knowing and speaking to many pastors and church board members, I have learned that when the relationship between the pastor and his/her board goes bad, a decision gets made in the heat of the moment and it is usually the wrong one.  Here is where a solid structure can prevent bad decisions from being made.  Create an accountability board that has the authority to settle accusations against the pastor and discipline or dismiss him/her from office if necessary. Below are some of the details of the accountability board.

1. It has no less than three (3) persons and no more than five (5). 
2. It is made up of individuals nominated by the senior pastor of the corporation and confirmed by a simple majority of the board of directors after careful consideration. (II Timothy 3:16, 17; Acts 15). 
3. Its primary purposes is to hear accusations against the senior pastor brought to them unanimously by the official board of directors and to make a determination as to whether the senior pastor/president has committed any of the infractions listed.
4. Determine whether to dismiss, discipline, or exonerate the pastor.
5. Their decision is final.

After having lost his church, Pastor Thompson sought to continue in ministry but his reputation was so severely damaged that no church would hire him. It was later discovered that the employee at the bank had confused Pastor Thompson’s church with another and that the pastor had never opened up a CD for his own benefit using church money. Nevertheless, many of the board of elders and deacons continued to call him a “thief and a liar.” He felt it was too late in life to start a new church so he filed a defamation lawsuit that lasted over 14 years in court to resolve.  On February 6, 2013, the trial court rendered a judgment in favor of Rev. Thompson and against all the defendants, awarding the following special damages: $196,228.00 for back pay, $120,246.00 for pastoral annual payment loss, $79,795.00 for fringe benefit loss, plus cost and interest. The trial court additionally awarded Rev. Thompson general damages of $150,000, plus cost and interest from the date of judicial demand, against only the Church Defendants.

Did anyone win?  

We can learn from this case that it is clearly important to know that pastors and leaders need to exercise discretion and discipline when publicly addressing sensitive matters before the congregation. We can also learn that the legal trend in churches today is that the number of church lawsuits continues to grow in numbers.  

At the end of this case Mr. Thompson won the defamation lawsuit and the elders and deacons were ordered to pay large sums of money. However, it appears that everyone loses when it is brother against brother. Paul said it well. “The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already.”