"Pray for me," Jed told a fellow staff member, as he headed out to speak at one of our weekend services. "This one may get me fired."

Jed was our youth pastor. His youth and teaching ministry had taken off since he joined our staff. However, over the course of the previous couple of months, I began to notice him challenging my authority. The challenges came in various forms, from showing disdain toward key decisions I made to blatantly violating church policy.

I knew that responding quickly was crucial. As Barney Fife memorably said, "You gotta nip it in the bud." So I talked to Jed as soon as the pattern emerged. He denied it.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

I told him to pray about it and to be more mindful of his behavior. But the pattern of disrespect and insubordination continued. In the following weeks, I decided to dig a little deeper. What was causing this behavior? Did he have an issue with other staff members? Was it something personal against me? Neither, as it ...