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Roberta was driving me nuts. Put in charge of an important fundraising event when no one else volunteered, she quickly spiraled out of control. It started to become "her" event rather than a communal church fundraiser. She ignored repeated requests to give the church board a budget, tried to secure a glamorous yet pricey off-site location, and allowed the price per person to become too steep for a church our size. At this rate we were going to lose money in our attempt to raise money for the organ fund!

With Roberta running amuck, something had to be done. But here was our dilemma. We couldn't lay off a volunteer by eliminating the position; someone had to plan the event. We couldn't fire the well-meaning volunteer and have her simply go away, as paid workers in business settings do. Firing Roberta would not be easy; it would be painful, with fallout. While we must occasionally remove lay leaders from their ministries for the health of both parishioner and parish, that would be our last resort. I hoped we could reason with Roberta.

I called the fundraising committee chairman. We agreed to meet with our wayward worker to bring things back to the more modest original concept. When we sat down with Roberta, it became clear she either didn't understand or care about our vision. "Why do you keep asking me for a budget?" she asked. "It's more important that everything looks good."

"Roberta," I replied, "don't forget the purpose of the event is to raise money to repair the organ."

"Well, no one's going to come if we don't have shrimp." She was defensive, unresponsive, and unenthusiastic about our gentle suggestions to amend her ideas.

So I fired her.

No one volunteers for leadership in the church without good intentions and no pastor commissions someone for ministry thinking they may one day need to be removed. Volunteers are the church's greatest resource. But just because someone raises a hand to take on a project doesn't mean she's the right person for the task. As church leaders, we're usually so thrilled that someone has volunteered to do something that we don't consider whether or not they are truly called to the ministry. Sometimes it's only after the fact that we realize an individual isn't right for a job. Then it's too late. We have rushed to anoint someone without any communal reflection or prayer.

When confronted with situations where termination seems to be required, a key pastoral question is this: Are there unstated reasons for the person's failure to thrive in a position? It may be an issue of competence, negative attitude, burnout, differing visions, or a personality conflict with the pastor or committee members. If these subterranean issues are clarified, the presenting problems—such as absenteeism—are likely to correct themselves.

In some cases, the person would succeed in the position with additional training. Church leaders must train, equip, and support their lay leaders for the work of ministry. Successful volunteers are empowered for their service, not only by giving them a "long lead" to accomplish their work, but by giving them the tools and skills required. This may mean teaching volunteers how to run committee meetings, generate enthusiasm, or delegate responsibilities. If this isn't the pastor's particular gift, it is well worth the investment to bring in an outside consultant to work with both the pastor and the lay leaders on techniques of effective church leadership.

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