CHAPTER 1
The Staff/Pastor-Parish Relations Committee
In every size congregation, the staff/pastor-parish relations committee (S/PPRC) must focus on building strong relationships between the staff and the congregation and between the congregation and the district superintendent (DS). Finding a balance between building relationships and handling administrative tasks can be difficult, so the ministry of this committee is crucial for this aspect of a vital and effective congregation.
A key for a vital, effective congregation is embracing the core process for carrying out our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The core process is stated in ¶122 of The Book of Discipline:
We make disciples as we:
• proclaim the gospel, seek, welcome and gather persons into the body of Christ;
• lead persons to commit their lives to God through baptism by water and the spirit and profession of faith in Jesus Christ;
• nurture persons in Christian living through worship, the sacraments, spiritual disciplines, and other means of grace, such as Wesley's Christian conferencing;
• send persons into the world to live lovingly and justly as servants of Christ by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, caring for the stranger, freeing the oppressed, being and becoming a compassionate, caring presence, and working to develop social structures that are consistent with the gospel; and
• continue the mission of seeking, welcoming and gathering persons into the community of the body of Christ.
To remember and understand the core process of ¶122, think of H.O.P.E. The acronym is a reminder of the discipleship path to demonstrate Hospitality to people, Offer Christ by providing opportunities for people to commit their lives to God, nurturing people to find a true sense of Purpose with Christian practices, and Engaging people to put their faith into action, transforming the community. Christians who are sent out into their communities continue the cycle of H.O.P.E. by offering hospitality in the name of Jesus Christ to people they meet.
You have been elected to this committee for kingdom work: We pray in the Lord's Prayer that God's will be done and God's kingdom will come on earth as in heaven. Strong relationships among the staff and congregation and people outside the church lead to ministry that offers the H.O.P.E. of Christian disciple making so that God's will may be done for the transformation of our community and our world. This Guideline will outline the specific tasks of the S/PPRC and describe the ministry of building relationships through communication and attention to caring for the staff and congregation.
These pages offer practical suggestions for managing your responsibilities by assigning tasks to a quarterly calendar. Adapt the suggestions for your community while always keeping the big picture of the mission of the church in mind.
United Methodist congregations give the staff/pastor-parish relations committee the responsibility for administering the relationship between staff, congregation, and the district superintendent so that the mission of the church moves forward. This summary of specific tasks for the S/PPRC is listed in ¶258.2g in The Book of Discipline (with added suggestions from the Task Force on Clergy Health and the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women):
• encourage, strengthen, nurture, support, and respect the pastor and staff and their families, including advocating for a healthy work/life balance;
• promote unity in the churches;
• confer with the staff on the effectiveness of ministry and impediments to effectiveness, including conflict of interest and sexual misconduct;
• confer with the staff about the effective use of their gifts, skills, time, and priorities;
• conduct annual staff evaluations;
• teach the congregation about itineracy, steps into ordained ministry, the value of diversity in staffing, and the ministerial education fund;
• write job descriptions for staff;
• confer with staff about continuing education and spiritual formation;
• confer with the district superintendent about the clergy leadership for the congregation.
• recommend staff positions to the church council;
• create written personnel policies and sexual misconduct policies for the congregation;
• consult on matters of staff support, including housing, vacation, insurance, pension, and other matters outlined in the Discipline.
The administrative function of the S/PPRC includes both leadership and management. Leadership is the role of "keeping an eye on the big picture." The S/PPRC members must remember they are part of the body of Christ with a mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Management is the role of tending to daily activities so that details are taken care of and strategies are implemented. Large churches may have staff for day-to-day staff oversight. Management includes holding both staff and congregation accountable for carrying through with plans and promises.
Administrative Responsibilities
The S/PPRC has three primary responsibilities related to administration: pastoral and staff evaluations; maintaining a connection with the district superintendent (DS); and communication among pastor/staff, congregation, and DS. The responsibilities related to personal support, benefits, and policy will be considered in another section.
Annual Staff Evaluations
Your district superintendent will ask annually for your recommendation for the most appropriate appointed leader for your community. In most instances, you will be asked to complete an evaluation form. This Guideline recommends annual evaluation of all staff based on setting expectations at the beginning of the year and working with staff through the year to meet or modify the expectations. See the calendar suggestions for the first and the fourth quarters.
Connect with Your District Superintendent
The district superintendent relies on the S/PPRC for information about the ministry needs in the mission area where the church is located and the leadership gifts needed to carry out the ministry. The S/PPRC is the connection for the DS to understand both the community surrounding the church and the vision of the congregation for reaching out in ministry to that community. The chairperson of the S/PPRC should initiate a relationship with the district superintendent. This Guideline has suggestions in the section for the chairperson's ministry responsibilities.
Relationships through Good Communication
Strong relationships help build clear communication channels, mutual caring, and deep trust among people so that the congregation lives out an inspiring, meaningful ministry that forms disciples who make a difference in the community and in the world. Good communication, like building relationships, always involves two parties. The S/PPRC is the link that facilitates the communication among staff, congregation, and district superintendent. The committee speaks clearly and plainly to the staff about the hopes and dreams of the congregation in concrete, practical ways so that the staff know how to spend their time. The committee also reminds the congregation of the hopes and dreams they have expressed and how the staff are working toward those goals.
Who Serves on the S/PPRC?
The Book of Discipline (¶258.2) requires every congregation to have a committee on staff/pastor-parish relations (in a multipoint charge, each congregation shall have at least one member on the S/PPRC). The staff/pastor-parish relations committee members are proposed by the committee on nominations and elected by the charge or church conference. The Discipline provides for a rotation system to ensure continuity on the committee. It requires that at least five and not more than nine members be elected for terms of three years each, in three classes. One member must be a young adult, and all members must be professing or associate members of the church or charge. Members of the committee may succeed themselves for one three-year term.
The S/PPRC should be the most diverse group in the church. Each person should represent or relate to various constituencies in the church. This built-in diversity will generate deep conversation about leadership qualities, and committee members will develop their skills for communicating with diverse church members about leadership.
In addition to elected committee members, the Discipline also requires that a lay member of the annual conference and the lay leader be members of the S/PPRC. These leaders are exempt from the three-year term limit. Neither employees of the church nor members of pastors' or staff members' immediate families may serve on the committee, nor may any affiliated ordained clergy persons.
Only one person from an immediate family residing in the same household may serve on the committee. S/PPRC members must be laypeople, other than the appointed staff. The S/PPRC of a charge where there is more than one church must have at least one representative from each church. The committees of charges in a cooperative parish meet together to consider professional leadership.
S/PPRC members should be Christian spiritual leaders who demonstrate regular worship attendance, small-group participation, Bible study, and regular generous giving. These practices are essential for committee members to bring integrity to the leadership of this ministry.
The committee meets at least quarterly. Additional committee meetings may be called by the bishop, the district superintendent, the pastor, any other person accountable to the committee, or the chairperson of the committee. It may not meet without the knowledge of the pastor or the district superintendent. In addition, the committee shall meet in a closed session, and all information shared in the committee shall be confidential. Read the definition of confidentiality in the glossary, noting the distinction between confidentiality and secrecy. When the appointment of a pastor or employment of any member of the staff is to be discussed, and that person is not present, that person must be informed prior to the meeting and immediately thereafter be brought into consultation by either the committee or the district superintendent.
The First Responsibility of S/PPRC Members
The Discipline uses five pages to list the responsibilities of the S/PPRC. However, this section addresses first the character and habits of committee members. "People serving on this committee must be engaged in and be attentive to their Christian spiritual development so as to give proper leadership in the responsibilities with which the committee is entrusted" (¶258.2).
The apostle Paul wrote to church officials and officers in the congregation he started at Philippi, offering this instruction: "This is my prayer: that your love might become even more and more rich with knowledge and all kinds of insight" (Philippians 1:9). May you offer this prayer for one another!
This first responsibility may be the hardest part of your leadership because you will constantly be pulled toward administrative tasks. Both the staff and congregation will turn to you frequently to resolve an issue, heal a misunderstanding, solve a problem, or create a new ministry position. You will also have requests from outside the church, such as visits and phone calls from the district superintendent or issues related to the staff involvement in the community where your church is located.
The Ministry of the Committee Members
An explanation of the work you will do on behalf of the church may be couched in "job description" language. You will certainly do a job; but more important, you have a ministry to strengthen the body of Christ.
• Prepare for your leadership by reading the appropriate paragraphs in the Discipline and by studying this Guideline (and Guidelines: Pastor 2017–2020). As you read, think about your own gifts and skills that will contribute to this committee.
• Prepare yourself for every meeting by reading materials you get before the meeting and asking any questions about the agenda.
• When the committee meeting schedule is set, place these dates in your personal calendar. When you cannot attend, notify the chairperson.
• Do all you can to promote positive relationships among staff and congregation, communicating with attentiveness to confidential issues.
The Ministry of the Chairperson
The S/PPRC chairperson is nominated by the committee on nominations and leadership development and elected by the charge conference. This officer works in partnership with other congregational lay and staff leaders on the church council to discern God's direction for the congregation. The work is more than a "job"; it is ministry. The chairperson brings knowledge of the gifts and skills of the staff to conversations with other leaders in the church. For example, when the chairperson attends the church council meeting, he or she represents the staff vision and dreams for church ministry and listens to the conversations for implications about staffing and refocusing job descriptions. When the chairperson meets with staff, he or she represents the ministry hopes and concerns of the congregation and other leaders. The chairperson's insights from the congregation helps the staff set priorities for their time and actions. These leadership conversations will shape the agendas that the chairperson sets for the meetings of the S/PPRC.
Equip Yourself for the Leadership Role of Chairperson
If you are the elected as the S/PPRC chairperson, you have a number of ways to prepare yourself for this role.
• Begin with prayer. Ask God to be with you, to guide your thinking and actions, and to increase your understanding of the way your skills will be used on the staff/ pastor-parish relations committee.
• Read this Guideline and the current Disciplinary sections to understand the responsibilities of the S/PPRC.
• Make an appointment with your pastor(s) and district superintendent to talk about expectations for the S/PPRC. Build a partnership for working together.
• Meet with the previous chairpersons to learn about ongoing business and practices.
• Encourage each member to review copies of policies, congregational job descriptions, and procedures that have guided the committee in the past.
• Develop a calendar of meetings in consultation with the pastor, other people who will attend, and the church calendar. As soon as meetings are set, inform other members of the S/PPRC.
Help for the Chairperson
People who can help are the district superintendent; annual conference program staff people; ordained and lay leaders in your church; and people in the community outside your church who are skilled in communication, mediation and peacemaking, law, benefit programs, and social needs. Other sources of help include the annual conference board of ordained ministry, Discipleship Ministries, the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA), and the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM). Resources and contact information are listed at the end of this Guideline.
Questions to Ask the Pastor and District Superintendent
Most annual conferences have standard rules, expectations, and procedures established for issues relating to all clergy, staff, parsonages, benefits, and other issues. Conferences have different processes in place for practical details of clergy moves. Prepare yourself by asking these questions:
• What are conference parsonage standards?
• What are conference expectations for continuing education and spiritual formation?
• How does the S/PPRC in a congregation recruit, nurture, and support candidates for certification and ordained ministry? When does this oversight of candidacy move to the district or conference board of ministry? What is the congregational responsibility when the boards of ordained ministry are directing the candidate?
• What are the conference policies related to sexual misconduct and building safe sanctuaries for all people?
• What are the conference policies for ministerial evaluation? Are there common forms and procedures?
• What conference policies apply to lay employees?
• What else do I need to be aware of as I work with the staff and congregation in my local church?
Training and Orientation for S/PPRC
First, as members of the committee, you should understand that you are leaders of ministry! Then work to understand the scope of your responsibilities and how the work contributes to the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. This committee does not supervise staff, but helps the staff prioritize their work. You also support the staff so the staff can focus on the ministry of the church in your community.
Find out if training will be offered in your district or annual conference. Training modules are available for the S/PPRC on the Discipleship Ministries website (see the "Resources" section). Take time in a meeting to reflect on the training information and ask: "What was helpful? What applies to our situation? What questions are there?" See the brief orientation outline for the committee in this Guideline on page 16).
