What We Learned from Asking a Pastor to Step Down

Abstract: Luke Mitchell reflects on his church’s painful but necessary decision to remove a pastor from his office due to character deficiencies. Mitchell emphasizes the importance of character for the office of elder based on Scripture’s teaching, and he encourages us to have honest and difficult conversations with leaders when necessary. Ignoring these issues is ultimately unloving, as it harms the church, the church’s witness, and the pastor who needs to be corrected.

On the subject of confronting sin, Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Nothing can be more compassionate than the severe rebuke that calls a brother back from the path of sin. It is a ministry of mercy, an ultimate offer of genuine fellowship.”

We tend to celebrate a church’s ministry of mercy when it matches our basic understanding of the Word—programs that provide care for the poor, resources that heal brokenness, and intercessory prayers for struggling brothers and sisters. But Scripture teaches that mercy walks alongside justice and righteousness, not away from them. Church discipline is such an occasion. Jesus taught that the purpose of discipline was to gain an erring brother (Matt. 18:15–20). Similarly, Paul wrote to the church in Corinth regarding the man who had his father’s wife, that the church was to put the man out of membership… “so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord” (1 Cor. 5:5). Discipline, though painful, is merciful. It intends to save.

My church recently enacted discipline in the form of removing an associate pastor from his role due to ongoing character deficiencies. All of our elders cared deeply for this brother and remain grateful for much of his ten-year ministry to our church.

And yet, this brother demonstrated a consistent pattern of anger, quarrelsomeness, and grumbling, all of which spilled over into our membership. Several elders addressed the issues with him individually, but the behavior did not change, so finally the situation came before us as an elder board. We decided unanimously that he needed to step away from the office of pastor. Our desire was that the brother would remain a member in our church because we wanted spiritual good for him and felt our church was the best place for that to occur. Sadly, he decided to leave because he disagreed with our decision.

I’m certain we did not handle the situation perfectly, but through it all, the Lord protected our congregation from dissension and division.

The question we faced throughout the process was a difficult one: When do character deficiencies disqualify someone from a pastoral office? All Christians, even pastors, struggle with anger, bitterness, and pride from time to time. Where is the line between acceptable imperfections and disqualifying sin?

While a great deal of discernment is required in every unique situation, here are the three lessons I learned from our church’s experience.

1. Character Qualifications Are Real Qualifications

When we think about the requirements to hold the office of elder, it’s easy to dismiss “small things” like gentleness and hospitality. Given the more practical concerns of leadership ability and management capacity, who has time to worry about such matters?

God does apparently, and he thinks we should too. In 1 Timothy 3:1–7, Paul lists fourteen qualifications for the office of elder, thirteen of which are related to character. The same is true in Titus 1:5–9. Paul seems far more concerned with character than competencies.

Character is not a secondary, nice-to-have feature for an elder; it is essential to the role. This is to be expected. As shepherds of God’s flock, we are called to be examples to the sheep, modeling the care that the chief Shepherd has for them (1 Pet. 5:1–4).

2. Have Hard Conversations Early

No one enjoys confronting a fellow leader—especially when it’s about their character. The temptation will be to leave the situation alone for a while, hoping that it will just work itself out. While God can do anything he purposes and is far kinder than we deserve, we should not expect miraculous change apart from faithfulness to the commands of Scripture. God has called us to hold one another accountable and confront sin (Matt. 18:15), not to passively wait for change.

When concerns about a fellow elder’s character arise, say something to them. The hope in addressing the issue early is that it never needs to go further, the man can repent, and you have gained your brother. As elders within a local church, we need to strive to create a culture where it’s easy to speak into one another’s lives. Such conversations are life-giving and protect us from ourselves.

3. Ignoring the Issue Is Unloving

When a pattern of sin persists and there’s no perceivable change, ignoring it feels easier, but it’s not loving. It’s unloving to the brother whose character is disqualifying because it tells him that his sin is not sin. It’s unloving to fellow elders, who are forced to endure the dysfunction. It’s unloving to church members, who are called to emulate the lives of their elders but find themselves following a man whose life should not be replicated.

Conclusion

Accusations against an elder should not be taken lightly, but when a brother is found in sin, Scripture clearly calls us to act, not only for his sake but also for the sake of the church (1 Tim. 5:19–21). This is true not just for major scandals, but also for patterns of behavior that fall short of the high calling placed on our lives as under-shepherds of Christ. These moments must prompt us to reflect on our lives and recommit to our calling. My prayer is that, like Paul, we may all one day say with confidence, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7).