It would be helpful if the Committee on Ministry or its equivalent would do some prior work before they have to face such a situation. A helpful step would be to identify several mature pastors who would be willing to be on call to offer some initial support to a pastor who has been fired. Especially if the event was unexpected, the shocking reality of being fired can leave a person feeling very isolated and vulnerable. Regardless of the events that led up to this situation, the fired pastor needs a pastor, someone who will listen to them and be present to them. It is helpful if that person understands the complexity of ministry as well as having skills to listen and be present in this time of need.
Once the initial trauma has been absorbed and the most critical challenges faced, then the pastor needs to be assisted in evaluating what happened and what the implications are for the future. It would be best if s/he can be referred to a counseling center who is skilled in that area. For example, the Davidson Clergy Center, www.davidsonclergycenter.org in Davidson, NC offers such an assessment. Their are similar centers across the country. Again, this is a set of resources that any COM should have identified.
A major question that needs to be evaluated is what this experience means for the clergy’s sense of call. Biblicaly it is clear that not everyone who is called by God experiences success. However, the trauma of rejection can cause one to question his or her sense of call. It may even be true that the call was authentic but now a totally new call, not to a congregation, may be appropriate. In the midst of the psychological pain of being rejected, the sense of failure is powerful. There is need of someone to help the pastor discern where God is in their lives at that time.
