So This Is What "No Win" Means

The function of an associate pastor is basically determined by the pastor in charge (senior) in conjunction with the desires of the congregation which are hypothetically communicated through the Staff-Parish Relations Committee (SPRC). The associate’s role is rightfully supportive of the senior pastor, but the converse is—at least from my experience—rarely reciprocated. Senior pastors are by their position entitled to the limelight positions: preaching, administration, funerals and weddings. Associate pastors are as likely as not to be ex officio education/youth directors, substitute church secretaries and janitors, and stand-ins at those functions that require a pastoral presence but are essentially beneath the dignity of the senior pastor (the United Methodist Women often fall into this category, and I discovered attending their meetings to be absolutely delightful; and, it was just one more opportunity for the associate pastor to become more endeared than the senior pastor to one the congregation’s more formidable forces). Add to this political cocktail the fact that many—if not most—of Rockbrook’s parishioners were not happy with Dick as their senior pastor and you end up with an unstable and volatile church environment. I discovered that you cannot assist someone who sees himself as above assistance, and I eventually learned how senior pastors who perceive they are cornered react.