3. “If we had more money, we could keep you.”
In many settings, the staff member who is about to be without a job may be thinking, “If you were willing to give up a small portion of your extravagant salary, the church could afford to keep me.
4. “I’m really going to miss you.”
When you make this statement, you lead the staff member to believe that you had a great friendship, not just a working relationship with them, and that you’ll miss their abilities and personality.
The way to judge whether or not you should use this statement is if you know in your heart of hearts that, 1) you really need them in order for the church to function on all pistons, and/or 2) you really do love them and what they bring to the team and that they help in creating a chemistry that is vital to the team.
By the way, if you’re the senior pastor…if you realize that these two things are true, back up and regroup, do anything in your power to keep this staff member. You can’t be sure the next person you hire will be able to be this person, the church won’t be nearly as effective and efficient without them, and they are vital to the chemistry of your team.
