Hiring Friends

I had a good conversation with a friend today about hiring principles. As a disclaimer let me say in the first six months of Ridge Stone we had a lot of staff turnover. I was growing as a leader and to be honest I made some crappy choices. I feel as if I have grown in this area and because of past experiences, I am now pretty dogmatic about my opinion on this subject.

I ONLY HIRE FRIENDS.

We are a staff led church and I lead the staff. The buck stops with me but, I have never felt like my staff were hirlings. We are a team but most importantly we are friends. We hang out together, we enjoy being around each other, and we do what we do because we are sold out to Ridge Stone, not sold out to being in paid ministry. When I have to be the boss, I can and I am.

I have heard this is probably a bad thing from many pastors I respect but, this is how I work. I want people who know me, know my vision, know how I work, be loyal, and dig it.

Early on in our church we made a change at the children level and hired a guy from the outside that we didn’t know. To be honest, he wasn’t a bad guy but I could NOT get over the fact that he was loyal because we paid him. I couldn’t get over the fact that we were a stepping stone and that the moment something better came along he would be gone. I let him go.

From that day on I decided I would hire friends and people I enjoy being around. We don’t have job descriptions (I figure if they need one, they are the wrong person for the job), we don’t have set time off (they do the job, they can have off when they need it), and we function more like a frat house then a corporate office. Because of that, I need guys and girls who are go getters and who I know and trust are going to make things happen. I know that with my friends.

EVERY ONE on my staff had never been on staff at a church in the role they are now. To say they lacked experience would be very accurate. However they all were sold out to God, the church, and the vision God had give me. We were all some type of friends before they were hired. They have grown in their roles and I think they are some of the best around in their fields.

It presents challenges. The lines can get blurred at times. But I think the good outweighs the bad any day.

I get to do this thing one time, I want to do it with friends.