Institutional Risks
That which is necessary is never a risk.
Cardinal de Retz1
Institutional decisions risk the health of the organization. They may involve finances, facilities, or personnel, but their common denominator is that if ignored, the institution will fragment, go bankrupt, suffer serious decline, or fail to realize its full potential.
Perhaps the toughest of these decisions is related to personnel, particularly when a staff member must be fired. There's risk in letting someone go. Drexel Rankin, minister of Carmel (Indiana) Christian Church, remembers firing an organist: "He possessed remarkable talent, but he was undependable. Occasionally he would show up fifteen minutes late for Sunday morning worship; I would already have winged a prelude and played the first hymn when he would walk in. After he did that the third time, I told him, 'Don't ever do that again. If you do, don't bother coming!'
"Then at the Easter sunrise service, he didn't show at all. No word from him. I tried calling him at home but got no answer. I found out a couple of days later that he had been at the hospital. He had evidently hurt a finger and gone to the emergency room, but he didn't bother to call anybody. He just skipped the service.
"I was angry. I told the moderator of our church council I was firing the organist. The moderator liked the organist and didn't want him to be fired, so he took it to the church council, questioning my judgment in firing the organist. I was in the frying pan that night. But I believed in what I was doing. I told the council the whole story, how angry I was, and that I was sticking by my decision. It went down hard, but they finally agreed.
"Afterwards, I realized I should have brought the decision to the council first, and should ...
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