Favorite “Hey Fletch” Questions

From hundreds of “Hey Fletch” posts, here are a few favorites. Around the globe, people tune into Fletch’s warm and sound advice. He’s a friend bringing an objective perspective, broad knowledge and vast experience.

Send your question to Fletch. Get a prompt and confidential reply.

Facility Costs in a Church Merger

Hey Fletch … Our church is talking about merging with another church. We would be the lead and adopt their church. We are a setup/teardown church, and they have a paid-off building. I’m working [...]

Not the Fun Guy on Staff

Hey Fletch … I’m not the fun guy on staff. Do you have any ideas or resources for doing some fun or creative or helpful activities together that might help us? I’m thinking eating [...]

Hey Fletch—Why do you utilize teacher compensation data for comparison data? I don’t necessarily believe they are compensated very well on average. Fletch—Some folks don’t think teachers are paid a fair and living wage. [...]

Talking to Visitors

Hey Fletch—We have a lot of people who visit our church but they don’t come back. We send out letters and emails to newcomers. Apparently these are not working. Any thoughts? Fletch—I stumbled on [...]

Prepping New Leaders

Hey Fletch … A woman wanted to start an outreach ministry activity. She has good character and a right heart for the target audience. Now she’s drowning under the weight of being at the [...]

Benevolence Support for a Woman with 4 Children

Hey Fletch ... I am an elder in a church plant. Sadly, a couple who joined our church at the beginning is now in divorce proceedings. The wife and four children attend church faithfully. [...]

Taxable Sabbatical Expenses

Hey Fletch ... Our elders developed a sabbatical policy that provides our pastors with benefits that includes normal salary and benefits. There is additional pay for activities like meeting with mentors, studying, developing relationships [...]

Marijuana, Edibles and CBD Policy

Hey Fletch … Should our church have a policy on the use of cannabidiol or CBD oil? Our Lead Pastor is concerned about this. This stuff is legal in our state. We have a [...]

Disposing of Church Assets: A computer, a cell phone and a 1932 Rolls Royce

Hey Fletch … We don’t have a policy for selling church property. Some staff have given furniture away, sold equipment, or sold things to family members. Do you have a recommendation on the sale [...]

Church Membership and Discipline

A church leader read XPastor’s article, Why Church Membership, and submitted the following thoughts on the topic. The individual suggests expanding the topic to include church discipline and gives examples from their church. This [...]

Why Church Membership?

Hey Fletch … Why should people become members of a church and what are the tangible benefits of doing so? I need to give people a good reason, other than the spiritual ones, to [...]

Sexual Harassment in the Church

Hey Fletch … I would like to bring our staff through some type of sexual harassment training and share our sexual harassment policy. Are you aware of any videos, articles or resources that you [...]

Ministry vs. Business Resumes

Hey Fletch … I have an excellent black and white style business resume but I’m not getting much response. After looking at the Great Resumes on XPastor, I may know why. Are churches really [...]

Code of Conduct

Hey Fletch ... We are hiring a part-timer in the tech area. The candidate is a great person, well qualified and a new believer. The issue is that I think he is living with [...]

Questions for Reference Checks

Hey Fletch … Are there any limits to the questions we can ask in a reference call? I ask because I used to work for a para-church organization and was involved in hiring a few [...]

Hiring Questions

Hey Fletch … I have a question about hiring a new staff member. I am the lead pastor at my church and have never been on this side of the hiring process. I know [...]

Numbers Based on Operating Budget or Total Revenue

Hey Fletch … Do you have benchmark data that documents total compensation as a percent of total revenue (restricted and unrestricted), not just of the operating budget? I know over the years I have seen [...]

How Can We Do a ‘Love Offering’

Hey Fletch … We occasionally receive love offerings for our senior pastor and other staff members. How should we handle these gifts? DRF—There are so many questions floating out there about restricted gifts to churches. [...]

Registered Agents with Our State

Hey Fletch … I would like to say that the XPastor website is awesome! My church has changed the treasurer for the church. Is it necessary to make an amendment with the State of Texas? [...]

Church Problems and a Senior Pastor Candidate

Hey Fletch … We have some serious problems at the church and are also interviewing a senior pastor candidate. Should we tell the candidate about our big issues before or after he has accepted a [...]

Building Campaign that Falls Short

Hey Fletch … Two years ago we launched a building campaign for our church, but we fell short of our goals. Now the board has decided not to expand the building, but rather to [...]

Sabbaticals

Hey Fletch … After 60 years of our church’s history, 28 years on the pastoral staff, our leadership has granted a 12-week sabbatical for our Senior Pastor. We have the material and suggestions on how [...]

Millennials and Discipleship

Hey Fletch … I’m a millennial and thinking about the call to prioritize and pursue discipleship in my own life, both upwards and downwards. Do you have any articles that I could read on this [...]

Questions for a Senior Pastor Candidate

Hey Fletch … We have a senior pastor candidate who will be visiting our church this weekend, Thursday-Monday. I am attaching a list of questions that I think the board of elders should ask. Do [...]