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Sometimes pastors will work themselves into difficulty and discipline may be required. This can take the form of a reprimand, administrative leave, or termination.

If at all possible, try to be involved in these situations as an advocate for the pastor rather than as the one responsible for administering the discipline. If you take on this role, it will become known in your field, in which case, your ability to function as pastors' pastor becomes null and void.

This does not mean that you should not be involved in the process. But sometimes it's best to abstain from voting (if you are a voting member of your conference's personnel and/or executive committee) if it's a particularly sensitive issue.

On the other hand, sometimes a pastor has made enough of a problem for him/herself or others that you end up having to be an advocate for the ministry itself, rather than for the pastor. That means that you might well need to cast a vote to discipline a pastor to help preserve the integrity of the pastorate at large.

Often your conference administration will give you the opportunity to work with a pastor for some remediation before discipline is considered. Many pastors will resist your efforts here. We pastor types can be remarkably well-defended, and many pastors will think the problem lies elsewhere and not in themselves. In fact, that may well be true. It is up to you to step into difficult situations and try to assess exactly who it is that needs the remediation. If you determine that it is indeed that pastor, you will need to be willing to have some frank and honest conversations with the pastor. Hopefully they will begin to cooperate with you long before you will have to tell them that their job may well depend on their working with you.