Faith Revolution

Now I implore you, brothers, watch out for those who cause dissensions and pitfalls contrary to the doctrine you have learned. Avoid them; for such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattering words deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. ~Romans 16:17-18

One of my passions over many years, both as a lay person and as a pastor, has been the small church. This experience has supplied much anecdotal evidence and it is only recently that I have engaged in actual research. Recently, I completed some research on small churches. One of the particulars was the assimilation of a pastor into the family atmosphere and its effects on shared vision and conflict. In a previous blog, I shared a portion of an essay that I wrote concerning education in the small church. In that essay, I wrote how difficult it is for someone new to fit into a church that is steeped in tradition, written and unwritten rules and family power structure as evidenced, for example, by the plaques on the walls. Based on my recent research and long-term personal experience, I have hypothesized that there is a similar phenomenon occurring between churches and their pastors. In other words, does the success of a pastor in a particular church depend on the acceptance of the ruling class of people in the church? Must he submit to their rules and traditions in order to avoid serious long-term conflict (in some cases destruction) and despite his God given vision for the church? Research and experience have led me to identify a pattern of behavior that may be occurring in small churches that find themselves stagnating or dying with high pastoral turnover or an inability to call a pastor.

Not much has been written on the subject of pastor abuse. Redinger has written an article called entitled Clergy Killers and Haugk has written a book entitled Antagonists in the Church. Other than that, I have only run across a couple journal articles that deal with this subject.

It may seem wrong do deal with such issues. Could it possibly be that something this sinister is happening in many churches.? Unfortunately, I believe it is and those who have written on the subject agree. For reasons yet to be considered, churches have ignored much of the NT writings on the problem of evil within the church. We have been so focused on eliminating and avoiding evil outside the church, we have refused to address the evil within. Many of the NT passages that engage the discussion of evil are interpreted and applied as though the writer was addressing the unsaved, when in fact he was addressing those in the church.

It is my intention to research and write extensively on this subject. I am blogging on this tonight for the purpose of raising awareness, shining light on an unspeakable subject, encouraging pastors and getting insight. So if you have any experience in this area of pastor abuse, I would like to hear from you. If you know of any published writings on the subject, please let me know of them. Finally, I have attached a PDF document with a basic outline of what I have called the Game Plan. It is the play book that I believe is used by the majority of people who would destroy or at least hinder the ministry of a pastor for their own agenda. Although I may or may not respond, I would appreciate any feedback, either by commenting here or sending an email to emailcliff@verizon.net

Here is the outline:

The Game Plan PDF