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****************************************************** webminister@webminister.com October 2000 - #2
IN THIS ISSUE:
****************************************************** The average Protestant minister stays less than three years with a church. G. Lloyd Rediger in "Clergy Killers" (1997) states that 63% of ministers know of a colleague who has been seriously abused by a congregation, colleague, or leadership." (p. 13) In the Winter 1996 issue of "Leadership" magazine, the results of a national survey of ministers indicate that 23% of ministers have been fired at least once. Of congregations that terminate a minister, 41% percent have fired at least two previous ministers. One church has fired every minister in the last seventy years and no minister was retained for over four years! Three of the earliest books addressing ministers under attack were written when churches in general started an attendance decline in the 1960s and 1970s. These books are: Lester Mondale "Preachers in Purgatory" (1966), James D. Dittes "Minister on the Spot" (1970), and Donald P. Smith's "Clergy in the Crossfire." (1973) Rediger has a large selected bibliography at the end of his book. An old saying about a change of ministers is that "a minister eventually makes everybody in the church happy, some when he comes and some when he goes." A number of reasons and mentalities can be stated for attacks on ministers with collateral damage to their families, friends, and supporters within the congregation. These will be covered in this and the next two issues.
****************************************************** Before accepting a ministry, 81% of forced-out ministers investigated salary and benefits; 57% inquired about the church's expectations; and 51% learned of church leadership's vision for the church. Sixty-one percent of the forced-out ministers talked to the search committee and 51% talked to board members. After being forced out, 52% wished they had talked to former ministers; 43% wished they had talked to other ministers in the community about the church; and 32% wished they had talked to the congregation's members. Forty-five percent wished they had investigated former conflicts; 43% wished they knew more about the church's expectations; and 30% wished they had a better knowledge of leadership's vision for the church. Some churches have even fired elderly ministers to hire younger ministers with the hopes of attracting a younger congregation. Remember the minister cannot do it alone. Church leadership establishes various programs to attract younger groups.
****************************************************** Kenneth C. Haugk wrote "Antagonists in the Church: How to Identify and Deal with Destructive Conflict". He discusses five levels of conflict (pp 31 - 36). Two levels can lead to reconciliation and three are unreconcilable. The first level is mainly a disagreement on particular issues and is not person-oriented. Both parties/groups with rational opportunities work out a solution and communication is quite open. There are no hidden agendas and is centered on the here and now. Language is straight forward. The second level is where the objective becomes colored with a need for self-protection. Openness gives way to some guardedness with possible sarcastic overtones in language used. People move away from specifics and tend toward generalizations. As a result compromise becomes the method of dealing with differences. With the third level, it becomes a contest which views conflict from a "win/lose" perspective. The objective is no longer to solve the problem, but to win and put one's opponent(s) in their proper place. Reconciliation is infrequent but still possible. In the fourth level, parties operate with the objective of hurting their opponents in some way and/or getting rid of them. They think they are right and want to punish those who they think are wrong. They do not have the good of the organization as a goal. They use language emphasizing generalizations and personalize principles such as truth, freedom, and justice. It is now a choice of fight or flee. The fifth level is to punish or get the other out of the organization. The object is purely and simply to destroy opponents, irrespective of cost to self and others. Antagonism deals with the third, fourth, and fifth levels. These levels cannot by resolved by conflict resolution, but must be dealt with before they destroy the local congregation. Leadership needs to know how to deal with this before it splits the congregation and/or drives members away.
****************************************************** More church web sites contain a mission statement and tended to specialize in a limited focus or ministry. More web sites are developing youth pages and games for pre-schoolers. The major problem noted is that many church web sites are not being updated so they are rapidly becoming cobweb sites. Many e-mail addresses no longer exist or were improperly programed.
****************************************************** Using the Study Guide, the congregation can set up a ten to twenty hours congregation course in dealing with antagonists, which applies to the church, one's job, and relationships in our culture. Both the "Antagonists in the Church" and "Study Guide" can be bought from Barnes and Noble with a 10% discount for (book – $13.49) and (guide – $5.39) (paperbacks) plus shipping and handling. These books are highly recommended for group study (up to 10 people), first for church leadership, then congregational groups.
****************************************************** In His Service,
The Webminister |