A pastor wrote me recently and said that he had read my book Church Coup and that he wanted to contact me because he needed someone who understood how he felt.
Several days later, we spoke at length on the phone.
I was struck by how often I hear the same story: the church is going well … yet struggling financially … the board meets in secret … lies to the pastor … asks the pastor for his resignation … brings back that pastor’s predecessor … the pastor’s supporters leave … the pastor and his family are devastated … and the pastor has no idea what he did wrong.
During the course of my conversation with this precious brother, he told me something that another pastor had shared with me recently:
“I am so glad to know that I’m not alone.”
Five years ago, similar events happened to me at a church I served for nearly 11 years. These thoughts went through my head after I was blindsided by church leaders:
“How long has this plot been in effect?”
What have I done to deserve this treatment?”
“Why is this happening now?”
“Who else knows about this situation?”
“What is really going on here?”
“If I leave, how will I support my family?”
“With housing values so low, what should we do with the house?”
“Will this end my pastoral career?”
“What does God think about all this?”
The pastor going through the process of forced termination feels anxious … betrayed … confused … devastated … and forsaken.
He can’t think straight … is scared to death … can’t see past that very minute … suddenly becomes distrustful of everybody in the church … and blames himself for everything.
Except … he doesn’t know what he’s done wrong.
One part of him feels like he’s supposed to keep his thoughts and feelings to himself.
Another part of him is aching to get them out.
During a forced termination, church leaders often tell the pastor not to discuss what’s happening with anybody else.
But much of the time, their intent is to control the flow of information so they are in charge of the conflict, not the pastor.
Personally, I believe a pastor needs to discuss his thoughts and feelings with other Christian leaders so he can regain perspective.
There were Christian leaders that I wanted to call and consult with, but I was concerned they might have advance knowledge of what was happening, so I crossed them off my contact list.
Instead, I contacted leaders who didn’t know my church … didn’t know my predecessor … and would be willing to give me a fair hearing.
Within several days, I contacted nearly 20 Christian leaders, some of whom I hadn’t spoken with in more then 10 years. One day, I spent 14 hours on the phone.
Every leader I spoke with seemed to have one or two pieces to my puzzle, but in hindsight, maybe I was reaching out so I wouldn’t feel so all alone.
Jesus never felt more alone than when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane.
*He knew that He’d soon be in gruesome pain.
*He knew that the Father’s protection was being removed.
*He knew that Satan was coming after Him with full force.
*He knew that He would suffer even though He hadn’t done anything wrong.
In His greatest hour of need, Jesus reached out to His three best friends in this world: Peter, James and John.
Even the Son of God didn’t want to be alone during His hour of trial.
If you’re a pastor or a staff member, and you sense you’re close to being terminated or you’ve been terminated, I want to encourage you to reach out to some or all of the following people:
*your oldest Christian friends.
*pastor friends who love you unconditionally.
*older pastors who have experienced a forced termination.
*Christian conflict managers and interventionists.
*seminary professors and classmates.
Many of these people know what you’re going through because they’ve been through it themselves. Let them encourage you and pray for you.
And although you might not feel like reading Scripture or praying when you’re under attack, know that God is with you, even when you can’t sense His presence or favor.
If I can help, feel free to contact me at jim@restoringkingdombuilders.org and we can set up a time to talk.
When I wrote my book Church Coup, I didn’t do it for revenge, or for personal therapy, or to make money, or to become well-known.
I wrote the book to help pastors, church leaders, and lay people better understand the phenomenon of forced termination and to try and minimize the damage that happens so often to pastors and churches.
Just this morning, a prominent Christian leader cited the statistic that 1700 pastors are leaving church ministry every month.
Let that sink in: 1700!
My guess is that the great majority of those 1700 are being forced out of their churches by just a handful of opponents.
In fact, you’re in great company with leaders like Jonathan Edwards, Billy Graham, and many others who were forced to leave their churches prematurely.
You aren’t alone.
Thank you for being there to remind pastors and their families that there is hope and a future. We are still in the process of healing to be sure, but your thoughtful writings and stories of others experiencing problems in a ministry have helped us from feeling alone…although of course we do not wish this on anyone.
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Thanks so much, Sue. The healing process can be unpredictable. You think you’re doing better, and then something happens to trigger an avalanche of emotions, and it feels like you haven’t improved at all. But over time, the feelings become less intense and don’t last as long, and you realize that you’re safe … far away from those who sought to hurt you … and that the only real danger is inside of you. May God richly bless you and use you to help others who are going through a hard time. As a wise man told me recently … don’t waste your suffering!
Jim
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