Many years ago, I attended a Taylor-Johnson Temperamental Analysis seminar with Christian author, counselor, and professor H. Norman Wright.
Wright, who taught at Talbot where I went to seminary, shared great insights into human behavior during that seminar … and I’ve never forgotten them.
The Taylor-Johnson test indicates how an individual scores regarding nine personality traits.
When my wife and I had premarital counseling, for example, our counselor pointed out that while Kim scored high in social interaction, I scored low … meaning that she might want to attend social events that I’d prefer to skip. (And that conclusion has proven correct over nearly 42 years of marriage.)
The test also measures traits like lighthearted/depressive, dominant/submissive, and self-disciplined/impulsive.
But Norm Wright told seminar participants that out of all the traits, the most important one was called objective/subjective.
The objective/subjective trait measures how a person interprets life events. Do they see what’s happening around them accurately or inaccurately?
It’s my considered opinion that when it comes to church conflict … especially conflicts that involve the lead pastor … that several key individuals … on the official board, on the staff, or in a faction … grossly misinterpret the pastor’s behaviors and motives.
Let me give you an example.
In my second pastorate, I found an old box of hymnals in a back room of the church gymnasium. They weren’t the current hymnals we were using, nor the previous generation of hymnbooks, but the generation before that.
Nobody wanted them … not even the local rescue mission.
I thought to myself, “I’m going to make a unilateral decision and toss these hymnbooks.” So I threw them in the church dumpster and buried them deep.
But the following Saturday, at a workday, my all-time greatest antagonist somehow found those hymnbooks. (I should have thrown them out at home.)
His conclusion?
I wasn’t throwing out old hymnbooks … I was throwing out the old hymns!
And that’s what he started spreading around the church … which angered some of the seniors, who loved those old hymns. (I do, too.)
Whenever a pastor is accused of wrongdoing but is innocent of the charges, there are usually several people who misinterpret what the pastor said or did.
And based on their faulty thinking, they conclude that the pastor has to go.
But the truth is that such people think emotionally rather than logically. They substitute feelings for facts, are driven by fear and anxiety, and read their own past traumas into the current situation.
Let me share with you some scenarios where a pastor’s actions or words can be misinterpreted by his opponents:
*Sometimes a pastor makes a statement during a sermon … his opponents interpret that statement in the worst possible light … and before night falls, that misinterpretation has spread to many others.
*Sometimes a pastor announces a change that’s going to be implemented at the church … his opponents hear the opposite of what he intended … and resistance begins to form.
*Sometimes a pastor’s car isn’t in its usual spot at church … his opponents conclude that he’s not working … and the charge begins to circulate that he’s lazy.
*Sometimes a pastor buys a new car or takes a nice vacation … his opponents conclude that he’s making too much money … and before long, he’s charged with being materialistic rather than spiritual.
*Sometimes a pastor is seen talking with the same woman on several occasions … his opponents begin to gossip … and before long, they’re insinuating that he’s having an affair.
This is why every church needs several people on the board and staff who are both fair-minded and, in the words of Jesus, “Judge with righteous judgment.”
Let me offer several ways a pastor can combat these highly subjective people:
*Keep them out of leadership … and watch how prospective leaders handle themselves when they hear bad news.
*Ask several believers with good judgment to report to the pastor any baseless charges that are going around the congregation.
*Keep the board chairman and key staffers informed of any false accusations that may be floating around.
*Devise a biblical process for handling charges against the pastor … have the board approve the process … and have the pastor preach on that process initially and refer to it periodically.
*When the pastor is under attack, he needs to vow that he will not resign unless a biblical process is used to test the charges against him.
I have discovered in my own life and ministry that when it comes to others, I’m very objective and demonstrate good judgment.
But when it comes to the way I view myself, I can plunge into subjectivity rather quickly.
Because pastors can become highly subjective at times … especially when they’re under attack … they need to surround themselves with objective leaders.
Especially when they decide to throw out the old hymnbooks.
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Restoring Kingdom Builders 
How Misinterpreting Events Harms Pastors
Posted in Church Conflict, Conflict with Church Antagonists, Conflict with the Pastor, Pastoral Termination, Please Comment!, tagged Conflict with Church Antagonists, conflict with the pastor, H. Norman Wright, pastoral termination, TJTA objective/subjective on April 6, 2017| 2 Comments »
Many years ago, I attended a Taylor-Johnson Temperamental Analysis seminar with Christian author, counselor, and professor H. Norman Wright.
Wright, who taught at Talbot where I went to seminary, shared great insights into human behavior during that seminar … and I’ve never forgotten them.
The Taylor-Johnson test indicates how an individual scores regarding nine personality traits.
When my wife and I had premarital counseling, for example, our counselor pointed out that while Kim scored high in social interaction, I scored low … meaning that she might want to attend social events that I’d prefer to skip. (And that conclusion has proven correct over nearly 42 years of marriage.)
The test also measures traits like lighthearted/depressive, dominant/submissive, and self-disciplined/impulsive.
But Norm Wright told seminar participants that out of all the traits, the most important one was called objective/subjective.
The objective/subjective trait measures how a person interprets life events. Do they see what’s happening around them accurately or inaccurately?
It’s my considered opinion that when it comes to church conflict … especially conflicts that involve the lead pastor … that several key individuals … on the official board, on the staff, or in a faction … grossly misinterpret the pastor’s behaviors and motives.
Let me give you an example.
In my second pastorate, I found an old box of hymnals in a back room of the church gymnasium. They weren’t the current hymnals we were using, nor the previous generation of hymnbooks, but the generation before that.
Nobody wanted them … not even the local rescue mission.
I thought to myself, “I’m going to make a unilateral decision and toss these hymnbooks.” So I threw them in the church dumpster and buried them deep.
But the following Saturday, at a workday, my all-time greatest antagonist somehow found those hymnbooks. (I should have thrown them out at home.)
His conclusion?
I wasn’t throwing out old hymnbooks … I was throwing out the old hymns!
And that’s what he started spreading around the church … which angered some of the seniors, who loved those old hymns. (I do, too.)
Whenever a pastor is accused of wrongdoing but is innocent of the charges, there are usually several people who misinterpret what the pastor said or did.
And based on their faulty thinking, they conclude that the pastor has to go.
But the truth is that such people think emotionally rather than logically. They substitute feelings for facts, are driven by fear and anxiety, and read their own past traumas into the current situation.
Let me share with you some scenarios where a pastor’s actions or words can be misinterpreted by his opponents:
*Sometimes a pastor makes a statement during a sermon … his opponents interpret that statement in the worst possible light … and before night falls, that misinterpretation has spread to many others.
*Sometimes a pastor announces a change that’s going to be implemented at the church … his opponents hear the opposite of what he intended … and resistance begins to form.
*Sometimes a pastor’s car isn’t in its usual spot at church … his opponents conclude that he’s not working … and the charge begins to circulate that he’s lazy.
*Sometimes a pastor buys a new car or takes a nice vacation … his opponents conclude that he’s making too much money … and before long, he’s charged with being materialistic rather than spiritual.
*Sometimes a pastor is seen talking with the same woman on several occasions … his opponents begin to gossip … and before long, they’re insinuating that he’s having an affair.
This is why every church needs several people on the board and staff who are both fair-minded and, in the words of Jesus, “Judge with righteous judgment.”
Let me offer several ways a pastor can combat these highly subjective people:
*Keep them out of leadership … and watch how prospective leaders handle themselves when they hear bad news.
*Ask several believers with good judgment to report to the pastor any baseless charges that are going around the congregation.
*Keep the board chairman and key staffers informed of any false accusations that may be floating around.
*Devise a biblical process for handling charges against the pastor … have the board approve the process … and have the pastor preach on that process initially and refer to it periodically.
*When the pastor is under attack, he needs to vow that he will not resign unless a biblical process is used to test the charges against him.
I have discovered in my own life and ministry that when it comes to others, I’m very objective and demonstrate good judgment.
But when it comes to the way I view myself, I can plunge into subjectivity rather quickly.
Because pastors can become highly subjective at times … especially when they’re under attack … they need to surround themselves with objective leaders.
Especially when they decide to throw out the old hymnbooks.
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