Among the more painful things that a church can experience is the removal of a Godly pastor and/or a church split. Kent Crockett endured such an experience as a pastor and subsequently found that the abuse he endured on his way out was not unique. Not only does it happen to many pastors, but it strikes churches across denomination lines. Kent's book is entitled “Pastor Abusers: When Sheep Attack their Shepherd“, and has been very helpful to many people in many different churches to better understand what's going on within their own church as their pastor faces angry abusers. For this episode of Echo Zoe Radio, Kent and I talk about many of the common elements that happen as angry parishioners seek the removal of their pastor, how pastors can endure such treatment, and how congregations can spot warning signs that such an experience is about to occur within their church so that they can support and defend their pastor.
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An Outline of the Discussion
- Kent begins by describing the process by which his own abuse came from a group of deacons within his church.
- About six months into his pastorship, his church was doing well and was growing, but some did not approve of what he was doing. It began with disapproving looks.
- He found out there was a secret meeting being held among the deacons at one of their homes. This was highly unusual, normally they met at the church
- They didn't care about what he was doing, they were upset that they were losing power and control in their church
- He was soon forced to resign.
- Kent soon discovered that what happened to him was not unusual. Given that Kent has written other books, he set out to write a book about it. In the process of writing it, he interviewed over 30 other pastors from many different denominations that had similar experiences.
- Being forced out is usually financially devastating to a pastor. It usually becomes almost impossible to get another job as a pastor, and often he has gone to college for four years and seminary for another three, so his skills are specific to ministry.
- Many times, churches that abusively remove a pastor via forced resignation or firing have a history of high turnover in their pastor position.
- One underlying factor within a church that can lead to pastor abuse is unrealistic and unreasonable expectations. People expect too much from their pastor.
- Another big factor is the desire for power within the church.
- The typical pastor abuse scenario:
- It starts with innocent sounding suggestions of things the pastor might do differently. This usually involves testing his leadership in some way, to see if he does what is expected of him.
- If the change doesn't happen, the person who approached the pastor will start spreading their discontentment, searching for others who may share their feelings. It will come in the form of innocent sounding “trial balloon” kinds of statements.
- Whatever the pastor's greatest perceived failing or weakness will become a primary focus. People turn to writing letters (often anonymously), and making phone calls. Before CallerID, they would often call the pastor in the middle of the night.
- Next usually comes a secret meeting in which the antagonists get together to conspire to remove the pastor.
- Eventually there is a public meeting called in which the pastor is publicly torn down. It often involves false accusations of wrong-doing (such as stealing from the church).
- Pastors need to clarify expectations before accepting a position with a church.
- Kent's advice to congregants is to just be nice to your pastor. Recognize that he's a human being too, with the same hardships and failings as anyone else.
- A consistent thread throughout churches that experience this is resistance to change. Either the pastor wants to change and the congregation doesn't, or the congregation wants the pastor to change, but he doesn't want to change.
Scriptures Referenced
- James 5:13-15
- Philippians 4:8
- John 13:34-35
- Numbers 13
Additional Resources
- Korah's Rebellion (Echo Zoe Radio, episode 52
