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Introduction to the article.
I came to Christ as a teenager from a broken home. Since then, I have been interested
in healing and wholeness. God called me into the pastoral ministry to help people become whole persons in Christ during
my second year in college.
While attending Asbury Theological Seminary during the early 80’s, I took a
course on “Healing and the Christian Faith”. The late Frank Stanger’s book God’s Healing
Community contained a brief testimony about a pastor applying the healing steps to a local church body through preaching.
I preached and taught on healing, both physical and emotional, for 13 years of pastoral ministry before that testimony
bore its present fruit. Reflecting about my ministry showed me that my theology of healing was too individualistic and
my theology of equipping was overly program oriented. What I mean is that my theology and ministry of healing focused
on the individual rather than the church. I had not yet integrated my theology of healing with my theology of equipping.
The Holy Spirit led me to this reflection through my D. Min. experience.
My initial interest in pursing a D.
Min. arose from a desire to become a better equipper of a local church for growth. Working on my “Biblical Studies”
paper on Ephesians 4:7-13, titled “Gifts for Growth” broadened and deepened my understanding of a pastor’s
equipping role.
Furthermore, I gained an important insight from doing the “Theology of Ministry”
paper on “Equipping the Abused Church for
Healing”. This insight helped me to grasp that pastors of abused churches further the abuse by seeking to improve
things through developing new programs or entering a membership campaign before addressing the need for the church's healing.
Possibly, many of us make this mistake because of personal ambition, Pastoral dedication, response to the myopic expectations
of the dysfunctional church, etc
I had witnessed a wonderful turn-a-round situation at a very challenging church
before entering my D.Min. experience. I was asked to pastor a very troubled church. I agreed to go.
As I heard and read the history of that previous appointment, I learned much how this church was beat up by the following:
their own clannishness; an impoverished pastoral history; recruiting people into the choir because of their singing ability
alone; allowing the choir to become the autonomous focus of the church; many years of overlooking immorality at a time when
the church appeared successful; an untactful pastoral purging of the immorality out of the choir; twenty-five years of pastoral
leadership into an all glory now spirituality with very little discipleship; and years of hearing a very judgmental gospel.
As I read the texts for my “Theology of Ministry” course, the idea for writing on “The Pastor as
Equipper of the Abused Church
for Healing” came to light. I presented this idea to Dr. Seamands as the focus of my
March 1997 “Theology of Ministry” paper. He affirmed my focus and commented on the paper afterwards that
there was “much to be gleaned from my research”. As I point our later in my paper, “While many Christian
authors write about spiritual abuse and recovery from spiritual abuse, no one to my knowledge approaches this theme from the
perspective of the pastor. While these Christian self-help books speak to a real need and offer valid help, I do question
their individualistic approach. I also question the neglect of this issue by people in both pastoral theology and in
church growth.”
The research section of my paper examines the abused church and offers both prescriptive and
preventive ways of ministering healing to such a church. I am very indebted to the Kolb Model for the research method
of this paper and to Dr. Steve Seamands for his encouragement to pursue this theme.
If
you pastor an abused church, I encourage you to reflect upon your own ministerial placement, your personal-pastoral journey
as well as analyze the underlying, contributing issues and parties of your particular situation. May the Holy Spirit
grant you much insight and holy boldness in facing the resistance points to applying the research of this paper.
May Christ equip you for your ministry of equipping the abused church for healing.
"Equipping the Abused Church for Healing"
John M. Crowe
Dr. Steve Seamands
BT
825
March 11, 1997
I Contextual Situation
A. Description of Location of the Church
Historical
background: The church is located on an Island. An old Indian burial ground nearby
testifies to the presence of Indians living here about 400 years ago. In the late 1890's the first
permanent white settlers moved there as squatters on someone else's land. The community was predominately Methodist with worship services held in the community school building.
According to a denominational
Historical Directory, the first deed for the church dated back to 1891. Church records report that. Rev. W. was
pastor from 1904-1907. Rev. S. followed him for only one year. During the second year of
Rev. L's three years, a new church was built in 1909 from shipwrecked lumber. Rev. L. recorded in the church
register "This church is a credit to the people of this community and a honor to Methodism".
Eleven pastors later, Rev. B. recorded church membership at 72 with 60 active and 13 inactive in 1934. Six pastors later,
the old church burned down in 1941. Once again, the church met in the school building before building another sanctuary
in 1947.
In 1928, the first bridge connected the island to the mainland. With the coming of a paved road
in the 1950's, attendance became especially good at the church during the tourist season. Until 1954, the church was
on a circuit with two other churches. Around this same time hurricane Hazel and three other hurricanes battered the
Island people. These hurricanes destroyed property and the fishing season. At
the same time, one of the churches on the circuit wanted to be a full time church on its own with its nice parsonage.
The other church was put on with another circuit which left the island church no choice except to become full time and build
a parsonage. Just a few weeks before annual conference, church accepted the challenge of becoming a station church and
building a parsonage for a community of 300 people. In 1954, Rev. F. was the first full time pastor of the church when
it went station.
Until the 1960's, this was the only church on the island. During that decade a cinderblock
pentecostal sanctuary was constructed in town which shook up the community.
From 1976 until 1983, it never grew beyond about 36 members and ceased having regular services. In 1983, the church
started regular services as a Pentecostal Holiness
Church with Rev. M. as its pastor. Also, a charismatic church was
formed nearby on the island in 1968. In 1971, a second bridge was built to connect the island with the mainland.
This new bridge served to increase the number of tourists. That same year, a Lutheran church was built on the island.
In 1983, a new four lane bridge replaced the 1928 bridge.
Two important developments occurred at this church during
the 1960's. The first development was the building of a very gifted choir who cut their first record in 1967.
From his memorial, I learned that a man, born and raised in a Methodist church from the earlier circuit, married into the
community in 1950. His ministry began as church pianist and he soon organized a choir. Unfortunately, people who
could sing were recruited regardless of their Christian lifestyle. At this point immorality began to filter in while
the choir became more and more autonomous. Various wealthy local people and tourists sought recognition by giving generously
to the choir fund. All of this led to loosing the focus on real worship.
The choir attracted many tourists who
would stand outside the old wooden sanctuary to listen by way of speakers placed on the roof. Later, his two sons followed
in his footsteps, one playing the guitar and the other the piano. As the years passed, the choir made four albums and
several cassette tapes, purchased a bus, and traveled throughout North Carolina
singing praises for the Lord under his leadership. Also, as Chairperson of the Building Committee and the Finance Committee,
he led in the building of a new sanctuary that seats 600 people. Attendance in those days exceeded 300 people from all
areas and denominations. They came to enjoy the choir's anointed 40 minute Gospel concert and pastor's unique preaching.
However, following the choir director's death in 1984, the choir did not travel as much, nor did as many people come to hear
them.
The second development was the arrival of a gifted, former Pentecostal Holiness preacher. He pastored the church, preached on four radio stations, conducted revivals, and traveled with the choir
on their bus. Tragically, he died one night in 1989. During his pastorate, the
church became more Pentecostal than Methodist. In contrast, a book about these islanders states
that in 1920, they rejected the pentecostal movement's missionary attempts.
Statistical
background and Excerpts from Reports 1970-1995: The denominational records show the following statistics for 1967:
membership 185, average morning worship attendance 125, and average Sunday school attendance 130. Three years later
the average worship attendance increased to 200 and peaked at 250 in 1981 where it stayed until 1989. In 1975, membership
broke 200 and peaked at 255 in 1989. From 1968-1984, the average Sunday school attendance vacillated between 85 and
175 which it fell from to an average attendance of 66 by 1987.
Because the former Pentecostal Holiness pastor and my
two predecessors who followed him form such a significant part of the church's history, I have chosen to share at length from
various Charge Conference and other reports dating from 1970-1995.
In 1970, the former PH pastor completed his fifth
year as pastor of the church. He reported seeing signs of new growth and new spiritual efforts. He referred to
a Lay Witness mission back in 1967 which converted about five members. He reported about a great number of members not
being Christian.. He described his next year as the best financial year that he has seen at
the church. During 1974, his 10th year, he reported that everyone is looking forward to the new sanctuary being built.
He first mentioned traveling with the choir also appeared in his 1974 report. His 1975 report spoke of the goal to concentrate
on the need here in the community where he found much indifference among the membership of the church as well as the non-members
in the village. He reported, “The native have never been noted to be consistent-devotee, deeply spiritual minded
toward God.” His report spoke of the challenge to work with this situation and leave the results up to God.
His 1977 report spoke of a growing cassette and radio ministry.
In both 1978 and 1979, he reported that the
overall condition of the church is perceived as fair. He desired more interest, loyalty and faithfulness in attendance
and financial support on the part of the membership. He reported still seeing a great need for many members to be born
again. In the 1985 file, I found the only surviving copies of Pastoral Evaluation Forms. As a whole they pleaded
for preaching related to daily life; for him to stop preaching only from certain passages while avoiding others; for
him to gain a better knowledge of the whole Bible and of a variety of life situations; for him to better feed the flock;
for him to be receptive to suggestions; for him to be better in administration, church management, personal relations,
family ministry and counseling; for his sermons to be less effective in condemning and criticizing his people; and for him
to become as effective in relating with individuals as he is with crowds. The evaluations also criticized the church
for needing to improve in attendance, participation, attitude, tithing, outreach, and working together more with pastor and
church leaders.
In 1986, the church agreed that year to sell the old parsonage. The parsonage and the
money from the sale was placed in two lots with plans to sell one lot at a profit and rebuild the
parsonage on the other lot. His 1987 Pastor's Report mentioned a very meaningful Lay Witness Mission at the church.
The Church Administrative Board report from the beginning of 1988 spoke of a lack of interest showing in the church with burn
out symptoms. However, Rev. F's final Pastor's Report in November of that same year claimed "This has been one of the
best spiritual years and financial that we have seen in the 24 years that we have been here….I believe that the Spirit
of the Lord is as strong and unity and harmony are at an all time high."
During the year of his death church
membership dropped from 255 to 183 while Sunday morning worship attendance declined from 250 to 225 and Sunday School
attendance shrunk from 80 to 43. Then came the turbulent years of 1990-1992. Following
him, a charismatic, ordained Elder came to pastor the church.
The church had not built
its new parsonage yet. The new pastor reported a gracious reception. He wrote of the choir members and Administrative
Board members showing the most interest in the church. That same year, they involved themselves in the Conference Growth
program using Callahan’s 12 Keys. He saw that there was much work to be done in the community among the people
While the membership stayed about the same with the exception of loosing 19 people in 1992, Sunday morning
worship attendance took a nose dive to 45. During the same time period, the average Sunday school attendance declined
to 47. The minutes of the Administrative Council's meeting on April 8, 1991 questioned why church attendance had fallen
off. Robin said the "commotion" in the choir was running the people off. Someone reported that the music director, had handed in his 30 day resignation notice to the church. The Council voted to allow the
pastor to handle the situation. The pastor decided to fire the choir during a Sunday morning worship service. He said
that he was not going to pastor a church where the women did not keep their dresses down and the men did not keep their pants
zipped up.
The May 6, 1991 meeting followed the Sunday morning firing of the choir and musicians. This meeting
included a large group of church people. Some wanted to take their name off of the roll. Others thought the preacher
was right, but the manner of the rebuke was wrong. Several said this was long overdue. (The various moral problems within
the choir were very long standing.) One member stated that "people here have been spoiled-never
had to walk a straight line-don't blame pastor for our sins". Many asked for everyone to come together, love one another
and get on with church life. The chairperson asked the group to affirm again their previous month's decision to "not
only give the pastor authority to handle situations where people are out of order, but also to determine who is out of order".
The group voted yes! The pastor was asked why he did not purge the choir at first. He responded that at first
he believed in the choir, but that last month he gave up on them. He shared that he had prayed for 30 days before purging
the choir. He spoke of his struggle to help the pianist, but would not try to help him any more.
The pastor's
1990 report spoke of the difficulty of building mutual trust related to both the sudden loss of the former PH pastor and to
erroneous information spread about their new pastor. A rumor spread that the new pastor had been sent there to straighten
the church out. Much mistrust and suspicion emerged related to building the new parsonage. He reported spoke of
needing a vision for the church instead of just letting things happen. He also spoke of the need to have a sense of
the church as being something for everyone. He spoke of the need to have a change of attitude concerning its budget.
For the past few years 75% of the church’s budget was paid by visitors. But with the former pastor's death and
the building of a Baptist Church
on the island visitors dropped from 400-500 to 200. Research showed that it was only certain visitors who paid such
a large part of the budget in the past. Many of these had been saved under the former pastor's
ministry.
The pastor saw the church needing to support its own budget and getting busy learning how to
minister to the unsaved and unchurched in their own back yard. The 1991 report continues 1990’s
themes. He mentioned a church fight over building the parsonage and another fight over the dismissal of the choir and
musicians. Yet he perceived progress being made among the faithful.
The next pastor found the same rumor spread
about him as with his predecessor. His reports spoke of a distrust of pastor and each other which could be best described
as paranoia. Yet his report reflected much optimism about the future. His next report spoke of a tough year financially.
Overall, He sought to restore some elements of Methodist worship like lighting candles and teaching the people how to run
their church according to the Book of Discipline.
In 1993, the church wrote its current mission statement.
For the first time, the members were paying about 70% of the church’s budget. Since 1993, the average Sunday morning
worship attendance increased from 70 to 78. Likewise, the average Sunday school attendance rallied from 15 to 26.
In 1994, the Church was perceived as making progress.
1995 was a year of financial prosperity. The church
appeared to have more visitors than in previous years. The church continued its need to become more than a mixture of
“local families” and become “God’s Family”. This could only become a reality as those
who are not locals are voluntarily included into the leadership of the church. Since, I was appointed pastor there in
June of 1996, we saw the local families begin to allow outsiders into the leadership of the church.
Historically,
the competition within this clannish community has spilt over into the church. In the past, whoever won control of the
choir gained control of the church and ultimately of the community. After years of living under a dictatorship by one
of the various clans, this church is just learning how to run their own church. The natives also tell of how people
on the mainland would look down on them because they talked funny.
Today, the community has 350 year round residents
with two motels, three restaurants, an amusement park and a bank. The total year round population for the whole island
is 6,965 people which increases to 53,030 people during the tourist season. Although the summer months
continue to bring many visitors each Sunday, supporting this church during the winter months will continue to be a problem
if the church continues limit their community to locals and to tourists.
B. Personal Description
On September
29, 1973, my Christian life began with a personal commitment to Jesus Christ. Following this experience, I was introduced
to "the good, the bad and the ugly" of the Charismatic movement. God called me into full time ministry with a focus
on bringing people into wholeness in Christ for the sake of equipping them for service.
My experience
of attending Presbyterian
College in Clinton South Carolina
and graduating from East Carolina University in Greenville, North
Carolina showed me the importance of education for ministry in today's world. During those years,
I actively sought to pull diverse Christian campus organizations into praying together and working together with some success.
After graduating
with a BA in Sociology and a minor in history, I attended Asbury Theological Seminary. Following my graduation in 1983,
I have served various urban and rural appointments along with serving in various district committees and conference boards.
I was ordained a Deacon in the North Carolina Annual Conference in 1984, and an Elder in 1987. Before being appointed
as pastor of this very troubled church, I was the pastor of a challenging church for four years and witnesses a great turn
around. The pastor-parsih relations chairperson in that church, wrote the following in support of my application to Asbury's
D. Min. program, "He is extraordinary as a team worker and the best leader of 8 pastors in 26 years. John initiated
programs that have been 'lifesaver' at our church. He knows when to lead and when to follow. He is the best I
have ever seen at handling constructive criticism. He is kind, compassionate, and quick to forgive. He knows how
to handle people smoothly and his ethical integrity is irreproachable."
C. The Particular Situation: An Abused Church
The island
church was an abused and abusive church. These isolated islanders have been beat up by the following: the hardships
of island life; an impoverished pastoral history; their own clannishness; many years of overlooking immorality in the choir
and in the musicians; twenty-five years of any an "excessively spiritual", tough, uneducated evangelistic-preacher;
three years of an untactful teaching-pastor who fired immoral choir members during a Sunday morning worship service before
a capacity crowd of tourists; and four years of an administrator who got the church back in shape financially although Vietnam
hovered over this "mean man"
This church
has also been abusive of each other and of their pastors. A member told me of times when a choir member would have the
former PH pastor out of the pulpit and crying in a pew. Working from the premise that "hurt people, hurt people", my
focus is on "Equipping the Abused Church
for Healing."
II. Analysis of Issues.
A. Underlying, contributing issues
Pentecostal
influence and one wealthy family: Although the community rejected the Pentecostal influence from the mainland in 1920,
it came into the church 30 years later through a pentecostal man and his family. Since he married into the wealthiest
family in the island community who liked his pentecostalism, his position was secure.
The coming of a former
Pentecostal Holiness preacher entrenched the Pentecostal influence within the community and church. Over the years,
lively Pentecostalism grew and grew with very little focus on spiritual discernment and holiness. This factor contributed
to much spiritual confusion that remains within the church and the community today. Also, according to several
people in the church and in the community, three brothers made sure that Rev. stayed here by saying no to anyone
wanting him to move. Related to this was the control that some in the choir exercised over Rev.. The longer he
stayed, the less authority he had to be prophetic because of his pastoral connections.
Spiritual abuse: The pastor,
other local church leaders and conference leaders abused the church by overlooking the moral problems within the church even
before the choir became very famous and the new sanctuary was built. Even more damaging than this was the hurt inflicted
by the former Pentecostal Holiness pastor's successor who purged the moral problems out of the church on a Sunday morning
before a capacity crowd. This not only split the community deeply, but also ran off several tourists.
Independent
minded fishermen: Being a island community of individualistic fishermen, they are not accustomed to working together
as a group which makes it difficult for them to view the church as a body. Being a clannish people, they spend much
of their time and energy trying to see who is going to be in power over the church and the pastor. Their clannish behavior
also seems to contribute to the view of the pastor as needing to function as a father figure who keeps all of the children
in line. As one of the locals put it, you can't deal with these people by being nice, but by making them fear and respect
you like Rev. _ did.
The attitude of squatters: These descendants of those who squatted on this land and fought
twice in court to keep it have a wanting something for nothing outlook. It never bothered them at all that in the past
tourists paid 75% of their budget. Nor does anyone see the contradiction of inviting a youth group from out of state
down to do the actual labor for needed repairs that several of our members who are builders could do.. One of the main
reasons pastors did not stay years ago was because of growing weary of some members having to go around to others members
to collect enough money to pay the pastor. Although many members have plenty of money now, their giving to the church
is poor. This something for nothing attitude is also seen in wanting to use the church for a wedding, a funeral or whenever
else they need it, but staying away otherwise.
The appointment system: Being on a circuit from the founding of
the church for over 50 years did not get the church off to a good start. I understand that several pastors were sent
here who preached all kinds of theology and whose lifestyles were not Biblical. Evidently, the conference came to see
this island church as a dumping ground for misfits. When the church people learned that the conference was not going
to appoint Rev. anywhere else they used this information to their advantage. The conference failed the church by not
moving Rev. and dealing with the moral problems before the new sanctuary was built. They probably feared the tourists
would leave and the conference would loose money. The conference also failed the church by appointing a tactless, charismatic,
ordained elder here after the former Pentecostal Holiness pastor. The conference could have done better than appointing
a former Pentecostal Holiness and former Assembly of God pastor who had not completed college nor gotten over Vietnam.
The appointment system is responsible for sending pastors here who did not have either the integrity, the gifts and graces,
the personal wholeness or the training to lead the island church in a healthier direction.
The Lord: As I look
over my past 14 years in the pastorate, I see how God has been at work through my mistakes and success to prepare me for this
place. This is the first appointment that the Holy Spirit ever revealed to me before the D.S. asked me to pray about
it. God even worked through my experience of leading a women's Walk to Emmaus with at least eight abuse cases to build
my confidence about going to this troubled church. I needed an appointment that would both assist with my Doctor of
Ministry work and be helped by it. This has proven to be true. The island church needed a pastor with my
combination of experience, giftedness and gracefully strong leadership which my predecessor lacked. The Holy Spirit
worked through the Biblical interpretation course to broaden my vision of equipping a church for ministry to include healing.
He also worked through my initial written work for this course to help me see that equipping an abused church for healing
could be the possible focus for a project and my dissertation.
B.
Contributions of Various Parties
The local
members: The church people really have gone out of their way to welcome us. They along with some of the new blood
joyfully participated in the celebration of a new appointment ritual and received my opening sermon well from Jesus' prayer
for unity in John 17. At first, I was surprised at what little things they asked my permission to do. They have
been beat up worse than I anticipated. In church business meetings and in private conversations, people have communicated
their hope for a new day. They were so glad that our former D.S. encouraged me to be a gracefully strong leader here.
They were glad to see me lead in having communion more often and to propose a "Setting Your Church Free" workshop for the
Fall. Both the consultant and I felt very positive about the level of participation and the results of that event. It also
was a major step forward for them to approve the idea of buying The United Methodist Hymnal. The church had only
had the Cokesbury Hymnal before then. Although they had never done a stewardship program, they were open to trying a
commitment campaign like Frazer Memorial's in Montgomery AL.
There are still some unresolved hurts among the inactive members. Like the Frosts, some are gun shy about returning
after all the infighting and pain. The former choir members from all accounts are still living wild lives. They have
about destroyed the little pentecostal church in the community. They focus mainly on being purged out of the church
while ignoring why they were purged. As a United Methodist pastor, I represent the denomination that kicked them out.
Several active church members feel that the newer pentecostal pastor did them and his church a disservice by accepting
them as members to sing in the choir and play music. Although relations between the two churches continue to be strained,
we are seeing signs of healing.
The D.S.: Our former D.S. hand picked me to go to my previous appointment which
was a good experience. Along with thinking this appointment would be supportive of my further education, Tom thought
I was the person to come here and lead these people further into historic Methodism. His successor appreciates my work
here and is supportive of my staying here for a while.
New Blood: While historically this has been known as a
very clannish church, they have become more open to new blood actually serving in important offices. Some of these new
people waited until they knew what kind of person was coming as their next pastor before actually joining. However,
there still remains an underlying unresolved concern about allowing new blood into the decision making bodies of the church--for
example, one family still wants to hold most of the power.
The pastor: I believe the pastor's influence is crucial
for the well being of a church. My sermons have been Biblically based, and real life oriented with a concluding emphasis
on God's grace. The people are responding well to these sermons and Bible studies. I think this is due to my preaching
with a focus on God's grace instead of a meanness focused on self. Another deliberate emphasis on my part is to describe
Biblical people as being just like us so that the people begin to believe that God's grace can really help them too.
An additional item which I attribute to the providence of God is that many of my friends from Rocky Mount are among those tourists who came before the purging. Already, some have
returned and commented that things are much better now.
C. The Most Significant Issues
One of
the most significant issues is spiritual abuse. Time alone will not heal the wounds or keep this kind of pain from occurring
again. The pastor's equipping role in healing the abused church is a pivotal second issue Related to this issue
is how does a church properly handle discipline/conflict issues.. An even deeper issue would include life in the Spirit
as the people of God. Interacting with these four issues would be spiritual warfare concerns. My purpose in the
rest of this paper will be to explore this abuse further and to offer both prescriptive and preventive ways of ministering
healing to this abused congregation.
III. Theoretical Reflection
A.
Understanding the Abused Church Theologically
The apostle Paul warned the Ephesians
Elders of ravenous wolves. In Acts 19:28-30, Paul said, "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy
Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God,
which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare
the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after then.
The apostle Peter warned elders of the dangers of being spiritually abusive. In I Peter 5:21-3, he said, "Be shepherds
of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers--not because you must but because you are willing, as God want
you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve, not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the
flock." The churches in Galatia
serve as examples of abused churches who were led into Jewish legalism.
B. Understanding Spiritual Abuse from Modern Writers
As I consider the activity and inactivity
of certain previous pastors, local church leaders and of the denominational leadership, spiritual abuse serves as a good umbrella
to place all of these experiences under. Juanita and Dale Ryan, quoted by Enroth, offer the following definition of
spiritual abuse: "Spiritual abuse is a kind of abuse which damages the central core of who we are. It leaves us
spiritually discouraged and emotionally cut off from the healing love of God" (Enroth 16). Ken Blue, quoted by
Enroth, points out that such spiritual abuse comes through clergy and church people who are so "narcissistic or so focused
on some great thing they are doing for God that they don't notice the wounds they are inflicting on their followers" (Enroth
17). This blindness to dishing out spiritual abuse is compounded when we add the abusive backgrounds of people in clannish,
isolated areas. Such people have become accustomed to their victim status which the clergy and/or other church members
compound by drilling even deeper into them "feelings of shame, humiliation, inadequacy, and dread" (Enroth 76).
Johnson and VanVonderen list ten characteristics of abused Christians: 1) a distorted image of God; 2)
preoccupied with spiritual performance; 3) distorted self-identity as a Christian; 4) problems in relating to
spiritual authority; 5) have a difficulty with grace; 6) problems with death to self teachings;
7) difficulty with personal responsibility; 8). a lack of living skills. 9) difficulty admitting abuse;
and 10.) difficulty with trust (41-50). In getting to know the people of the church, I have observed these
characteristics. They have heard so often that God sees their righteousness as filthy rags that many wonder how does
God view the unsaved. They easily judge one another's spiritual performance by their own standards. Very few here
understand or have even been taught about their new identity in Christ. I got the impression at my introductory visit
with the PPRC that they wondered if they were worthy of another pastor after being condemned so much. I even noticed
how the people received every compliment like a glass of fresh water. I have seen both overly dependent compliance and
open defiance to my spiritual authority. I understand both of these reactions are powerless attempts to prevent getting
hurt. Some expressed their difficulty in opening up and being real because those who gave them permission to do so in
the past couldn't handle it. The other characteristics of spiritual abuse that I have seen are also tied into their
clannish, isolated history. There are many here who continue to stay away while they are not sure they can trust this
church once again after so much pain. Two other clues to the spiritual abuse here would include spiritual confusion
and a lack of genuine joy among many. Jeff VanVonderen, in his book When God's People Let You Down, adds the following
characteristics of wounded Christians: avoiding getting close; enjoying doing anything in church that does not involve deep
interpersonal interaction; and running from commitment (16-18). The latter two characteristics really showed themselves
in the response to our commitment campaign this year.
Arterburn and Felton's Toxic Faith rightly points out
how a Christian's "faith is tainted from many other sources" (xv). The roots of bitterness and unresolved anger over
the loss of a child, broken relationships, etc. have poisoned the faith of many in both the church and in the community.
Over two and a half decades of an attractive choir and powerful preacher led many to look for a religious high instead of
growing deeper in their faith. I pray that the church will continue on its present path of healing. Compared to
their past, I do see them progressing in Arterburn and Felton's characteristics of a healthy Christian faith: focused
on God, growing, respectful, free to serve, feeling more valuable, vulnerable, trusting, individualized, relationship oriented,
personal, balanced, nondefensive, nonjudgmental, reality based, able to embrace their emotions, able to embrace their humanity,
and loving (293-314). We will see in the next section how this understanding of spiritual abuse can inform a pastor's
ministry to an abused church as we discuss the equipping role of the pastor for healing.
C.
The equipping role of the pastor for healing
While many Christian authors write about
spiritual abuse and recovery from spiritual abuse, no one to my knowledge approaches this theme from the perspective of the
pastor. While these Christian self-help books speak to a real need and offer valid help, I do question their individualistic
approach. I also question the neglect of this issue by people in both pastoral theology and in church growth.
Therefore, I begin this section with the Biblical basis for the pastor's equipping role for healing an abused church.
I
titled my Biblical Studies' paper on Ephesians 4:7-13 "Gifts for Growth". My interest in this passage arose from a budding
Doctor of Ministry focus on the pastor as equipper of a local church for growth. I shall share brief applicable excerpts
from that paper for my purpose in this paper. "In the first division of Ephesians, Paul desires for these Christians
to know their high calling in Christ. The primary theme of knowing their high calling involves the formation of a new
community of God's people-the church (1:22-23). In Christ, this new community reconciles people separated from God and
one another (2:19-22; 3:6)" (Crowe 2). Paul's focus on "their high calling in Christ" recurs in Ephesians' second
division. Here Paul exhorts his readers to 'walk worthy of their calling in their relationships in the church, in daily
living, in marriage, in family matters, and in work. "Throughout division two, the readers are called to the functions
of the new community that God purposed for them in Christ….My particular passage of scripture falls within subdivision
four (4:1-16) of division two. In subdivision four, Paul describes the worthy walk in terms of the unity of the church.
The first section (4:1-6) in this subdivision introduces the call for unity within the church. The next section (4:7-13)
describes Christ giving gifts for realizing that call….Subdivision six (6:10-120) moves the readers back to the
Epistle's earlier context of "heavenly places." However instead of focusing on being blessed and seated with Christ
in the heavenly places, Paul focuses on warfare with wickedness in the heavenly places. The devil schemes through such
wickedness to hinder the church at Ephesus from living out
its high calling in Christ. The first section of this subdivision (6:1-13) opens the readers' eyes to the true nature
of their struggle to walk worthy of their high calling in Christ. The second section of this subdivision (6:14-20) describes
in detail the Christian's armor for victory amidst this spiritual conflict" (Crowe 2-3). "While the epistle's opening
subdivision (chapter 1) introduced the readers to the source of their strength for living our their high calling, the concluding
subdivision (6:10-20) places their struggle to live out their high calling in Christ within its true paradigm" (Crowe
5). This paradigm of good and evil supernaturalism is not only true of churches as a whole struggle to be faithful,
but also of pastors who are Christ's instruments for fulfilling that high calling through "equipping the saints for ministry".
We will address the interaction of spiritual warfare with this issue later.
The key word in Ephesians 4:12 related
to the purpose of this paper is "equipping." katartismon. This
word’s military usage speaks of fully furnishing an army. Its civic usage speaks of pacifying a city which is
torn by factions. Its medical usage speaks of setting a broken bone or putting a joint back into place. The basic
idea of the word is that of putting a thing into the condition in which it ought to be (Barclay 149).
Pastors
would do well to heed VanVonderen's statements "It's unfortunate that the only advice you're likely to get from Christians
is "C"mon, forgive and forget. Why can't you just let it go? The truth is that the wound you've received won't
simply go away. …Doling out sympathy pats and allowing people to wallow in self-pity without offering real help and
strength--this is worse than no help at all" (19). Another key point for pastors would be that people bring onto church
the same interpersonal dynamics that go on in their families. This insight provides pastors and their families opportunities
to teach Christian interpersonal dynamics both by modeling and by words. VanVonderen's three sets of "one anothers"
offer both the outline and the content of such modeling and teaching (50-72). Pastors need to encourage wounded Christians
not "to sit by, wishing that other people would make the church what it should be" (VanVonderen 20). Abused
Christians need to hear that their "own health and growth are at stake and so is the work and witness of the church as it
offers the world the light of hope" (VanVonderen 28). Pastors can hold before battered Christians the possibility
of God transforming their pain into wisdom and compassion they need to help another Christian. A pastor of an abused
church dare not set up new ways of reaching out to unsaved, hurt people when a church itself exists in such pain.
Having made such mistakes in the past, I hope that others will gain wisdom from my mistakes. Pastors also need to confront
the victim mentality of some who "use the past to excuse their present lifestyle, behavior or poor choices" (VanVonderen
130). As equippers for healing, pastors need to encourage people not to blame, but to seek God's empowerment to change
what they can.
Spiritually abused churches need to follow VanVonderen's "four R's of recovery: Rest Rehabilitation,
Release and Risk" (169). Such churches need to rest in God's healing presence to mend their own souls before hurrying
to heal others' hurt souls. Pastors need to take such churches through the rehabilitation process of unlearning unhealthy
relationship skills. Pastors and church leaders also need to consider that "…hurtful relationship dynamics often
exist in churches because people imitate what they observe in the leaders" (VanVonderen 90). Furthermore,
they should honestly examine themselves to the Holy Spirit convicting them of dishing out spiritual abuse by not using their
authority when necessary.
VanVonderen offers an excellent description of how the relationship traits of unhealthy families
are recycled in church relationships. To accomplish full rehabilitation, churches and pastors must release unhealthy
relationship dynamics along with unhooking from its losses and risk relating to others in healthy ways that will bring new
life.
In wrapping up this focus on the equipping role of the pastor for healing, I want to share some helpful insights
from Porter's "Piecing Together a Shattered Church"
and Ogden's The New Reformation. Porter offers the following
suggestions for healing an abused church: accept all reports with a grain of salt; draw strength and wisdom from past
appointments; focus on the pastoral basics of preaching and visitation rather than initiating programs; combat the spirit
of failure through constant encouragement and a focus on God's love and power; help the church to focus outward and discover
its hope renewed; and focus on occasions when the church can celebrate God's blessings. Porter is the only author who
offered the following personal points to pastors: redouble one's efforts in personal spiritual growth; meet with leaders for
prayer prior to the worship service; be more open and ask for help from church members; be aware that healing takes much longer
than we think; resist the Elijah complex of "I alone am left"; and look for signs of healing such as church leaders accepting
greater responsibility for decisions.
Ogden adds to
this discussion on the equipping role of the pastor for healing in terms of fixing what is broken, bringing back into proper
alignment what is out of joint, and supplying what is lacking. Like many churches, they need solid church conflict management
and church discipline restored to its proper functioning in the body. The church needs much teaching and grace to fix
their broken life in the Spirit which I see in the rampant spiritual confusion here. Lastly, they need an equipping
focus on supplying what is lacking concerning how spiritual warfare interacts with spiritual abuse; the pastor equipping the
church for healing; restoring healthy church conflict/discipline dynamics; and fixing the rampant confusion about life in
the Spirit.
D. Restoring
healthy church conflict/discipline dynamics
The island church has a poor record when
it comes to church discipline and conflict management. Moeller's Love in Action states that "when serious conflict infiltrates
a congregation, the church loses its power, strength, and purpose. It can't attract and keep genuine seekers, it can't
motivate or encourage its volunteers, it can't even meet its budget" (47). Whenever such a church is not effectively
healed, the church becomes diseased and suffers an infection of bitterness that…can become terminal" (Moeller
40). A healthy church "…knows how to speak the truth fully to each other, yet in a loving and gracious spirit"
(Moeller 92). Moeller goes onto share three common pastoral errors in handling conflict. Previous pastors
here have either overreacted and tried to control the situation or avoid the conflict until it became unmanageable.
The error that I must avoid is managing church conflict well but neglecting the needs of my own life and family.
In
addressing this part of equipping the church for healing, pastors can seek to build up a reconciling and cooperative spirit
within the church instead of seeking to stamp out all conflict. Pastors can work toward this goal by growing more seasoned
verses regressing into defensiveness and domination. Pastors can mature in discerning the difference between moral absolutes
and irrelevant, personal preferences. Conflict battered churches need a strong dose of kindness and gentleness from
their pastors. Also, pastors need to pray for their critics and opponents.
From my reading of the minutes
surrounding the purging of the church choir, they failed to create a systematic approach to the problem other than authorizing
the pastor to address it alone. This approach personalized the conflict and assisted people in not hearing nor heading
the rebuke other than as a personal attack. Previous pastors' and church leaders' responses to conflict issues have
directly influenced the healthiness of this church. The same will be true of me as well. The church needs a systematic
approach to conflict issues that I and the church leaders work out together and then communicate to the church.
Keith
Huttenlocker offers the following description of a conflict prone church: "has a high exchange because of living in a small
town where they see each other a great deal; has high expectations; has high involvement; has a low trust level despite so
much familiarity with each other; has a low understanding of the consequences of 'peoples' words and actions; and a low
respect for leaders which is often accompanied by a lack of respect for organization" (44-45). He accurately suggests
building up trust by affirming each other, accepting each other, providing support, demonstrating integrity in guarding others'
reputations and dignity, and by offering respect. As trust grows, people are valued as persons; genuine affection is
found; people do not rush right out the door after worship; people are honest and real; and people focus on being productive.
However, the lack of trust is seen in members treating each other impersonally; people do not visibly enjoy each other; people
leave church gatherings quickly; people are judgmental and seek to tear down; people quench the Spirit; and people focus on
looking good.
Keith suggests overcoming such conflict proneness by the church members developing more forbearance for
one another since they see each other so much. As they learn to accept the humanness of each other, they will
mature out of the petty insecurities of always protecting their perceived rights and defending themselves over trifles.
Like VanVonderen, he believes the pastor needs to teach relational skills and above all model for people the love of Jesus
Christ. VanVonderen adds to this call for the pastor to model Christ's love how unhealthy it is for pastors not to be real,
not to be honest and not to be relevant to people's real needs. While he notes that respect must be earned, he encourages
people to be taught to respect leaders unless the overwhelming evidence demands otherwise.
Sometimes, but not always,
conflict situations involve a need for church discipline. "The corrective task has long been thought to be a central
pastoral duty…Most agree that it is necessary to ministry and that the task must be approached with great care, concern,
sensitivity, and delicacy--and that it is fraught with hidden dangers" (Oden 207). As White and Blue point
out in their book, "the idea of church discipline in many minds is confined to what one might call catastrophe discipline,
discipline that waits until something goes wrong" (19). I agree with their analogy that this approach is like
installing smoke detectors after the fire is already roaring. They recommend a healthier approach of making church discipline
one aspect of the ongoing spiritual direction of a church. Healthy corrective church discipline can never be accomplished
apart from the overall training of Christians in daily holy living. Without such training, "catastrophe discipline is
likely to be fruitless" (White & Blue 19). White and Blue discovered that church discipline also failed where
the church only pursued the goals maintaining church purity and restoring the sinful Christian. They recommend
also pursuing the goals of reconciliation to God and others in Christ as well as freedom from bondage, guilt, and fear of
criticism by fellow Christians.
These authors list the following obstacles to such a healing approach to church discipline:
"a limited view of church discipline apart from the larger context of godly living; cultural prejudices and fears which lead
us to mind our own business and leave people alone; the limited belief that anointed preaching of Scripture will alone produce
a holy church; fear of honestly confessing our sins to others; fear of change; and a lack of sensitivity to the horrors of
sin" (White & Blue 27-29). Too many churches, like the church at Corinth,
flatter themselves on how loving they are of members living in open sin. Such churches sin themselves and spiritually
abuse people by avoiding corrective church discipline.
Like Moeller, the authors highlight that "misguided efforts
at discipline breed resentment and division" (70). They propose that community censure and peer pressure brings repentance
more than a rebuke from an authority figure. They have found, like Moeller, that when an authority figure administers
discipline, it does nothing good. It very often only does harm. It hardens those corrected without humbling or
instructing them. Only discipline by the community is Biblical and restores sinners. All in all healthy church
discipline sets people free to live as we were designed to with power, joy, and love. In addition, VanVonderen lifts
up the importance of church leaders making the church a safe place from those who openly ignore church discipline by holding
them accountable (VanVonderen 94- 95).
E. Fixing
the confusion about life in the Spirit
VanVonderen raises the question about
"why people have been hurt and let down in so many churches?" to which he answers, "Believers are walking in flesh--and
they're even doing it in the name of walking in the Spirit" (136). While I realize the limitations of my approach,
for my purposes here, I can only relate my research in this area to the needs of churches such as this one although
some of this will apply to all churches.
Whenever life in Spirit becomes solely experience oriented at the expense
of good Christian education all kinds of hurtful problems arise in the families of a church, in the worshipping community,
in church administration and in the church's witness in the community both locally and around the world. This can only
be corrected by a wholesome emphasis on and rebuilding of Christian education in the church. Like the church at Corinth, several churches need to move from an individualistic spirituality
to a body spirituality. For churches caught up in a "spirituality that leads people in an "all glory now" direction,
Fee's focus on the Holy Spirit establishing the church as an eschatological community of the future in the present would be
timely. This would involve discipling the church to walk in the Spirit related to every aspect of daily living.
Such a church would do well to plunge the depths of Fee's question, "What does it mean to live in the Christian community
and in the world as the people of God?" (98).
Basically, this church needs to mature in Christ by holding both the
Word of God and the Spirit together in its Christian discipleship like Nathan and Wilson call for in Empowered Evangelicals.
Many would also be helped in overly spiritual churches by growing comfortable with facing the natural consequences of their
actions and taking responsibility for these choices . Such a balanced understanding of life in the Spirit would move
them from merely "experiencing" God's presence to actually walking in the Spirit as they do their Christian discipleship in
daily living. Another important issue for churches with an overly subjective, supernaturalist heritage would be in the
area of discerning God's will. People also need help in gaining a Biblical view of the place of the mind, the emotions
and the physical effects of life in the Spirit. Another helpful idea would include Ogden's
proposal of combining a focus on the spiritual gifts of the body with the call of pastors to equip the body for ministry.
Bringing clarity to life in the Spirit would also broaden the evangelistic vision of a congregation to actually involving
them and call them to reach out beyond the boundaries of the church walls. As their view of life in the Spirit gains
clarity in worshiping God, the choir and the preacher's preaching style would gain less prominence as people matured out of
the audience-performer outlook. Ultimately, as a church grows in Biblical living in the Spirit Christ comes to be viewed
as the head of the church and the place of the pastor's Biblical equipping ministry is received as well as evaluated Biblically.
As a church became well grounded and less confused about life in the Spirit, it would help its members avoid spiritual abuse
which produces toxic faith.
F. Supplying
what is lacking concerning spiritual warfare
Earlier, we established
the spiritual warfare context of our focus on spiritual abuse, the pastor's equipping role for healing spiritual abuse and
the healthy handling of church conflict/discipline issues. Anderson and Mylander believe in the importance of a church
taking its painful memories and corporate sins to God for healing and forgiveness. Where a church body has been hurt
or abused as well as their corporate sins give the devil an opportunity in the church. It is a wise idea for a pastor
not to lead his/her church through Anderson and Mylander's
"Setting Your Church Free" workshop. Anderson and Mylander’s Setting Your Church Free recommends using at outside
facilitator such as a retired pastor, a denominational official or a capable leader from a nearby church (181).
This workshop can be a very helpful first step in bringing healing to an abused church during a pastor's first year.
Throughout the Bible, the people of God have been called to times of corporate confession and repentance. While some
call these times "Spiritual Freedom Workshops" others call them "a solemn assembly". "The solemn assembly has become
a tool to heal and restore some trouble churches, as they come to terms with their destructive behavior, toleration of sin,
and spiritual indifference….In cases where the solemn assembly was seen as an event, effects were short-lived.
In congregations that used the service as the beginning of a new pattern of relating to God and one another, the transformation
has sometimes been dramatic" (Leadership, Summer 1996). Some of the common strategies for following through on
this kind of experience include personal prayer, praying a written group prayer at all church meetings, and the pastor preaching
a sermon series related to this event. The third idea is very similar to the application of the healing steps from Stanger's
God's Healing Community in a sermon series as page 122 points out.
VanVonderen writes clearly about "God's purpose
for us, and Satan's hatred for us--a hatred so strong that he would do anything to bite and devour us. Satan lost his
frontal attack--the crucifixion of Jesus. Now he would step up his guerilla attacks-the infiltration of Christ's body"
(25-26). He goes onto ask, "Is it any wonder that our Adversary, the 'Wolf', majors in destroying relationships inside
the body of Christ. Is it any wonder he wants to drive people out of the church altogether?" (39). Paul
warned the Ephesian church not to let the sun go down on their anger and thereby give the devil a foothold (Ephesians 5:26,
27). He also encouraged the church at Corinth to receive
back the repentant brother in II Corinthians because he was not unaware of the devil's schemes (II Cor. 2:5-11). For
an abused church to be healed, it must remove every foothold of the devil opened by "lingering resentment, the loss of interest
in prayer or reading Scripture, and the desire for revenge" (Moeller 52). Moeller goes on to point out that
as a pastor "I could almost predict the appearance of trouble in my church according to how much progress we were making spiritually"
(64). This means that the devil will be greatly enraged by any church that makes significant progress toward healing
spiritual abuse; restoring healthy, Biblical church conflict/discipline procedures; and maturing more fully in the life of
the Spirit through the pastor's equipping role for healing. Even in preventing problems related to preventing these
issues from becoming problems again, "churches must utilize spiritual resources to deal with spiritual problems, not just
in crisis, but as a regular part of their life together" (Moeller 193). Churches need this because the most common
source of spiritual abuse, unhealthy handling of church conflict/discipline issues, and resistance to any aspect of a pastor's
equipping role comes as a attack from the unseen spiritual world of evil. Tom White concurs with these writers that
"no less important is dealing with strongholds that plague our corporate fellowships" (16). His approach for breaking
such strongholds is similar to the authors of materials for "Spiritual Freedom Workshops" and for "A Solemn Assembly".
I
believe in the validity of Wagner's concern for the "three levels of spiritual warfare: (1) Ground-level spiritual warfare,
which is ordinary deliverance ministry; (2) Occult-level spiritual warfare, which involves spells and curses by spiritual
practitioners of darkness; and (3) Strategic-level spiritual warfare, which deals with territorial principalities and powers"
(68). What I cover here relates basically to level 1 and 2 of spiritual warfare, but it would be wise for a pastor seeking
to equip an abused church for healing to learn about level 3.
Last but not least in this spiritual warfare focus needs
to be some concern for the pastor and other church leaders equipping a church for healing to be prayed for instead of prayed
on. These people are in the very heart of the battle. The devil knows if he can strike the Bishop, the D.S., the
pastor and/or local church leaders then the sheep will flee as easy prey. Terry Teykl reports that a recent study showed
that after ten years in full time ministry, 70% of pastors have lost their holy boldness and confidence in Christ. Teykl's
prayer manual for hedging pastors and other church leaders in with prayer is a vital tool in supporting who role is equipping
churches. Teykl's concern is that our pastors might be the least prayed for and the most preyed on persons in our local
churches today. Peter Wagner definitely believes that "the higher you go on the ladder of Christian leadership, the
higher you go on Satan's hit list" (67).
IV. Application
A. Implementing Insights About the Abused Church
1.
Be a shepherd by not lording it over this church, but by being an example to this battered flock. One way that I seek
to do this is by respecting the opinions of various officers instead of getting into control issues over trifling matters.
I believe that this is what my former District Superintendent meant by offering this church gracefully strong leadership.
This kind of leadership that knows when to let go and when to take hold will go a long way in building up trust within this
church.
2. Communicate Christ's love for the church which has been hurt to the central core of its identity.
God's love through me, my family and others is the key to lifting this church out of its spiritual discouragement. This
means that I and my family must continue growing more loving in Christ. This also means bringing in evangelists and
others for special events who will communicate Christ's love to these people.
3. Relate to this church through
preaching and teaching how the pain of living in abusive clannish relationships gets recycled into the church. There
are various examples of unhealthy clannish relationships in the Old Testament that would serve this purpose well. Connected
with this would involve addressing the abused person's victim status and steps to overcoming it. Included with this
needs to be a strong emphasis on dealing with bitterness and anger over events that block our walk with God.
4.
I have already sought to bring healing to the 10 characteristics of spiritual abuse by using such tools as Healing for Damaged
Emotions with the Leader's Guide and other books by David Seamands on Sunday nights with a great response. Next, I plan
to teach on our identity in Christ using some materials by Neil Anderson. In the future, I will do a sermon series on
a church's identity in Christ on Sunday mornings.
5. A sermon series from I & II Corinthians or Galatians
would provide the Biblical basis for addressing the issues of spiritual abuse in churches then and now. I will make
sure to include in this series comments about the danger of judging one another's spiritual performance.
6. Continue
complimenting the church and various members personally. I have also found it helpful to have the church secretary place
a thank you to someone or to some group in each Sunday's worship bulletin. Now that we have a homepage, the church finds
it encouraging to hear compliments from others who visit it. We even placed one such e-mail in our recent newsletter.
7.
Reaching out to the hurt who are afraid to come back whom preaching and teaching at church will not reach. Included
with this will encouraging them not to sit by with a victim outlook, but to do something for their own health and progress.
This will be challenging and time consuming, but I trust that in the long run it will prove helpful.
B. Implementing Insights About the Equipping Role of the Pastor for Healing
1.
As I address this issue within the congregation, I will be growing more deeply in my personal pastoral identity of incarnating
this focus, paying the price for holding to this focus, and then witnessing new life emerge as the church becomes healthier.
Throughout all of this, I plan to heed Porter's personal point for me as the pastor to double my efforts in personal spiritual
growth.
2. Address the lack of interdependency here between pastor and people through preaching, teaching, and
dialoging about the pastor's equipping ministry as the Biblical bedrock of pastoral ministry. This foundation needs
to be laid for freeing the church from unhealthy ways of relating such as seeking a pastor to do everything, seeing the pastor
as the resident expert, wanting an inspirational Band-Aid, viewing the church as a possession, and expecting the professional
pastor to do what they are paid to do (Ogden 91-94). Parallel to this will include leading the PPRC to measure
pastoral and church success in terms of "an increasing number of people who will take responsibility for the spiritual welfare
of God's people or to make a significant impact through their witness to Christ in the world in word and deed (Ogden
98). I will rejoice the day I hear less of 'the pastor should..' or 'the church should…' and more of 'we are the
church, let's be…'. This will involve my functioning as a change agent and utilizing my Vision 2000 workshop materials
on "Leading Your Church Through Change".
3. Communicate healthy Christian relationship dynamics by word and example
as a pastor and as a pastoral family. This along with seeking to disciple the members in VanVonderen's three sets
of 'one another' verses about Christian relationships.
4. Avoiding setting up new programs or going into a major
new membership drive while the church remains in such pain. Although I have done this in the past with the encouragement
of various church growth tools, I now see wisdom to the contrary. I must prayerfully discern the presence of enough
healing to move forward in these two important areas. I will base such discernment on the perception of the church's
resting awareness of God's healing love; their level of rehabilitation into healthier relationship dynamic; their release
of the painful past, and their willingness to risk new attempts to relate the gospel to others.
C. Implementing Insights About Restoring Healthy Church Conflict/Discipline Dynamics
1.
Avoid the erroneous responses of my predecessors while intentionally keep my guard up against ignoring both my personal and
my family's well being throughout the conflict that will come as part of the healing process. For some reason, this
has been more difficult to do since entering seminary than before.
2. Disciple this church to speak the truth
in love and guide the church's leadership into a systematic approach of addressing conflict issues together. This needs
to be done within the context of discipling the church in Christian holiness.
D. Implementing Insights About Fixing the Confusion Concerning Life in the Spirit
1.
Disciple this spiritually confused church in Christian holiness which will involve teaching about walking in the Spirit verses
walking in the flesh. Closely related to this will be focusing on the church as an eschatological community. I
trust this would transform four major characteristics of their spiritual confusion: 1). An "all glory now" spirituality;
2). A passive view of evangelism being the pastor's job; and 3). An audience-performer view of worshipping God,
and 4). Lacking a Biblical vision that the church's unity and ministry in the Spirit transcends both clans and the boundaries
of this small town.
2. Seek to lead the church toward uniting Christian experience, knowledge and practice through
a stronger Christian Education program. I hope this would lead to a merging of the church's belief in the gifts of the
Spirit with the pastor's Biblical call to equip the church for ministry.
E. Implementing Insights About Supplying What is
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