STRUGGLE FOR PEACE IN CHURCH FIGHTS
Church fights are almost always generated at this time of the year. It's a scheduling problem, because everyone thinks it's going to take the better part of a year to win the little battle. The problem is, it never works out that way. Church fights take years to settle. Even after the petitions, the dirty tricks and the lies are done, the hostilities continue to plague the congregation. Here are some things to remember when you're caught in the middle of a church fight. First, the fight has almost always been generated by a small group of people. They are often driven by one or more leaders who believe God has him or her to clear up the alleged mess. A pastor must be fired, for instance. Or a program has to be declared a heresy. Or an entire group of people must be removed from office. If the leader of the antagonists tells people that God has issued a direct call to carry out a hateful mission - that's when you know you've got a lunatic on your hands. Animosity is never greater than when a person believes God has directed them to hate. That's when a church fight becomes a mental health issue. Second, most church fights begin with a single issue. It might be an insignificant spat or a misunderstanding. I remember a church fight that started because the pastor said Moses led the people of Israel across the Reed Sea rather than the Red Sea. The truth is, Old Testament scholars use both terms. But in this case, a pastor lost his job and a congregation struggled for years because of a tiny misunderstanding. The problem is, the single issue soon blossoms into a long list of grievances. And by the time the fight comes into the public arena, people can't sort out the truth from the lies. Third, nearly every church fight involves a clergy person to whom some want to give the left foot of fellowship - they want to fire the poor servant. Pastors live in dread of church fights becasue they know they are vulnerable to attack. In fact, the pastor of the congregation is the only person who is going to be directly hurt. A pastor seldom gets to face the accusers, never is allowed to defend behavior and almost always ends up with no one to support a moral position. The pastor's salary is going to disappear; the holy family will be uprooted and moved; the many friends and supporters will be gone forever; and the pastor's self-esteem, essential in finding a new parish, will be in the tank. Fourth, most church leaders will see the pastor as the ace card in this sinister game. If the little fight turns disastrous, the congregational president will probably have a meeting with the antagonists. The congregational president will come with hat in hand, asking the shnooks what it will take to settle the fight. And the shnooks will say, "The pastor must leave." The church president will leave the meeting sad but buoyant, believing the congregation can survive if only the pastor can find a new job. The church leader knows that is the final move - to force the pastor to resign in order to placate the pigheaded opponents. Fifth, the pastor's resignation is usually the last thing a congregation should seek in order to stop a church fight. If a congregation forces out one pastor, the next pastor will inherit all past issues. Therefore, the new pastor will be caught up in a similar fight within a year. And those old issues will continue to trouble the congregation until something very dramatic happens. Sixth, someone must confront the adversaries because they will continue their destructive ways until a person with authority tells them to stop. If the congregation can agree to allow the governing body full authority, the fight will quickly end. But if there is no confrontation, the fight will go on forever. This is when it takes great courage to be a church leader. All leaders must stand in absolute solidarity. It must be made clear that nobody wants the fight, nobody believes the accusations and everyone wants to get back to mission. Stop the fight. Those who can't stop fighting will be disciplined. Even in churches, peace comes at a huge price. We cannot expect our professional servants to be heroic if we can't courageously support them. Clark D. Morphew Posted 10-2-01