How we treat pastors: Your responses

Lutheran, The, May 2002 by Solomonson, Sonia C

The March 'My View" draws strong responses from many readers

For a study guide, see www.thelutheran.org/study

How do we treat pastors anyway? Do some feel terrorized? Can we discuss the problems? Letters to the editor continue to pour in since the March "My View" column (page 11) raised the issue of the rumblings and rumors, hate mail and personal attacks that some pastors experience. Most writers think we need to openly address the issues.

"I've heard it suggested that The Lutheran shouldn't publish this kind of news-that it's bad for morale," writes George Evans, a pastor from McLean, Va. "Seems like morale for clergy and laity alike will have quite a boost when issues like this are seriously addressed. We might even find a few more pastors."

Laurie Swanson from Athens, Mich., says her congregation thought it was the only one to have experienced such a scenario. She writes, "Tell the author that his/her writing already has made an impact just by breaking the silence on the topic."

But some disagree. "To characterize the church and its ministry in this way is a travesty and a lie, writes Gordon Selbo, a pastor from San Jose, Calif. He admits churchgoers have disagreements, but he says the church isn't full of hatred and venom.

"The real sin here is not on the part of the pastor but on the staff of The Lutheran, which permitted this type of material to be published," writes Matt Mattick from Menahga, Minn.

And from Stephen E. GodsallMyers, a pastor in West Chester, Pa.: "Maybe this kind of material is best shared in groups of colleagues, but I see no reason to share it on the pages of The Lutheran."

Both saint and sinner

But the overwhelming majority of writers were pleased to see the article. Many clergy shared stories of being unfairly abused, attacked or dismissed, and nearly all the writers want to see congregational conflict and dysfunction addressed. Carl Heidel, a pastor in Roscommon, Mich., says Christians often don't deal well with conflict. "Estimates are that 40 percent of our congregations are in conflict," he writes. "From terrorism to subversion, it's there.

"Surprised? Read St. Paul carefully. People who proclaim love and mercy as primary ways of practicing their faith always have behaved in ways that contradict their proclamation. Even good church folks are simultaneously saint and sinner. As long as the church feebly struggles toward full faithfulness and the final feast, sin will have its day, and churchly terrorism will be an ugly reality."

Heidel thinks congregational conflict needs to be faced. "Seminaries must teach the realities of parish life together with conflict resolution skills," he says. "Congregations must admit what they do to pastors. They must be held accountable. They must learn to resolve conflict. Bishops must help resolve conflict and must [be a] pastor [for] terrorized pastors. All of us must learn to bear one another's burdens."

One pastor expressed sadness about the "My View" and offered some insights. He admits some congregations fail their pastors and says some pastors fail their congregations too. "Dysfunction exists in every individual, committee, congregation, synod and denomination. Christians call it sin," says Bruce W. Pangborn from Hinsdale, Ill.

The dysfunction rarely is intentional, he says, but it can lead to discouraged and even bitter pastors and congregations.

Pangborn says congregations fail to:

* Admit that the same problems which affect our cities, schools and businesses are present in our churches (theft, adultery, sloppy procedures and more).

* Insist that clergy and laity receive training in managing church conflict.

* Remember that we are the church of Jesus Christ, not a profit- or service-- oriented business.

* Know their history well and understand what it means.

And Pangborn says clergy and lay leaders fail to:

* Recognize that destructive actions usually start with seemingly small behaviors we explain away, calling them mere contrariness or being a curmudgeon.

* Hold themselves and others accountable, preferring appeasement.

* Prepare themselves, using the vast body of knowledge available in the area of conflict resolution.

* Realize that Matthew 18:15-17, which describes a process of handling church disputes, and constitutional provisions dealing with church discipline exist for a reason.

Clergy self-care is key too

In addition, Pangborn says: "Pastors who regularly work 60 to 80 hours a week and have little personal life are already failing themselves and their congregations. Congregations who allow their pastors to function in that manner are failing themselves and their pastors."

One pastor sees a decades-old paradigm shift as partly responsible for the problems. "Clergy now live and work in an environment where they're regarded as the hired help who are at the beck and call of their employers," says Jeff Fricke, Omaha, Neb. "Congregations often seek to return to an elusive pristine time when the church was a sanctuary from the pressures of daily life.

"And how do we renegotiate expectations and our work as the church in the midst of a society that openly doesn't care about Jesus Christ?"