Back in the Real World of the Church

Well, after reporting about General Synod in the last several posts, it's time to get back to life and ministry at home.

Part of getting back to "normal" is reading local church newsletters. I always enjoy reading the newsletter from Friedens UCC, Syracuse. Pastor Ginny Anderson usually has a thought-full and provoking article about ministry and church life. While her article in the July edition of the newsletter is no exception (she urges her parishioners to use the summer months to grow into the experience of the Wisdom of the Gospel), another article caught my eye. In the section reserved for articles of fancy and fun appeared the following:

"There was a feud between the Pastor and the Choir Director of the Hicksville Baptist Church. It seems that first hint of trouble came when the Pastor preached on dedicating yourselves to service and the Choir Director chose to sing: 'I Shall Not be Moved'.

Trying to believe it was a coincidence, the Pastor put the incident behind him.

The next Sunday he preached on giving. Afterwards the choir squirmed as the director led them in the hymn, 'Jesus Paid It All.'

By this time, the Pastor was losing his temper.

Sunday morning attendance swelled as the tension between the two built. A large crowd showed up the next week to hear his sermon on the sin of gossiping. Would you believe the Choir Director selected 'I love to tell the Story.'

There was no turning back.

The following Sunday the Pastor told the congregation that unless something changed, he was considering resignation. The entire church gasped when the Choir Director led them in 'Why not Tonight?'

Truthfully, no one was surprised when the Pastor resigned a week later, explaining that Jesus had led him there and Jesus was leading him away. The Choir Director could not resist selecting 'What a Friend we have in Jesus.'"

As I read the article, I thought, "This would be humorous, if it weren't so similar to a situation that I had been dealing with over the last several months in another of our upstate churches!" Indeed! It's too real. The frustrating and sad thing is that no one did any wrong, per se. No one seemed to have any axes to grind. No one was making any power plays. It just seemed to happen (not immediately). The council put out a questionnaire to ask the congregation about their feelings regarding the ministry of the church, of the lay leaders and of the pastor. Chances are the pastor-parish relationship in that particular church will soon end.

One positive note has come out of this situation, for me at least. Because of my conversations with the leaders of that church I became aware of the recent Alban Institute book on pastoral evaluations, "Completing the Circle," by David R. McMahill, UCC Association Minister in the Minnesota Conference. It is a very helpful and accessible resource for churches and pastors. I highly recommend this resource that can enable churches to foster a healthy culture of communication based upon consistent, fair and constant feedback of ministries, leaders and staff.

Blessings (and Happy 4th!),

Rick Cowles