Calvin Synod Herald, 1981 (81. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1981-03-01 / 3-4. szám
4 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD dreaming the “people’s future song”, nursing them to triumph, setting them free so that the very walls of prisons are razed, for bliss promised, here on earth praying with blasphemy, sacrificing with sacrilege, wounding to cure, music now lifting worthy listeners to a better world — work, oh good healer, who lulls not to sleep; who, probing our soul with your chord-fingers, touches where trouble lies, and how strange, how wholesome is the salve you give: the plaintive call, the lament which would spring from us, but cannot spring, for we are born to dumb stillnes of heart: your nerve strings sing for us. Translated by Klara Lashley MINISTERS WASHINGTON, DC-Each year, one out of 100 churches in four major Protestant denominations dismisses ministers for reasons other than unethical or immoral conduct, Speed Leas, a United Church of Christ minister, finds in a recent study to be published by the Alban Institute here. Financed by the United Church of Christ, Presbyterian Church in the U.S., United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and Episcopal Church, the report examines 117 churches in the four denominations which have fired senior pastors over the past three years for causes other than stealing, promiscuous behavior or unlawful acts. Using interviews with the regional denominational executives and ministers involved and case studies of congregations, it analyzes the reasons for such dismissals and their effects on pastors and congregations. Ministers are “involuntarily terminated’ for a variety of reasons, but a primary one is congregational conflict which existed before the pastor’s arrival, the study says. Some 43 percent of the churches examined fall into this category. Among difficulties cited are the presence of factions within the church; disapproval of the minister by a powerful minority; unwillingness or inability of the congregation to identify problems early; goals, norms and values disagreement between laity and pastor, and frustrated desires of members for big successes in the church’s ministry. This kind of tension is apt to continue indefinitely, unless outside help is sought, the report points out. Almost a quarter of the churches studied had fired pastors before. Interpersonal difficulties are another major cause for clergy dismissals, according to the study. Authoritarian behavior or contentiousness acccounts for 23 percent of all firings, and 23 percent are attributed to poor interpersonal skills. Among the latter are the inability of the minister to understand the congregational situation and his or her impact on it, difficulties with delegating or accepting responsibility, the use of divisive rather than integrative tactics with members, problems with self-expression, the need for constant emotional support or inability to provide it to others and the tendency to feel threatened by differentness. The report finds value conflict a critical reason for firings in 20 percent of Episcopal, 29 percent of United Church of Christ and 34 percent of Presbyterian churches. The greatest tensions occur over social action and liturgy in the Episcopal Church, theology and social action in the United Church of Christ and life style and theology in Presbyterian congregations. The majority of the ministers studied did not remain in local church work after their dismissal, except in the United Church of Christ, where 63 percent stayed in parishes. Among Episcopalians and Presbyterians, 64 percent turned to other forms of livelihood. The ministers who did continue to serve local churches tended to move to smaller parishes with lower pay. Throughout the termination procedure, congregational membership in all three church bodies has usually remained stable. Giving and attendance decreased during the time of conflict, but returned to previous levels after its resolution. Most congregations and clergy do not request outside help until it is too late, the report states. Before they took their problems to denominational officials, 38 percent of the congregations examined had already decided to replace the pastor. The conviction that outside help may be detrimental to the congregation or the hope that regional executives would act on their own to “set the laity straight” was held by 44 percent of the ministers. The study recommends more denominational support for clergy and churches that suffer minister-member conflict, especially counseling and guidelines to ensure fair decision-making. Other topics covered include early warning signs of conflict, role of the spouse and regional executive in firings, denominational support currently available to ministers and congregations and the repercussions a dismissal has on the pastor and church. Ralph Quellhorst, associate with the United Church of Christ’s Office for Church Life and Leadershio and one of the advisors to the study, thinks it will “help denominational executives in their work with congregations which have histories of disruptions and firings.” The study will be published this month. The Alban Institute, Mt. St. Alban. Washington, DC 20016, is a non-denominational organization involved in research and program development in church growth and management for local congregations in North America. Office of Communication, U.C.C.
