03.31.10
When You Think Your Church Leadership Has Made a Bad Call
Each year I receive calls from churches that are in total disarray. In many instances the church membership perceives the church leadership made a bad call. The outcome of that call… relational chaos. When this happens we need to…
- Remember, whether or not the call was right or wrong the decision is made. It is now the responsibility of everyone in the church to work toward unity. Make it your goal to be a peacemaker and unifier.
- Don’t start or join in conversations that lead to the dismantling of someone’s character. In a decision making situation, we can only know the decision-maker’s character if we are 100% sure of their motive. Only God knows the heart and motive is housed in the heart. By the way , 99% of the time the motive behind the decision was to make your church a better place for you and your family.
- Never allow debates concerning the decision to take place in Sunday School classes or small group meetings. This can only lead to further disruption and will for sure wreak havoc on the hearts of unbelievers and young believers.
- Rise above the mayhem and be a unifier. When others around you are attacking the church leadership suggest to the group that if they have a problem with the church leadership they should talk with them personally rather than discussing the issue amongst themselves. Do this graciously, speaking gently and without judging those you are speaking to. A healthier option might be to set up a meeting with the group of people involved in the conversation with the church leadership. This will allow the individuals to get up close and personal with the decision-makers and in many instances, will set hearts and minds at ease.
- Don’t take sides. One of Satan’s most effective strategies is to drive us into battle mode. In every battle there’s an enemy and in every battle one army must win and the other must lose. We begin to believe that we will either be winners or losers so we fight all the more waiting for an outcome that will lead us to believe our team won. Everyone loses when we forget that we are one people battling one enemy, Satan. Ephesians 6:12
- Don’t leave the church, be the church. Stay and be a beacon of healing and help to the church members who are struggling and to the church leadership who made the call.
- Realize that the leaders in any church must make the hard calls. You may not see the rationale behind the decision, you may not see the wisdom in the decision, and you may not see the reason for making the decision. But the church leaders have a view you don’t have. Please read the next point.
- Keep in mind that those in leadership have information at their disposal you don’t have and that they most likely based their decision on a vast array of information you do not know.
- Pray for your leaders. I assure you, no one is hurting more than those who had to make a difficult decision.
I’ve been in ministry for 35 years now. I’ve been the recipient of bad calls and I’ve been the one making the hard calls (and sometimes my hard calls were bad calls). I’ve been hurt by bad calls and blessed by good ones. I’ve perceived that a bad call was made only to realize years later that the devastating call was actually a good one. And I’ve concluded that, even if it is my opinion that a bad call has been made, the best call I can make is to be a biblically functioning follower of Christ. I’m praying the list above may help all of us to do just that.
How about simply Follow Your Leader (as long as it is not immoral). http://ref.ly/He13.17
"we" have walked this road together and it is most difficult when it seems that all parties are hurting. I look to Psalms 138 and praise our Creator, then I read Psalms 145 and rejoice in His Creation then forward on to John 17 and know that we are cared for by the the One in whom we believe!.