Featured Clergy Killers

Thanks for posting this.

 

There is a book by that name
Clergy Killers: Guidance for Pastors and Congregations under Attack by G. Lloyd Rediger

 

I experienced much the same thing. Was pastoring a church that went from 90 to 220 in about 15 months and then they asked me to leave.

Within about four years one of them shot himself, and two others died. Everyone of them were under 40 years old.

I have noticed that very few pastors know much about how to deal with the clergy killers and the people blame it on the pastor. They fail to recognize how Satan destroys and fail to recognize how evil presents itself. A few years ago I was called in to be an interim pastor and within one week I recognized the clergy killer. When I asked to have the man removed they failed and I resigned. Within a few days 3/4 of the people left. Three months later the church building was sold. some people blamed it on me at the time and one was angry at me. I told him who was the son of a pastor that it was now his time. The proud man finally realized that he was powerless and under his preaching the church went down. Before I left I phone the previous two pastors and both of them had the same problem with the same man. When I resigned I told the men I spoke with that I decided to resign and turned the church over to Satan for its destruction. They laughed and got angry. Three months later it was completely gone.

The estimates I have read in about the last three years are that 70-8o percent of the churches in America are plagued with antagonists (clergy killers). I attend a church now where it is highly unlikely that would happen because the pew is powerless. The pastor is accountable to people who are godly men and women and there is no vote.

 

A decade ago, I chaired our church's pastor search committee. During the process, I phoned a pastor who had submitted a resume. During our conversation he told of a man in the church where he then served who came to him and suggested that it was nearing the time for him to leave. The man, quite influential, had in his mind that about five years was long enough for any pastor to say, and this pastor was six months away from that.

The pastor took no action, and again the member reminded him of his need to make plans to leave. Finally, enough. He called a church business meeting and laid out the situation, and called for a vote. If you vote me out, I'm gone. If you vote to keep me, then I'll stay on one condition. That is, if you disfellowship Brother So-and-so.

To his shock, they voted to keep him and kick out the member. Imagine that.

 

Did you call him as pastor?
Why was he looking for a new place of service if they kicked out the problem?

 

Scripture clearly says how to deal with an antagonist.

 

I noticed that one of the people on the website was the author of the book.

I tend to think that people in theological schools and in the pews have been sold a bill of good believing that when they get the right leader everything will be good. If that were true then Jesus and the prophets were a failure.

 

No, the Lord led the committee in another direction. Nothing against him.

Can't answer the second question. Most of those who submitted resumes were pastoring other churches at the time.

 

This is one area where I think things have actually improved over the years, but these type of people still exist. Back in the 50s and 60s, there were always pockets of power within a local church, whether it be the deacons or say a prominate family, usually of some social stature. These entrenched pockets of power always tried to run the local church, and some spineless congregations let them get away with it. It is up to spirit filled members and leaders of the local church to confront church bullies at every opportunity, and kick them out of the fellowship if necessary. Church politics has no business mixed with a local church accomplishing the Lord's work. Whether it be a predjudice person that thinks a mixed black and white married couple should not be members, or they do not like the way they dress, someone has to stand up for what is right.

Unless the man called of God to lead the local church is doing something unBiblical, then it is our duty to support him. Those who meddle, cause dissention, stir the pot, use their influence as a power play they are not authorized to have should be given the giant boot from above.

 

Oh it still exists. I can say it now exists in one less church. But there are plenty of others out there. And there are plenty of pastors who believe these type of people should be left alone and quietly discipled of a long period of years till they finally come around.

I believe they should be confronted in the midst of their behavior and dealt with immediately.

 

I will say this- there are far more "clergy killers" in our churches than there are "Clergy prayer-warriors", "Clergy helpers" or "Clergy encouragers".

I would trade the Christmas "bonus" that I got for a few of those.

 

I agree wholeheartedly. There are also "clergy killers" who come in for the sole purpose of pushing certain doctrinal beliefs not held in the church. They don't join, but they hang around to try to "change" the church to fit their viewpoint. I've seen this over, and over, and over again when it comes to Calvinism.:BangHead:

 

This is so true. And the key word is "support." We are not required to agree with every decision the pastor makes or to hold the same convictions he does. We are required, however, to pray for him and to support him as the spiritual leader of the congregation. Godly submission is not subservience.

 

saturneptune and I are privileged to serve the same church as deacons. We both can recall instances where our pastor came under attack by some members. It was not pleasant. As a result, our deacons determined that from that point on, we would put a fence around our pastor.

God had called him to be pastor, and not anybody else. This didn't mean that we always agreed, but it did mean that we gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Our pastor reciprocated by listening to our views.

From that time to this, we have had peace in our congregation. If a "clergy killer" materializes in our congregation, the deacons will protect our pastor from him, and provide him with gentle counsel as to how he is to relate to the church and its God-called man.

 

That is how it should be at every church.
Sadly though many times the clergy killer comes form among the ones who should be protecting him.