Why is it so often the leaders of the church are embroiled in conflict?

The people in the church power structure are a prime target of conflict because they are usually involved in decisions that affect a broad constituency.  They are highly visible. Individuals in general have a tendency to blame others for a problem; the pastor is a convenient person to blame because he is supposed to be the spiritual leader in the church.  Any discord or bickering in his flock must then be his fault (or so the blame game says).  And scapegoats are fine so long as it is the next person and not me.  This mentality is pervasive in our society and has worked its way into the church. The pastor is treated like the manager of a sports team;  if the team does not "win," simply fire (or fire at!) the manager.

In my church, I have seen nearly constant conflict over the past two years.  I have seen both godly and ungodly responses to conflict.  I have seen ungodly responses from the staff and congregation.  I have seen very little emphasis on reconciliation.  Almost no information is provided (officially) by the church when an issue arises.  When information is disseminated, it always puts the actions of the church in the most positive light, whether or not it is justified at all by the facts.  On the other hand, I met with the pastor in one particular case that seemed to go too far.  He counseled me wisely that not only are there two sides to every story but that he, as the pastor, would take the other side of many stories to his grave.  Integrity includes confidentiality.  My pastor has many cases where his side of a story can never be told without violating the confidence of those who requested it.  There are attempts at reconciliation which are not public.  As a result, I believe the pastor is doing what he can to resolve conflicts even though I personally disagree with some of his strategies.  If other members of the congregation would develop this kind of perspective, perhaps the level of conflict would begin to subside.

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Copyright 5/23/2001, Randy Lariscy.