Why Is God OK With This?

Ever watch a child look around and see no one paying attention, then walk up and smack their sibling? I often wonder why did the child think “this is a good idea?” It usually plays out the same way. They hurt someone and get in trouble. Yet, they rinse and repeat.

Our hearts often devise very unhelpful strategies for dealing with roadblocks or problems in life. Coaching pastors has given me a front row seat to watch how church members treat their pastors. Some interactions are quite inspiring and give glory to God. Others, not so much. The way some church members scheme to oust their pastor is just wrong.

Blaming leadership is nothing new, especially in New England. In fact, after the first Great Awakening, 40-70% of churches, depending on the denomination, had a split often over their pastor.

The “go to” play in New England to oust a pastor is to gather complaints against that leader from various members. The complaints are usually all different and mostly preference based. However, when you skillfully combine them, the data can be used to paint a negative picture of the pastor as the church’s root problem. A picture that defends the idea that the only way forward is to remove the pastor. This playbook has been used in New England churches over and over again for the past 300+ years.

It’s troubling to watch. It is unjust, unkind, selfish, harmful to the church, and often very damaging to the pastor. My response recently to seeing this happen again was to get angry at God. “Why are you OK with this? Church conflict has been going on since you founded the church. Why do you allow this?” I knew it was a wrong response, but I was so troubled by how another pastor was being mistreated and there was nothing I could do about it. I wanted God to win, not some selfish parishioner. I wanted the church to move forward, not digress.

But alas, the pastor was let go. The church leadership couldn’t even give him a reason. They didn’t want to say the real reason was because one leader wanted the pastor gone so he could hire his friend as the replacement. It was a well-executed set up. Infuriating and troubling. I had to spend time with God expressing my frustration with His apparent lack of control of His children. I needed time to allow the Spirit to minister to my hurt through the scriptures.

The Psalmist often lamented about the success of evil people. The Apostle Paul had to wrestle with the church at Corinth over how they mistreated each other and their leaders. Conflict is part of God’s wise and loving plan to sanctify His people. Still, it is hard to watch people in pain. Yet, even Jesus learned obedience from the things he suffered.[1] So we must learn from Jesus:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. [2]

Some days are harder than others, but let’s keep running the race with endurance and humility by faith in our good and all-knowing savior Jesus Christ.

[1] Hebrews 5:8

[2] Hebrews 12:1–3