Ministers Are Not Prosthetic Limbs
In February 2022, the Wall Street Journal printed an article about a clergy shortage during the pandemic.[1] The next year, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette published a piece addressing the preacher shortage in Churches of Christ.[2] Anyone paying attention will have heard much discussion about a lack of ministers. One item not addressed much, in my opinion, is the pain ministers have experienced from the very people they have committed to serve.
Some who have left the ministry did not choose to do so as much as were forced out. A few opt for different avenues of ministry, while others struggle with feeling simultaneously called and repelled. Why repelled? Because of pain inflicted during careless dismissals. The number of those unwilling to be vulnerable to the whims of worldly and unloving practices during a church ministry transition is growing.
Some may ask, “Ministers aren’t really being treated that badly during a dismissal, are they?” Well, how many ministers have you spoken to in-depth about their experiences?
Let me be clear. There are times when ministerial moves may be necessary or beneficial—for the minister and congregation alike. Desiring to make a change in ministry staff is one thing. The reasoning, communication, and manner in which the process is executed is another.
I have spent my life in ministry as a preacher’s daughter and wife. Both roles have introduced me to ministers from all over the world. I’ve also attended multiple retreats for ministry leaders needing healing or encouragement to persevere. I have heard too many ministers’ dismissal stories involving heartache and pain. And these stories have become more frequent in the last few years.
Although some have found healing, and some have found healthier congregations to do life with, others’ experiences catapulted them out of the profession entirely. Some left church altogether. Sadly, their stories can be encapsulated in this quote by one preacher: “The greatest enemy I’ve fought in my ministry is not the devil in the world but the devil in the church from those attempting to shoot me in the back as I charge up the hill.”
Here is a list of surprise dismissals delivered at inappropriate times that have been shared with me:
during a family vacation
on a holiday
after returning from an earned sabbatical
on a birthday
the date of their work anniversary
a few weeks before the first day of school
while in the hospital
with a newborn still in the hospital
during grief or family crisis
before stepping into the pulpit (or being told they wouldn’t be doing so as planned)
In each case, the news came without warning, effective immediately, and without cause. Previous agreements regarding a separation process were not honored. Several were told to promptly vacate their office or home, or to worship elsewhere. These examples are not unique to church experiences. However, the church should be doing better than the world in working through changes in positions with love and compassion.
Perhaps when ministers are dismissed at short notice, in the absence of sin or doctrinal division, some may believe that ripping the Band-Aid off quickly will minimize and shorten the suffering. I submit that instead the pain is felt much deeper and far longer. Ineffective attempts to cause the least discomfort almost always conversely result in greater hurt for the minister (and much of the church as well).
Contributing to the problem are those who see and treat ministers as prosthetics rather than flesh and blood parts of the body. We shouldn’t be deceived into believing that ministers are just tools to replace. Instead, consider them to be actual body parts attached with fibers and tissue, knitted together as described in Eph. 4:16.[3] Maybe then greater care will be given to considering how actions, timing, and words affect all members of a body.
Too often, a minister’s dismissal resembles the act of severing a limb from the body. It is traumatic. It hurts and takes a very long time to heal. As one church member wrote to a minister’s wife whose husband was dismissed while she recovered from major surgery, “The shock of the elders’ decision will surely take longer to recover from than the shock of your surgery.”
The first step in turning things in the right direction is to become—and remain—committed to practicing compassionate transitioning. Abruptly dismissing a minister without cause in a manner as swiftly and unfeelingly as unbuckling a prosthetic limb and tossing it aside is not compassionate. How easy it is to discard and replace a part of the body when a new hire is perceived as simply sorting through a pile of plastic limbs available for attachment and use.
Since ministers are not prosthetics but rather flesh and blood, and thus a separation is more like an amputation, then it is unsurprising when bleeding, shock, and sometimes infection occurs. The body of Christ is no less susceptible to spiritual bleeding, spiritual shock, or spiritual infection. For the love of God—and for the future of our churches—we must stop the traumatic amputation of ministers.