CHURCH GOVERNANCE 2: Tug of war over authority often fuels conflict





Two words that pique a Southern Baptist pastor’s interest these days are forced termination. Despite the rumor mill’s usual grist, surveys of Southern Baptist churches and local association directors of missions reveal that two




RELATED STORIES

CHURCH GOVERNANCE: PART ONE – Feb. 28, 2005

Congregationalism takes multiple forms within Baptist context

Once a church staple, discipline cases rare

What constitutes a local church?

CHURCH GOVERNANCE: PART TWO – April 4, 2005

Successes and failures come in all church governance shapes and sizes

Tug of war over authority often fuels conflict

Pastor firings always sin on someone’s part, SBTC ministry leader argues

Misuse of ‘priesthood of believers’ challenged pastor leadership

LifeWay reports 913 pastors fired in 2003

factors account for the majority of pastor firings?conflict over who runs the church and pastoral leadership perceived as too strong. A consultant for a state Baptist convention put it this way: “One of the things today that’s impacting forced terminations is pastors listening to some of the wrong voices about how to be a pastor.”

In his opinion the “wrong voices” are pastors of megachurches who present a model of leadership that tells pastors that because God has called them to be pastor of the church that they should lead without congregational oversight. Taking that approach with the typical, small congregation won’t work, he warned.

And yet even among small churches, pastoral search committees relate a desire to find a strong leader who will cast a vision that will result in growth and effectiveness. “We have definitely seen that faster-growing churches are more likely to have a pastor with a strong leadership

Most Read

Cooperative effort among state disaster relief teams assists ranchers affected by Panhandle wildfires

CANADIAN—A massive cooperative effort among Southern Baptist Disaster Relief state teams, including Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Disaster Relief, rushed 1,031 large round bales of hay in early March to areas devastated by recent Panhandle wildfires. …

Stay informed on the news that matters most.

Stay connected to quality news affecting the lives of southern baptists in Texas and worldwide. Get Texan news delivered straight to your home and digital device.