Skip to main content

Help the Pastors.


Terminate with compassion.

Almost without exception, the pastor is terminated. But termination does not have to be without compassion. The pastor’s family will need financial provisions; thus, many churches provide compassionate severances. And though pastors have full responsibility for their sins, they are hurting as well. Tough love and compassionate love are in order here.

Don’t forget the pastor’s family.

They have felt the greatest amount of betrayal. They are humiliated and hurt. This person they likely held in high esteem has fallen hard. The family needs compassion, love, attention and counseling. Many church members do not know what to say, so they say nothing. I know one church member who sent the spouse and the children a simple handwritten note: “I have not forgotten you. I am here for you. I am praying for you.” It made all the difference in the world.

Be forthright with the congregation.

The rumors are often worse than reality. You don’t have to give the sordid details. But the church needs to know the pastor was terminated because of moral failure. Speak to the congregation succinctly, honestly and compassionately.

Provide resources for reconciliation.

God’s ideal plan is for the couple to stay together—to make it through this terrible ordeal. The church can be an instrument of that process back to reconciliation. The church can provide the resources so that the couple can get strong Christian counseling. The process should also be one that seeks restoration for the pastor. That restoration may not mean that pastors are restored to their former office; it does mean the path should include a way to be restored to the congregation.

Don’t forget the pain of the congregation. Many of them feel betrayed. Most of them feel hurt. Find ways to minister to the members for the next several months as they deal with this issue.

Begin a ministry of prayer for this situation.

I have been so encouraged to see some churches actually deal with this issue through a specific prayer ministry. One church offered a prayer and reconciliation time after every service. It only lasted a few minutes, and attendance was totally voluntary. But the responses were incredible, both in numbers attending and in the way people were impacted. The church began this ministry with a stated goal of continuing it for three months. It made a huge difference in the healing impact on the church.

When the pastor has an affair, it is a tragedy of huge proportions. But the church can respond biblically, redemptively and compassionately.

It the midst of this awful situation, the church has the opportunity truly to be the body of Christ.

Jesus loves you!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Focus Is A Lifestyle

Beloved!  I want you to know that becoming the leader you were created to be will not be difficult as long as you are ready to obey God's principle.  The first step of becoming the Leader God created you to become lies in you understanding "what you want to do with your life." The understanding of what you need to do with your life can only be received through God's word and the passion God's word creates in you.  Based on what you have studied in God's Word, whose pain do you feel the most and what do you think the Lord wants you to do about them?  You are the solution to the faults that gets your attention. You are the answers to the questions that bothers your heart.  I want to ask you again; what do you really want to do with your life? How do you intend to make every 24 hours of each day count in the place of impact?  Above all, your first responsibility as a leader is in you leading your self through the leadership of the Holy...
Post a Comment
Read more

RE-DEFINING LEADERSHIP

Dear leaders, I have always advocate that there is a leader trapped in every human. I want you to shift into a better dimension of God's plan for your leadership skill. Being a leader is every thing you will keep doing in your daily activity. A leader is ANYONE who can envision a possibility, commit to it, influence him or her self, and others to create the possibility envisioned. It's not a place for show-off but a place show how it's done. Your leadership capacity will be crippled without a defined vision that is progressive in nature. A vision that is solution oriented.  Every body has the leadership ability yet each leader is unique in nature. The difference between my leadership skills and your leadership skills are the kind of problems I am interested in solving. In other words, leadership is being solution oriented in the area of your passion and interest. Not just that, it is you influencing like-mind to willfully join you in getting the task done. Leadership is se...
Post a Comment
Read more

Strength of Leadership

Every body is a leader and every leader needs a leader.  PRIORITY  You can never become the leader God has created you to be as long as your priority is wrong. What determines the right and wrong of your priority lies in what God has called you to do.  Your priority must be dictated by the nature of your calling. Every leader are people or individual that responded to the calling upon their lives.  Your priority is the reflection of your calling. Your calling is the reflection of God's expectation for your life.   It's a must for you to know what God has called you to do.  It must not be in the four wall corner of the Church. There is some thing God is calling you to do. You can know it through what you understand any time you Study  your bible.    Your priority must be dictated by the knowledge, understanding and wisdom within your calling.  Leadership is about executing the call of God upon your life. D...
Post a Comment
Read more