The pastor did not see it coming.
Sure, there were some hints and signs, but nothing to prepare him for the meeting on Saturday with the personnel committee.
He was told he needed to resign. There was no explanation given. He had only been given positive reviews to this point. Some of the people on the personnel committee had been his supporters and friends.
He was shocked.
The pastor was leading change in the church. The church was growing and vibrant. But a couple of weak staff members didn’t like the direction and expected accountability. They teamed with the known church bully and went before the personnel committee. They presented their perspectives.
The pastor never was asked his perspective. He could have fought the weak personnel committee and likely won. But he didn’t want to tear apart a church he loved.
He resigned.
For the sake of the church he loved, he resigned.
He was yet another victim of the church cartel.
A church cartel is an alliance of bullies, bully-followers, carnal Christians, and even non-Christians in the church. Its ultimate goal is to get its way. It feeds off of selfish power.
We don’t like to talk about church cartels. After all, it’s not the Christian thing to do. But they exist in too many churches. And if they are not exposed, they will continue to wreak havoc.
Here are five of the very dangerous realities of the church cartel:
- When a cartel is allowed power, the church is already unhealthy. The cartel is, by its definition, self-centered and power-driven. A church is already very sick if members remain silent and do not confront this evil directly.
- A church cartel leaves carnages of wounded and dying people. If you have any doubts about this danger, please see my post on “Autopsy of a Deceased Pastor.” See the comments. See the pain and questions and defeat the cartel leaves behind.
- Church cartels drive away healthy leaders. Some of these leaders are driven away by the cartel. Others leave on their own accord because they want to be in a joyous and healthy church. Their departure exacerbates the problems in these churches.
- Church cartels cause church leaders to work from a posture of fear. Instead of moving forward in faith, church leaders often spend more time worrying about how their decisions will impact the cartel. These leaders know the cartel will come after them if they go contrary to the carnal group’s wishes.
- We are told in Scripture to manifest the fruit of the Spirit; the church cartel causes the church to do just the opposite. Galatians 5:22-23 is clear about the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Church cartels bring hate, discord, anxiety, impatience, evil, fear, brutality, and chaos.
Churches that have cartels usually know they are present. They know who the bully is. They know who the bully followers are. They see them. They hear them. And they often fear them.
Courageous leaders must confront and stop church cartels. If no one is willing, the church is already on a path toward decline and death.
Posted on November 30, 2016
With nearly 40 years of ministry experience, Thom Rainer has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of local churches across North America.
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143 Comments
Unhealthy power structures are unfortunately very prevalent. In a vacuum created by weak pastoral leadership, staff believing they need to “protect” the pastor from his congregation, pastor’s losing touch because of overcommitment, family hires that cripple any real opportunity for honest discussion and the killer…..staff treating positions as a job only and not a ministry. These problems as well as others breed activity and feelings that we should never see in the church. Jesus is the model we must follow, and when that does not happen the issues MUST be addressed for the health of HIS BRIDE.
The cartel presented me with the ultimatum in 2007. It was a year of misery. I’d been the senior pastor for six years. At the time, I was the 13 senior pastor in the 53 year history of the church. Do the math, not good.
For the sake of the church, I determined to stand up to the cartel and break the vicious cycle. Eventually, the cartel was broken but at a very steep price on the church and on my young family.
I wonder if I did the right thing ten years ago. I just don’t know.
It is a tough decision indeed, Mike.
13 pastors in 53 years averages to about four years per pastor. That’s not great, but I’ve seen many that were worse. I once preached in view of a call at a church that had ten pastors in 13 years. The church didn’t vote me in, and as I look back, I think God probably did me a favor!
Of course, that’s not to deny or trivialize what you experienced. I’m glad you were able to affect change, but you’re right in saying that a pastor should count the cost.
I know this is true and have seen it happen in my church in the past, so I despair of watching it happen again! What if the new pastor is not a good fit? Overbearing and rude, forgetful of obligations, finds other scapegoats for the oversight, uses excuses to avoid coming into the office on scheduled days, hurtful in interpersonal relationships, makes herself the centre of every activity going on?
I hate to be part of another church upset ( I stood firmly by the pastor in the last fiasco and spoke out against the way the cartel handled the mess and stayed to effect positive change) so I am trying to stay out of this, but as Chair of the Church Board now, don’t I have some responsibility for the congregation? Help!
Lynda,
Yes. The congregation needs your help. My comments on this subject would have read much the same as yours except I am not chair of the Church Council. After two years, a group of parishioners, including most of the Deacons, took the necessary steps to request the pastor’s resignation. The vote of the congregation supported this decision. The pastor was given multiple opportunities to change but did not. This pastor fit the same description as yours. This was a very stressful time in the life of the church family. We prayed both for our leader and our church family. . Perhaps the group that took action would be called a “cartel” by some, but when you are trying to save your dying church, what are parishioners suppose to do?
There is a special kind of awful that would “maliciously” attempt to take over a church. What does one, personally, get out of it? The feeling of power? It’s possibly the easiest arena to exert power. But, you had to sit through sermon after sermon in order to infiltrate the flock — how do you turn your mind/heart off to the words of Truth you have to sit through?
Do you think what becomes “malicious” started innocently — as a true desire for the church to thrive — and then morphed into some personal vendetta for power? Or was it a control/unwilling to change sort of thing from the very start?
It’s hard to make a blanket statement, Jason. I will simply say most cartels of which I am aware did not have noble beginnings.
I know church cartels exist and can be evil. I am disappointed that this post involves careful definition of cartels, ending with the simple declaration that cartels should be confronted.
Not unlike an article describing the problems caused by excess weight, ending with a sentence saying that people should lose weight.
Interesting but not helpful.
I agree that more information can be helpful, but never doubt the value of naming a problem. This serves at least two purposes:
1. People can learn to recognize this as an issue. It can be hard to see past what’s being accepted as “normal” by the people around you.
2. Those suffering know that they are not the only ones dealing with the problem. You can almost feel the sense of relief in some of these comments that someone understands what they’re going through.
So this is helpful, at least to some people. I’m sorry that it’s not what you need at the moment, but the author said in another comment that he plans to go into exactly what you’re asking for. (Although I’ll note that he said so in response to a comment that was not so brusque.)
I survived an attack by the Church Cartel. I was accused of something I didn’t do and with no proof, I was confronted. They come to me at my house and confronted me in front of my kids. I was devastated. The deacons supported them and I got up the next Sunday and resigned. Then something happened. The church stood up to the cartel and the deacons and denied my resignation. Then, they demanded that the cartel stop and took a vote of confidence which I had at over 80%. The deacons turned and asked me to forgive them and for me to stay. Since then, we have added 20 families to the church and made budget for the first time in over 20 years. We increased our giving to the Cooperative Program for this next year. The event happened over a year ago. When I began asking those member why they stood up for me they said, “Because we know you preach the Word and love us.” I am not perfect but I pray that God will continue to grow me in this respect. My advice to any of you in the pastorate, be involved in the lives of your members to the best of your ability. Build relationships with those in your congregation. Show them you love them but most importantly, Preach the Word! For those who were forced out, my heart and prayers go out to you!
What an incredible story, Brad. I love your church without knowing who it is.
Amen
Your story made me tear up. Your congregation is blessed. Praise God!
What encouragement what love …..thank you for posting.
I too was a member in a church where one person controlled all the power and purse strings. Some thought it would be easier this way
But they were quick to realize the mistake they made. Power could not be regained from this person and the congregation is dwindling and dying out. I left at the start of my ministry journey on the advice of the presbytery. It is sad when this happens and a vibrant community dies.
Yes it is.
Great insights as usual, is there a follow up coming about how to confront the Cartel?
It is now, Bob. Great idea.
My ‘cartel’ experience had all the marks you described here with the addition of one complication you don’t touch on: they lack self awareness. It may be obvious to the pastor what the cartel is doing, but less obvious to the congregation. The cartel itself may be oblivious to the fact that they are motivated by fear/insecurity. After all, they project strength and certitude not only to others, but to themselves as well. They have convinced themselves they are fighting for what’s right, be it traditional worship, proper attire, or even theological particularities.
Well said, Adam.
Adam, this sounds like my church cartel. They base everything on the church’s constitution and their own man- made rules and regulation. They do not consider the Holy Spirit as the head, so it’S a fight to get anything done. There is always a struggle and the sad thing about it is, they have a ‘ following’. Some don’t even know what they’re following. Everything the pastor tries to do is a fight. The good thing about it is, he is a prayer warrior with a steward board behind him.
This post is spot-on. Our first pastorate was in a traditional church in Texas with a Cowboy Cartel. My wife (the strongest person I’ve ever known) cried herself to sleep for the first 6 months. The assaults were endless and senseless. I am a lover, not a fighter. However, my desperation to love and disciple several precious families forced me to face my fears and confront the evil. Long story short, the battle continued for another 18 months, but every member of this cruel Cartel left, and we experienced REVIVAL unlike anything I had ever seen before! As difficult as this experience was, I would do it again 100 times over. Thank God for His mercies and His impartation of holy boldness!!
What an incredible story!
Coleman –
Those words simply mean that comments are not automatically posted. They require someone to review the comment before it’s posted. We approve 99% of all comments. But, with over 7 million views a year, we get an occasional comment unsuitable for publication.
Thanks Thom for the reminder. While the actions of the cartel put me in a better place, many of the members of our plant have family members who were left behind and are still being damage by the cartel.
I shared this post will all of my deacons. I sent it with the note. We have seen this before. We must never let it happen again.
Well said, Leonard.