Another Church Power Struggle Hits the Papers
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Thu, July 28, 2005
- Viewed 152
- (31) comments so far
Whenever I post something along this line, I always get an email saying to the effect, "why are you publicizing something that's so negative?" Well, there are really two reasons...
1. I find the topic of conflict in churches to be extremely interesting. As I've said before, I often don't understand how relationships get so 'out of whack' in churches. Things like firing your senior pastor's right-hand-man without telling the pastor are amazing to me... I just wonder how that kind of think happens. (again, I don't know the merits of whether the pastor in question should have had his position eliminated or not... just the circumstances are very interesting).
2. I do think there is some value in stories of this kind for another reason: It can serve as a wake up call to each of us in our ministry that we need to maintain our relationships every day. Seeing the consequences of not doing so may be the incentive we need to keep things on track today.
OK... that being said, here's the article. I'm interested in hearing your take after you read it...
During more than 10 years in the pulpit at Calvary Assembly, the megachurch overlooking Interstate 4 in Winter Park, the Rev. Clark Whitten has been known for his plain speaking.
It surprised no one when he announced the contentious end of his ministry in a typically direct way, before thousands of worshippers at services Sunday.
Whitten said he was quitting because the church's board of elders, without his knowledge, had voted to eliminate the position of senior executive pastor, held by the Rev. David Smith.
"I didn't agree with the elders' conclusion -- and I still don't," Whitten, 55, told the congregation, according to an audiotape of the service. "That's just honest, but it doesn't mean that we can't disagree and be friends and love each other, and we do."
He will deliver his last sermon at Calvary this Sunday.
"The honesty was refreshing," said Becky Meeks of Ocoee, a Calvary member for 18 years. Whitten's candor "is one of the things I like best about him."
In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel last week, the Rev. Bill Snell, an executive pastor and an elder, had made no mention of discord related to Whitten's departure, citing the pastor's "desire to just enjoy life at a different level."
Neither Whitten nor Smith could be reached for comment last week. Snell told the Sentinel at the time that both were out of state, playing golf.
Snell did not respond to repeated requests for comment this week.
However, in the sanctuary last Sunday, both sides described what amounted to a power struggle.
Gary Hall, speaking for the elders, said the board had become concerned about "some management issues," according to the tape. He said Smith, whom Whitten had brought from Oklahoma in 1999, was seen as an administrative "bottleneck." The five executive pastors reported to Smith, who reported to Whitten.
In what Hall said was a unanimous decision -- and without consulting Whitten, who had just returned from a two-month sabbatical -- the elders voted to eliminate Smith's position. They offered Smith the opportunity to join the five executive pastors, but he resigned immediately.
Hall called Smith's departure "a great loss." He described the minister as "the most talented pastor I've ever met," and said that, when it came to administrative ability, there was "nobody in the country better than David Smith."
Whitten told worshippers he had a sharply different view of the board's actions, and he criticized their tactics. Especially galling, Whitten said, was that the board's action "was done in my absence and it was done without my consultation. That was a situation that I couldn't reconcile."
Jack Norman of Longwood, an elder and a church member for more than 30 years, said he thought Whitten "knew what we were doing." He added that "looking back, I guess we should have called him and told him that this is what we had in mind."
Whitten's tenure at Calvary was marked by stability.
In previous years, the congregation had lost one pastor after a sex scandal and another after an expansion that left the church millions of dollars in debt. Under Whitten's leadership, the congregation's remaining $10.8 million debt was erased by 2000, as the minister had pledged.
Longtime Calvary members voiced regret at the pastor's departure.
"Clark Whitten has done excellent work as our senior pastor, and I'm truly disappointed that he has decided to leave," said Andrew Roberts of Lake Mary, a member for 23 years. "I wish he was deciding to stay another 10 years. He will be missed."
At an interview at their home earlier this week, Whitten said he and his wife, Martha, had considered several options -- from remaining in the pulpit under the new administrative arrangement, to taking their case to Calvary's membership. In the end, he decided it was God's will that he resign.
Anything that would divide the church he loved was out of the question.
"I don't see how any of that honors God," he said. "I have no desire to be part of that. I am submissive to authority. I teach it and I believe it."
The minister said his decision had left him both sad and relieved, and he said he is not angry with the elders.
"I honestly believe they just made a mistake," he said, although it was a "monumental" error, and he predicted that ultimately they would have to apologize to the congregation.
"How it was done was the most egregious thing on a personal level," he said. "They were wrong in their position and in their vision of how a large church is run."
The Whittens, who have two grown children, put their lakefront home up for sale, although they said they intend to remain in Central Florida. "Our time spent here was very good -- the best years of our lives," he said.
Whitten said he plans to write, speak and teach -- "I'm not going to sit around" -- and that he will not take another pulpit.
What are your first impressions/takes from this article?
Well… guess what… it happened again. Different church, different scenario… but big media coverage about a church in conflict. This is an article that made the Orlando Sentinel today. Again, I know nothing of the situation. I don’t know the internal workings of this church; but I do know that things could’ve been handled better… way better…
Comments
if you want a Globally Recognized Avatar (the images next to your profile) get them here. Once you sign up, they will displayed on any website that supports them.
Bolle on Mon, January 22, 2007
What is the name of Pastor Clark’s new church? Where is it located?
Page 3 of 3 pages < 1 2 3
Post a Comment