Friends:  I remember back in the “Jesus movement “ of the late 60’s and early 70’s many of us (and I ask pardon for the term) ‘Jesus Freaks’ went to work for Brothers and Sisters in the Lord with the thought that this would be a great working experience, having fellowship, etc.  To many employer and employee’s suprise, there were many times when secular jobs were better operated (less back bitting. gossip, etc).  As with those comments in the summary above, are we operating the ‘church’ as a business instead of how the Lord intended it to be managed (by HIM!).  I know all to well the verse “All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God” (Rom 3:23), but especially in these days where so many souls are lost to the “"god of Apathy and Could Care Less"”, why is the “church” recognized as just another buisness which operates only on Sunday doing nothing different in treating its people etc. ...............  The writing noted above appears to be a wonderful writing.  If we would only read, heed and employ its contents into daily operations of the church in which we fellowship and worship who knows....we would have to build 10,000+ seat structures where people truly saw the Lord in action!.  One last comment on TRUST........ as long as we are subject to falling into sin, the battle continues.  Keep in prayer and seek Him always!

As a kid who’s parent worked for a Christian organization, I think I am the most cynical of all.

I saw many pastors who passed bad checks for huge amounts of money, did each other in, treated people like crud and were out for themselves.  Many truly wrong things were done blithely with the name of Jesus coming out of the other side of their mouths.

That said, I also saw the honest, hard working ministers who had a love for the Lord that compelled them to sacrifice many things and endure hardships.  And I guess that’s why I’m in ministry!

I think these are called wolves in sheep’s clothing.  This is not a new thing in my book.  Maybe we are just more aware of it.

Jan- Thanks for your demonstration of courage.

Todd- Are you asking the questions in hope that some REAL honest accountability start? 

Just today a minister was attempting to minimize my ministry to a man (I am discipling) because this man called out the pastor (privately) on integrity of his words—The pastor promised to hire the man as a youth pastor and then would not be honest as to keeping the status volunteer 7 months after the promised hire date. (We are talking part time maybe 150 per week.  The church has increased its attendance in the youth area from 5-25 in six months and even some parents are coming) My council to the man was to get it in writing so that lines are clear.  I just thought it interesting when held accountable for his integrity and promises, his retort was to question another’s ministry rather than deal with the issue.  I do not know this pastor.  A similar thing happened to me last month where a church asked for my services and a tentative agreement was reached and a date set to introduce my ministry and to dialog further. I called the day before to see get a head count and I was told that “I had cancelled and that I wasn’t interested” and that “I need not come,” then, “I could come but what was the point.” Then, “Oh please come maybe God will do something and good will occur.” I went and have not heard another peep since. We ought to call it what it is LYING!  What is most irritating to me is that IF I was lost and got this much shifting, drifting, lack of clarity, lying, I would reject ALL pastors and ALL churches-- The witness of Christ is at issue!!! I pray we might wake up!!!

I’m just a choir director with a very traditional view of the Bible: it’s inspired from cover to cover and can be relied on for instruction and correction, etc. I trust the 2 ministers at my church in many ways, but there is a horrible nagging in my mind that I should not trust them at all. This is because both support homosexuality as normal behavior for some people and don’t view it as sin. I view it as sin, as I believe my bible instructs. (I do not hold those who practice it in comtempt, for they are no more a sinner than I am. My desire only is that they can grasp God’s view of it as given to us in the Bible, change, and be in the kingdomof God.) I also hear interpretations of parables I’ve never heard before, like (I just learned) the New Interpreters Bible’s version of Luke 19 about an evil king who leaves to receive a kingdom, then comes back, rewards his buddies who did well, and punishes his poor helpless servant who couldn’t make the grade in this tough selfish world. A quick search showed me that this parable is usually interpreted as describing the Kingdom of God and the king is, of course, Jesus Christ, and the “poor helpless servant who couldn’t make it in this tough selfish world” reacted, as in the parallel parable in Matt., in fear and nourished his fear for all his life. chosing not to do anything with the investment his loving master made in him, etc.

So I do not trust the pastor because of what I believe is her bad theology and lack of understanding which could lead the people astray is some ways.

Todd, did your personal survey on trusting in the pastor/boss cover items like theology, understanding, and opinions? And if any of you-all out there have a suggestion for me, let me hear it!

Thanks, Charles

Are the survey results all that surprising. 

I am sorry Todd but I didn’t like how you focused on the negative in this article.  At least I felt as though you did.  The numbers are better than the secular world which gives evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit and the pursuit of holiness in the lives of those in ministry. 

Is it realistic to expect that there are no trust issue in a work environment that includes broken yet redeemed people.  What level of trust are we expecting in the church workplace. 

I look forward to reading next week’s article on regaining trust.  I feel like that is key for us as leaders to model grace and forgiveness.

I know the feeling of mistrust.  I joined the staff of a church nearly a year ago.  I thought it was a fit. But this particular church sold itself as something, when most of it was untrue.  Now, with a senior pastor, at least once a month I am threatened with losing my position at this church.  I have kept this a secret, until last week when in front of the choir, disguised as humor, the pastor made the same sort of comment.  I am seeking full time employment outside of the church, or another church.  I have experienced a serious lack of integrity here.  Should I make my concerns known to the church council?  Maybe.  The people at the church are wonderful to me, but the pastor continuously demeans me in private, and now in public.  I am in prayer about this.  The people of the church deserve better.

“As a staff member, my senior pastor applauds me in front of people, but his comments to me behind closed doors are 180 degrees the opposite.”

Others commented about feeling like their senior leadership used their staff to ‘cover themselves’ in case things went south. 

Another wrote:

“As a staff member, I never felt like I could trust the leadership to give me the right direction without hanging me out to dry, if their plan backfired.”

WOW- I have been the staff member on both of those ends.  One with the former pastor and one with the current one.  So many times Senior Pastors speak of how hard they ahve it and how much is on their plate but a lot of times it is the rest of us on the staff that keeps their plate from breaking yet they are the ones with all the glory.  I don’t do this for glory but rather for the Lord.  However, would it kill you to give us a “thank you” once in a while....when NO ONE IS LOOKING?!

What can we expect when our denominational leaders exercise authority as if they were in a large secular corporation?  I was in seminary back during the days when a large denomination experienced a shift in leadership.  At the seminary level, professors were treated the same way I have seen managers treated in corporate takeovers.  If you were a part of the old administration, you were on the losing side and you were out, regardless of your theology, your giftedness as a teacher, or the clear evidence of God’s work in your life.  I saw a very humble librarian’s life nearly crushed by a prominent seminary leader who is often in the public spotlight these days.

Sadly, while I agreed for the most part with the “winning side’s” theology, the whole experience left me feeling hurt and angry, and it has taken me quite a while to fully get over it.  Honestly, I have been in a large corporation in which a takeover took place, and there was no difference int he type of behavior that took place, that I could discern.

I have subsequently left the denomination and attend a very evangelical nondenominational church.  I volunteer my time with a local prison ministry and have been richly blessed that God has allowed me to minister in that capacity. 

With leaders who can’t differentiate between means and ends, it’s no wonder that trust has become an issue.  As one person said, we can be thankful that there is a difference int he numbers, and look at that as an example of God’s work, but one would hope for much more…

My comments are related to the methodology of the survey. Since the survey is not scientific, the percentages and analysis can be misleading. That fact was very clearly pointed out, but then the report continued to analyze the survey as if it were scientific, extrapolating statistics and making analysis. I think this would be an excellent study to undertake using proper survey methods. I encourage everyone to take the results with a “grain of salt” until such research can be done.  While I agree with the things people are saying about how to address the “problem”, it needs to be pointed out that we don’t truly know what percentage of staff think about anything based on this survey.