The ministry continues to be littered with examples of pastoral failure — moral, criminal, ethical, and personal.  What are the dynamics that are playing out that are producing this?

When people say that so-in-so is “living in a bubble,” or they are working in an “echo chamber,”  They are referring to an isolation that occurs between the average and ordinary person in their world and those in positions of leadership.  They are referring to an isolation that repeatedly occurs when leaders and pastors no longer live with an understanding of where the people are.  They are living their lives in and among those who occupy the same “offices” and “offices” they occupy.

There is a self-governance and individualism that walks alongside leaders who believe that they are leaders because they are at least slightly, if not significantly, superior to those they are leading.  And while they may have some skill sets that have propelled them into leadership, they begin to believe their own press clippings.

In the ministry, these press clippings come from those who sit in the pews.  God’s people compliment and share their appreciation of the pastoral staff.  No matter how poor a sermon is, there will always be someone who offers words of appreciation to the pastor or other members.

There is an environment that surrounds a ministry and the local church. God’s people attend the services and honor their leaders because they want to support their pastoral leaders.  No one wants to be critical.  All want to believe the best of their pastoral staff.  A great deal of grace and kindness is extended when mistakes are made.  Forgiveness is quickly and easily extended to church leaders.  It is all part of the biblical environment that we all believe in and seek to emulate.

However, leaders are also complicit in promoting that environment. That world of self-governance allows little to no room for any criticism — legitimate or illegitimate. Criticism is knocked down by such biblical concepts as “back-biting,” “gossip,” “disrupting the unity of the church,” etc. Church by-laws and constitutions are more than a church’s statement of faith and some general structure on its operation.  The church constitution becomes a protective handbook. and self-serving changes are made by the leaders.

The church constitution can be a means of protecting the pastoral staff from criticism as well as dismissal.  Most pastors never face dismissal.  As is generally known, pastors spend about 3-5 years at a local church before THEY decide to leave. While a pastor may be reading the tea leaves and decide it is time to move on to another ministry, they are rarely fired outside of moral, criminal, or ethical issues.  You can throw in a few cases where pastors decide to move on because of a terrible decision or event that will follow them for years to come.

Now, add to all this the genuine reality that the church by-laws and constitution may delegate more power and self-governance to the Sr./Lead Pastor. He may be given the authority to recommend the removal of staff or pastors. Even though the church voted to hire, the Lead Pastor can, for all practical purposes, be dismissed.  If that staff is not dismissed, he may suggest to the staff member or pastor that it is time for them to leave.

Some Lead Pastors even have the sole power to dismiss another member of the pastoral staff without congregational or board approval! Some Lead Pastors will even have the church constitution rewritten to give them this power and more!  That is not a hypothetical but a reality that could easily be demonstrated if needed.

All of this feeds into the self-governance or autonomy that leaders and/or pastors experience, and that self-governance becomes the means of their ineffectiveness or, worse, their downfall.  They do not have anyone who can talk to them.

Those on the payroll have an interest in currying the leader’s favor. That favor means opportunity, promotions, salary increases, as well as job satisfaction. You compliment the Sr./Lead pastor, and he will support your employment and standing. Which feeds into the danger even more!

The members are at work all week, and they have little idea of what takes place in ministry.  They believe that the Lead Pastor is taking care of everything! In fact, they are counting on him to hold the staff accountable. Those in the “pew” also believe that the staff’s support of the leader is born out of agreement or approval.  Those closest are satisfied and supportive, and therefore, all must be well. The dynamic of self-governance is playing out.

√ When you as a leader do not have people in and around you who can honestly and candidly talk to you.

√ When you do not encourage those around you to speak up.

√ When you do not have people who have no vested interest and/or drive to curry your favor.

√ When you do not give people who don’t work for you a place at the table.

. . . . ineffectiveness and/or worse damage will ultimately result.

While there are other mitigating factors that can be in play (and there are), self-governance is a killer.  Anyone who has taken the time to read the accounts of so many Lead Pastors and ministries that bear out this assessment knows how truly dangerous and damaging self-governance / autonomy is.

Another by-product of “autonomy” is unchecked ineffectiveness. One might think that “ineffectiveness” is far less a concern compared to  ethical/moral failure.  “Ineffectiveness” when leading a local church or ministry is only less of a concern because it leaves the leader’s reputation untouched.  While men like RaviZ, the SBC, Dave Ramsey, James MacDonald, Matt Chandler, et al. have been severely damaged personally, their effectiveness was diminished long before it all came apart.  Others around them lack the courage to graciously speak up about other smaller practical concerns.  Those smaller concerns were not moral or ethical, but revolved around the practical.  Things said or left unsaid. Things done and undone.  They all ate away at the effectiveness of the ministry as a whole.  Visit were not made.  Comments from the pulpit were unchecked.  Programs were less effective than they could have or should have been because of no one wanted to say anything to damage their relationships.

When leaders and pastors have no one who can speak truth into their lives, the ministry or church loses its effectiveness.  When staff members, fellow pastors, church officials, or members are compromised by their need for employment or their desire to find favor, and they say little to nothing because of those and other factors, then what could have made a difference, and even a significant difference, is lost.

The answer to “self-governance” is accountability.  While that word is in the mouth of most “autonomous” leaders, it is knowingly compromised.”Accountability” is for others.  We are slightly or significantly superior to others.

There are ministry leaders and pastors who are not fit to lead because they cannot even lead themselves.  They make self-serving decisions and know that they will not be checked on because those who work in the “King’s Court” will support them, or they will find themselves on the way out of employment or a church office.

They do not have people who will tell them what they need to hear but what they want to hear! The voices that need to be heard are ignored, muffled, or dismissed.  That damages and kills ministries, if not ultimately the leader himself!

Oh, I know that right now, in many, or even most cases, there is no need to be concerned. Nevertheless, not one of the above examples (along with many others) thought they were in danger of making a terrible decision, as others around them remained silent (and complicit).  But the “Hemingway law of motion” is clearly at work, given enough time, with far too many church leaders . . . .

“How did you go bankrupt?”
“Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.” 1

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

1. Hemingway makes the point that things happen slowly, and then the collapse takes place suddenly. That “Hemingway Law Of Motion”may also explain what happens with some ministries and local churches.

After a series of actions and decisions, over a long period of time, suddenly an action or decision is made that precipitates a sudden collapse that “no one” saw coming. The avalanche was building over the months and days of winter, and finally, a snowflake landed on the accumulation, and the vast movement of snow was triggered.

That might describe what takes place in ministries and local churches. It is not this-or-that event or decision, but the building of events and decisions that finally result in a sudden avalanche or collapse.