*Obligatory Disclaimer:  I am not under fire here at Skelly.  I LOVE my church and am the happiest I have ever been in ministry.  This post comes from a series of conversations with other ministers who are dealing with opposition within their church.

I have dealt with much opposition in my time that has resulted in everything from being pressured to leave and moving on to sticking it out and developing a truly loving relationship.  This is some of what I have learned.

One more thing, this series assumes that you are faithfully praying and obedient to God in the midst of everything.  If you are failing in either of those two areas, your only hope is in yourself.  In other words, you are doomed.

Very little control:

In these areas, beyond your attempts at building relationships, you have no control over the response.

1. Staff support.  This is especially true if you are secondary staff.
2. Gossip.
3. Power brokers.  Especially if they dislike you.
4. Withholding finances in opposition to your presence.

You may want to contribute a few more in the comment section.

I am not, of course, endorsing or validating any of these things, but have seen them in my ministry and in the ministry of others.  They are realities.

Dealing with them:

There is one option that can be exercised at two times in dealing with these issues (again, in addition to prayer, obedience and seeking reconciliation).  You can choose not to be in the situation.

There have been a couple of times in ministry where, despite an almost masochistic commitment to stick it out, I came to the conclusion to leave the situation.  This was, of course after seeking God’s leadership and sensing that He was indeed moving me on.

It took me a while to learn that I could and should exercise this option on the front end of a relationship.  No matter how bad the situation where you are is, situations that are equally as bad or worse are available to you right now.

When I moved to Skelly two years ago, I had been convinced God was leading me to move for two years.  My satisfaction with the position I held was very low.  In fact, I had seen the church through some very rough times and yet had some people turn on me when the opportunity arose.

Nevertheless, I got into several serious conversations with other churches and turned them all down.  I didn’t let the pain of the moment push me to another unhealthy situation.  I continued to resolve every issue to the best of my ability where I was and pursue the opportunity I believed God had for me.

After two years, Skelly Drive came along.  While this church is not perfect and I have had to deal with the same issues every church has, Skelly has the unique ability to get along.  They were passionate about unity and willing resolve issues in a Biblical way.

Holding out for a great church to partner with may be the best thing you EVER do to manage opposition to your leadership.

Posts with related content

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• September 3, 2008 -- Got Missional? Need a place to do it? (1)
• October 31, 2011 -- Fall Block Party 2011 (0)
• October 26, 2011 -- Grace: Why I am grateful for the hard Grace I’ve received (4)
• September 20, 2011 -- To the pure, all things are pure (0)

Tags: Church, staff