Toxic leaders in the church

One of the most discouraging things I dealt with as a judicatory minister who worked with a group of churches in his assigned area was the toxicity I found in some of them. In some churches it was lay leaders who spread toxicity throughout the congregation. In other churches it was the pastor. Regardless of the source of the toxicity, I hurt for those who were harmed both within and outside the congregation.

If you have a medical condition that is causing problems in your body it's normal to see a doctor to seek healing before the condition can do permanent damage. Most people would not hesitate to seek treatment. Why do we not address toxic conditions in the church before they can do damage to the body of Christ? Why do we allow toxic people to spread their poison throughout the body instead of addressing it in a way that will promote healing?

The pastor of one church went through a very painful business meeting in which decisions were made that would limit the ministry effectiveness of the church for years. He told me that the problem in the church he served was that the people were too nice. The majority of the congregation, who supported the changes he proposed, refused to attend the meeting to voice their support. They allowed a small, vocal minority to turn down every proposal because "they didn't go to church to fight." They not only allowed a handful of people to have a negative impact on the future ministry of that church, they also lost a good pastor who gave up. It's sad that this happened to this church; it's even sadder that it happens in churches every day. The one part of that ministry I disliked was the number of times I had to do a conflict mediation in churches because of similar stories.

Sometimes it's the pastor who dumps toxic waste on the congregation. As a pastor myself I was appalled at some of the stories people in churches told me about their pastors. To this day I cannot understand how someone who believes he or she is called to ministry can justify some of the things I've seen pastors do to their churches. In some cases, the congregations knew the pastor was wrong in the things that were being done but felt powerless to stop it. They had bought into the "touch not God's anointed" philosophy and stood by thinking they couldn't stop what was happening.

Again, I have to wonder why we allow these kinds of things to happen in churches? Just as we would not hesitate to go to the doctor with physical problems, we should not hesitate to seek assistance in dealing with spiritual issues. As I have written numerous times, these people are controllers who are determined to preserve their positions or power within a church regardless of the damage they cause while doing so.

Sometimes people don't like it when I say this, but controllers are cancers in the body. They are unhealthy cells that attack healthy cells, and if a cancer is not treated it will eventually kill the body. Just as cancers are sometimes found in physical bodies, they are also found in the body of Christ. Unfortunately, successful cancer treatment is seldom easy or pleasant. The more aggressive the cancer is the more aggressive the treatment must be. Cancer treatment is no time to play nice. The survival of the body depends on aggressive action.

Early detection greatly improves the survival rate of cancer, and early intervention greatly improves the church's chances of limiting the influence of toxic leaders. I've often told pastor conferences that most churches wait too late to call for assistance. By the time they seek assistance with their problems there are huge messes that must be cleaned up before the church can begin to heal, if it can heal. Early detection and intervention is best.

When you begin to see toxic conditions occur in your church you need to contact your denominational representative as soon as possible. If you are not part of a denomination, you need to find a consultant or someone who can come in from the outside to help you address the situation. Do not think by ignoring it the problem will go away. It won't. It will only get worse making it more difficult to resolve.

In the last chapter of my book The Healthy Small Church: Diagnosis and Treatment for the Big Issues I provide a list of diagnostic questions to help your congregation determine how healthy it is in various aspects of congregational life. I encourage you to use this list annually to give your church an annual check-up. If you find areas in which your church could become healthier you can address them. Of course, don't wait until it's time for the annual check-up if you notice problems now. I'll say it again, address those problems as quickly as you become aware of them. Don't allow toxicity to destroy the life of your church.