tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55727507006016944.post7153305471590560718..comments2023-11-02T04:25:49.697-07:00Comments on Northwoods Seelsorger: When a Pastor Resigns His CallDonald V. Engebretsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048205066519140869noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55727507006016944.post-46156540127312440032009-07-20T13:38:26.178-07:002009-07-20T13:38:26.178-07:00I can speak with a certain amount of authority on ...I can speak with a certain amount of authority on this subject.<br /><br />I'm not going to go into the whole "You don't know what it's like until you're going through it yourself" routine. After all, I don't have to be put into a meat grinder to know that it's going to hurt. So with that aside . . . <br /><br />Each situation is unique. No two pastors nor no two congregations are the same, and there are more methods--good and bad--of dealing with conflict as there are congregations and pastors multiplied together. As you said, a congregation doesn't have to force a pastor to resign to make his life miserable. By the same token, a pastor doesn't have to do one of the "scriptural causes" no-no's for a congregation to know that it's probably time that a pastor's tenure at the congregation should come to an end. In my case, the congregation that forced my resignation has since done the same with another pastor, and the pastor who was still there when I left decided to resign less than a year later for his military vocation before the same could happen to him. As for me, with my wife seven months pregnant with twins and the threat of no severance and "restricted status" hanging over my head, I took the money and ran. If I had been a single man, maybe I wouldn't have left without a struggle. I don't know. What I do know is, there's more to any of these "forced resignation" stories than just a pastor's weakness against the will of a congregation and/or its leaders.<br /><br />There are better ways for congregations to deal with a pastor who has been deemed undesirable without a "scriptural cause" no-no than to say, "Either leave or we're going to kick you out." In an ideal Synod, the congregation, the pastor, and the Circuit Counselor and/or District President can get on the same page and say, "We don't think he should be this congregation's pastor, but we don't want to see him out of the Ministry altogether," and the DP can get his name out there; and together they can work towards reconciliation so that there can be a truly "peaceful release" when the pastor receives another Call. Hopefully the congregation and pastor both will be wiser at the end of it all and can still treat each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.Rev. Alan Kornacki, Jr.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07322307218829558622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55727507006016944.post-36360852542584801662009-07-16T13:39:16.887-07:002009-07-16T13:39:16.887-07:00Actually many pastors are fortunate to be spared s...Actually many pastors are fortunate to be spared serious ministry-ending attacks, or by God's grace are granted what is necessary to survive and continue. Life in the church is life in the church militant where we struggle not against flesh and blood but against the principalities and powers of hell. When we heed this call we do it with the knowledge that we are entering into a life of ongoing spiritual warfare. Unfortunately the very places we think we should feel safe become the very grounds upon which our worst battles are fought.Donald V. Engebretsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13048205066519140869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55727507006016944.post-30021471142788381762009-07-15T08:18:08.512-07:002009-07-15T08:18:08.512-07:00Remind me again why I'm going into debt at the...Remind me again why I'm going into debt at the age of 60 to become a pastor only to potentially come under attack by the congregation and/or the LCMS itself?Bob Hunterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12340818246074467431noreply@blogger.com