Church Politics, part 2: What Can Be Done?

In part one, we discovered that church politics suck. But you probably didn't need a blog to tell you that!

In his book The 8th Habit, Stephen Covey identifies what he calls "five emotional cancers" you might find in any given group or organization:

• Criticizing
• Complaining
• Comparing
• Competing
• Contending

He points out that when these things find their way into a group of people, or a culture, these cells will "metastasize" and infect the group so that it ultimately becomes so polarized and divided that it's incapable of producing anything of real quality.

We already know we can find sick politics in our workplaces, governments, schools, and other organizations, so maybe it shouldn't surprise us to find it in churches as well.

But if it's in the church, isn't this simply a matter of "there are no perfect churches", and we must simply learn to accept it?

Absolutely not! "Politics as usual" is unacceptable in the body of Christ. Take another look at Covey's emotional cancers, and compare it to the apostle Paul's list of "the works of the flesh":

"...hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group..." (Galatians 5:20)

Our calling as THE Church, on the other hand, is to refuse that way of doing things:

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:31-32)

But many churches don't refuse politics, they embrace them. Even worse, the leadership will very often protect the politics by reframing and justifying them with biblical language and/or reassuring words, whether in public or private. This is nothing more than a PR smokescreen to keep church members ignorant. And to complete the circuit, many church members would rather not know what's really going on--it's simply too disturbing.

If we find ourselves in an environment where anyone who questions how things 'really' operate gets labeled as "divisive" or "unteachable", and membership responds with "amen", then its clear we're in the church politics soup--and we're in deep.

So here's a question: If you discover that your church has been infested with politics--that it's more about control than community--what can you, as one person, actually do about it?

Now if you're a follower of Christ, there are some things you should not do. Mostly, the things you should NOT do include things related to revenge, returning evil for evil, or further dividing the believers into camps. For a believer, these approaches are not an option...they may be very tempting at times, but they are off limits to those who claim to follow Christ.

"That old law about 'an eye for an eye' leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing." (Martin Luther King, Jr.)

"Revenge is always the weak pleasure of a little and narrow mind." (Juvenal)

"Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable." (Romans 12:17)

In other words, don't go there. You don't fight gossip by gossiping about the gossipers! That approach doesn't improve anything or glorify God in any way.

The spirit-led approach is to unclench your fists, take a deep cleansing breath, do the hard work of confronting the appropriate people graciously and thoroughly if needed, and then make a confident, peaceful choice about where you will continue to fellowship.

I'll explain this in more detail soon, but first:

Chances are you will be VERY emotional about this, because frankly, a church that operates on politics is wrong, and if you have God's spirit in you, this will offend you to the core. Make no mistake: When a church is functioning by strong personalities and under-the-table power moves more than by God's gifting of EVERY member of the body, it is messed up.

It's also hard to see this happen in a church you've connected with for any period of time. Chances are you have good friends there. You may even have a good relationship with the people in leadership. Everybody might have a great heart and the best of intentions; but if the system's got the cancer, it's got the cancer--you can't just ignore it.

So, because confronting a sick system can be an emotional, gut-wrenching, scary thing, it might be helpful to see what to do in baby steps:

1. Come to terms with your own political tendencies. As mentioned before, you're not immune to this problem; chances are you have played some yourself. Have you ever chosen to associate with those who you felt would improve your status or position in the church? Have you ever said things about your fellow believers that you would never say if they were in the room? You don't have to wallow in guilt about this--just acknowledge that you have played the game too, so there's no reason to feel superior. That being said...
2. Stop playing the game. Again, if you take a defensive, combative posture, or start using your own style of manipulation to make your point, you're still playing the game--stop it! The only way out of this mess is to stop playing the game. Refuse to participate, even when others are coaxing you back in.
   
3. Re-read Matthew 18 and confront the appropriate person/people. Follow Jesus' directions here and guide your actions accordingly. If you need to approach someone about this issue, do it individually at first, then bring others in by degrees. This will require courage on your part. It may even be some of the hardest stuff you've ever done in your life!
   
4. If positive change comes, rejoice! If you'll recall, the prophet Jonah didn't actually want Ninevah to repent; he would have rather seen them be judged for their sin, and he was actually disappointed that God showed mercy on them! If your confrontation leads to acknowledgment and real turnaround, rejoice! Don't forget that God does not rejoice in judgement; He rejoices in restoration.
   
5. If the politics are pervasive, consider a healthier fellowship. If, despite your best efforts, your attempts to confront the politics in your church go nowhere, you do have options. If you feel it's the right thing to stay and be a light in a dark place, then you have the option to stay--but if you stay, no more complaining! If however you find you are starving for healthy, Christ-centered fellowship, then it might be best to leave this church in God's hands, say your good-byes, and peacefully move on. The body of Christ is bigger and more alive than you may even realize, and you may find it in the most unlikely places!

And the adventure continues, right?

THE Church is a community where people work at loving one another. There is the "grace and peace" the apostle Paul mentioned so often. They don't divide into camps at the first sign of disagreement. If you've been living in politically-charged church environment for a long time, it may actually be shocking to discover that it doesn't have to be that way!

THE Church, when it rids itself of human politics, is a beautiful thing:

"Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." (Ephesians 4:16)

Notice how it says "as each part does its own special work". One reason that doesn't happen like it should is church hierarchy, or a top-down approach to running the church. I'll get into that topic next.

Please give me your thoughts about this topic of dealing with church politics. Have you been through this? Are you about ready to go through this? What's been your experience? I'd love to hear from you.

Church Politics, part 1: The Power Struggle

"Politics are not the task of a Christian." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? When one of you says, 'I am a follower of Paul,' and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?" - Paul the Apostle, 1 Cor. 3:3-4

Miriam-Webster defines politics as "competition between competing interest groups or individuals for power and leadership (as in a government)." But in a church? Inconceivable!

If you are new to the faith or to church life, it can be an exciting, amazing thing. Everything is new, God is real to you, you've discovered a new way of life, you love to worship with other believers, and you marvel at how different life is in the kingdom of God!

But along the way, you might start to notice things that happen in your church--things that are just a bit disturbing. Sure, you see people make mistakes and have flaws--you can handle that (who doesn't have flaws?). You may disagree with something that's said from the pulpit--you can live with that (we're not going to agree on everything, right?). But as you dig deeper, you start to discover some more unsettling dynamics within the church organization...things that are just--wrong.

You discover that there are "money people" who magically seem to get their way more consistently than others. You discover cliques, just like the kind you had in high school. You discover that decisions are made behind the scenes, and that every now and then staff members of the church just "disappear", with no clear explanation.

If you bring this up, you're told that "well, there are no perfect churches"--meaning, you just need to accept this as normal. If you press the issue, you may find yourself a bit more socially (or spiritually) marginalized than before. If you do get to have a meeting with a leader to express your concern, you may experience a politically correct response, an insincere head nod, a questioning of your spiritual maturity, or even outright hostility.

What is going on?

Welcome to church politics.

The unfortunate reality is that in many churches, politics are as natural as breathing--it's just "how things are done". But if that's the air we've breathed, it's given us lung cancer.

If you have the opportunity to get "under the hood" in many churches, you may just find all the things you thought only belonged in a good spy thriller: money, power, control, strategic alliances, lobbyists, secret meetings, scapegoating, lying, sex, you name it.

Some might say that if you have the right type of church, this doesn't happen. But the reality is, it doesn't matter which type of government is used, whether it's a congregation-led, elder-led, pastor-led, denomination-led, board-led, or whatever. Where there is a governing system involved, and where there is money involved, there will be politics.

As Galadriel so eloquently put it at the beginning of the movie The Fellowship of the Ring, we are still talking about "the race of men, who above all else desire power." How true.

From the inception of the church in the first century, it took less than three hundred years for it to be hijacked by the government and morphed into a religious institution, fully loaded with internal and external politics and power structures. And despite various reformations and upheavals since that time, politics continues to be the real "power" that keeps many churches functioning from week to week.

All of this, of course, stands in stark contrast to the kingdom of God that Jesus taught about, and how THE Church is taught by God to function:

“You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave." (Matthew 20:25-27)

^"When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear...hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division..." (Galatians 5:20)

"...throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body." (Ephesians 4:22-25)

So that's why church politics sucks; it feels wrong, because it is wrong; there is no place for it in THE Church.

But what's the alternative? Are there ways we can resist these all-too-common human power plays, and instead operate in the peaceful, yet powerful way that God designed THE Church to operate?

Absolutely. To quote another line from The Lord of the Rings, "there is always hope."

More on that in part 2...

Introduction

Greetings everyone!

Let me explain: This may sound like I'm against people and church families and pastors (yours, for example); I am most definitely not. I go to "a church", and I love it. I don't doubt that you may too.

This blog is an expression of my own experience with churches as organizations--many of them, covering a wide range of types and sizes, over my entire lifetime. Of course, my experience may not reflect yours, and that's fine. But if the point of writing is to express of your own viewpoint, then this is what I'm doing.

My experience with churches as a person raised in one, than as one who left it, then came back as a "new convert", then a ministry leader, pastor, ex-pastor, etc. has been one of the biggest defining points of my life. My experience with churches has been an adventure of seeking, discovery, amazing experiences, deep pain, and renewal. Maybe yours has too.

I also come to this writing with my faith intact, amazingly enough. You may be surprised to discover that, despite my title, I still believe in the church--THE Church, that is. I'll explain what I mean by THE Church along the way, as I explore its differences from "churches", which are, I believe, not exactly what Jesus had in mind.

What I want to share here is my own observations and viewpoint about the many differences between churches and THE Church. As I've indicated, I think one sucks and the other doesn't. But I want to be really clear about this.

I have come to the conclusion that churches differ from THE Church in the areas of Competition, Marketing, Budget, Chain of Command, Inner Politics, Public Politics, Bureaucracy, Religion, Lecture-Hall Style, and Organizational Paradigm.

The main sections of this writing will be:

• Church politics sucks
• Church business sucks
• Church hierarchy sucks
• Church teaching sucks
• Church culture sucks

For some, it may seem somewhat sensationalist to use the word "sucks" for all these things. You might have me on that--to a point. Because when I use the word "sucks", it's because, unfortunately, these things really do suck--they suck the life out of people, and they suck the life out of God's good news, turning it into an overly-complicated religious/social/political/business system--which is no good news at all.

Where does this all lead?

I don't pretend that this writing will change the church world; it probably won't. This is something that's been around for thousands of years (even before "the church" began), and will be around until the resolution of all things.

What I hope this will do is give voice and clarity to the person who is confused by all this. I also hope that it will encourage those who have felt something "not quite right" about the whole church thing, but don't want to give up on the church.

I hope this may even help church leaders in their effort to lead God's people. Please remember that anything critical I may say about churches or church leaders is never meant to take anything away from the character and dedication that define many of them. My criticisms are never personal; they are systematic. But the system affects everyone within it, including the leaders.

When I first got into ministry, I was unaware of any of this. Now I know, and I wish I had known much earlier. When you're a leader in a church, you want to do the right thing. I understand that, and never mean any disrespect or discouragement to anyone. But what I've discovered is that when you're leading in "churches", the rules are different than in THE Church. You've been led to think it's one way, but it's really not. And almost 1500 pastors per year in America are fired or forced to resign, because what they thought it was, isn't what it really is.

So, please join me on this journey. I will express my thoughts, because that's what writing is all about. But I don't claim to be the final voice. This is a conversation that needs to happen; please join it.