Church Antagonism -- Part 4 -- What Allows Antagonists to Thrive

Church antagonists would never get away with anything if they did not act in a atmosphere that allows them to thrive. There are basically two factors involved:

1. Apathetic Bystanders: This can be anyone who would have the influence or could act at least in some way to confront the antagonism or stand up against it. The truth is that antagonists only survive because people do not stand up to it. They feel they are not in a position to stop it or are not sure what they should do. In my own ministry, my greatest problem was not the antagonists but the people who supported me that said and did nothing to stop it. Most are acting on the misguided notion that to be loving Christians they should get involved but real love sacrifices and stands up to evil. Remember it is often the pastor who is getting pummeled here and it is not loving to him or his family to just let him get pummeled. When good people do nothing, evil prospers. In my case it felt like it was me against half of the church with the other half watching the action -- not good.

2. Ineffective Denominational Officials: Boy do I know this one well. The fact is most denominational officials who could come in help the pastor and/or congregational leaders in trouble but they have a few things that make them ineffective: a) no plan -- and they follow it to the end. When you don't have a plan or procedure of how to handle these things you cause the 'bad' guys to have the advantage. b) lack of information on the situation -- ignorance of what is going on and being to lazy to find out what is really going on. If you are going into a bad situation get all the facts before you act. c) Lack of pastoral support: Pastors need support in this and they often don't get it. To tell someone under the gun to just pray about it or buck up smacks of -- 'be warmed and filled' but not doing anything needful.

If you get people fighting for their church and denominational officials who actually can help the situation looks a lot brighter.

Next: How to Act in the Face of Antagonism