"I Thought We Got Rid of the Problem"

The pastor and associate pastor of a former church I attended got into a conflict. Church members were equally divided over who was right and who was wrong. One man resigned after a church vote narrowly supported the other minister; the one who was left was forced to resign not long after because the other minister's supporters continued to raise criticisms about him. Church leaders negotiated a severance package with him to secure his departure.

At a church business meeting a few weeks later, tensions were still high. One of the deacons stood and expressed his frustration that church members were still unable to get along.

"I thought we got rid of the problems," he said.


It was at that point that I realized the true problem with this church was not simply the pastors, it was all of God's people in that church. It's easier to blame others rather than look into your own heart.

It's time for the people of Western Oaks to realize that we are all to blame for what happened to Pastor Jeff and Melodee. Some were active in their desire to see him removed as senior pastor. I'm sure some of them believe that they were doing the right thing for the church. I'm sure they will even tell us they spent much time in prayer about it. Scripture, however, cautions all of us that praying about something doesn't mean we are necessarily in God's will. (Mark 12:40, Luke 18: 9-17, Matthew 6: 5-8)

Others will try to convince us that Pastor Jeff wasn't forced to conclude his ministry here. We only have to listen to our senior pastor's own words from last Sunday to refute that. He talked about "the deep hurt and stress that Melodee and I have lived with the past two years." He spoke about how "ministry has been victimized by a managerial mindset culture." He longed for the desire to live out his calling "to teach the Word of God without apology." This calling, he told us, "is not a calling that someone else can create for you or a committee determines for you." And he explained that "it is clear to me that the direction Western Oaks is wanting to head is different than my vision."

After enduring this kind of culture for several years, never complaining about it openly to the entire church, is it any wonder that Pastor Jeff reached a point where the Lord gave him a peace about leaving this body of believers? Even then, many of us watched for 17 minutes as this battered and broken servant of God struggled to explain his decision to us.

I have to ask myself that if the rest of us, the many who truly love and support Pastor Jeff and Melodee, not just with words but with actions, had been less complacent, perhaps we would have seen this coming and been part of a solution to prevent it. We can no longer be complacent. We can no longer allow others to second-guess the leadership of our senior pastor. We can no longer sit back and let certain committees or teams decide what they think is best for Western Oaks.

We have been the problem, and the first part of the solution is that we need to seek the Lord's forgiveness about what was allowed to happen to Pastor Jeff and Melodee. Some will say we need to move forward together and put the past behind us. Moving forward's fine, and I hope we do. We will not move forward as a church, however, if we do not repent of what we allowed to happen and vow to the Lord that we will commit ourselves to Him so it does not occur again. Remember these verses from II Chronicles 7:14-15.

"If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place."

I urge all of us to pray for God's forgiveness now. Many of us were blind. Many of us were deaf. Many of us did not speak when we should have. It's time we say we don't want a church that's led by committees. We long for a church that's led by a man of God, who will help all of us learn to listen to God's voice. I fear if we do not repent, we will be doomed to repeat this cycle. Let's not allow that to happen. To paraphrase a comment from another pastor's blog, it's time to allow revival to "break the 'herd' mentality where Southern Baptists simply do what they are told to do, rather than listen to the Spirit of God as individuals in His kingdom."

Let us listen to His Spirit. Let us flood the altar this Sunday and ask the Lord to forgive us. Let us not, however, do it unless we really mean business with the Lord. Let us pray that the Lord gives us clarity on how we should deal with this injustice so that we can rightly relate to Him. If we do, our better days are truly ahead of us. I believe in my heart that the people of Western Oaks -- the average men, women and youth in the pews -- long to do what is right before the Lord. (Psalm 106:3, Proverbs 21:15, Micah 6:8)

Do I want Pastor Jeff to come back? You bet I do. And I'm praying to our all-powerful God that He will work a miracle in our hearts that will allow this to happen. Another part of me also recognizes that Pastor Jeff has had the opportunity to break free from the repressive spirits who have beat down upon him for several years. I'm sure it feels exhilarating to be liberated from that. It would take another miracle from the Lord to convince him that coming back was the right decision, even if real repentance and revival breaks out and many of God's people turn our hearts to Him.

More importantly, as we turn our hearts to God, let us make sure that the culture that led Pastor Jeff to conclude his ministry here does not claim the next pastor several years down the road. To change that culture, we need to be right with God, seek honest and transparent answers from our leaders in a loving yet firm manner, and follow the direction of God's Spirit so we will be productive in building His kingdom.

This is our defining moment. What will you choose?