Transforming Pastoral Ministry, Pt. 3
The image of Pillars came to me years ago during a brisk afternoon run in the hot Florida sunshine.
It was during a particularly trying season of ministry back in the years of 2003 – 2004.
It was a season filled with strife, conflict, anger, hurt, despair, etc. The conflict I was experiencing then is, all too often, common within the walls of the church. The symptoms of the conflict and pain became evident because the Elder board asked our long-tenured senior pastor to resign.
While he did submit his resignation, the forced nature of the resignation was difficult for many in our community to resolve. The pastor himself struggled with the decision (imposition) for months.
At the time of his departure, I was the recently appointed Executive Pastor of the church. I was in the post for about six months when the conflict began to make its waves. About a year into my role was when the termination (forced resignation) came about.