[Fuusm-l] The Human Drama of Searching for a Minister

[Ted Goertzel]

Teresa,
I was on the Board for three years and I thought the treatment of Kat by
several church leaders was unwise and did real harm.  Kat behaved with
dignity and professionalism throughout. I hope she finds a more supportive
situation, and I'll be glad to help her in any way I can.

On Thu, Oct 10, 2024 at 11:43 AM Teresa Hayes <
teresa_asselinhayes_2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Thank you Ted.  There was clearly a group of people involved whose "sole
> goal is to dismantle your career, that is an entirely different beast that
> no one expects, particularly from people who supposedly label themselves
> Christians.”
>
>
>
> On Thursday, October 10, 2024 at 08:54:25 AM EDT, Ted Goertzel via Fuusm-l
> <fuusm-l at fuusm.org> wrote:
>
>
> With Reverend Hawbaker's resignation, our church may be going through the
> search process for a new minister. (I say "may" because it isn't clear that
> our budget will allow us to offer an attractive position.)  As we consider
> this process, I would like to recommend a book,* Search: A Novel
> <https://www.amazon.com/s?k=search+a+novel+by+michelle+huneven&crid=2FHRQL7MLC0HU&sprefix=search+a+novel%2Caps%2C279&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_14>*
> by Michelle Huneven. It is set in a Unitarian Church and describes the
> human dynamics in the search for a new minister. I know some of the women
> in the congregation have read it because it was the topic of the UU+
> Women's Book Group last month.  I recommend it to the men as well.  It's
> only $4.99 in Kindle format and used copies are available. Libraries also
> have it.
>
> In the October 2023 Confluence I did a review of a social science book, *Preachers
> in Purgatory*
> <https://www.amazon.com/Preachers-purgatory-reference-ministers-situations/dp/B0007DTP1U/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2UE1Z7TRBB8V0&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9brhmXkMWpwDdcLCmnm8amSwFsif0uG4zicJH8kWHA7zS99EHlJEXWJ2sKs4_5iInbaczexMsUmB31aeVqSbNphUYELOMYVrCzBqPcWvqGM.o4M3-9FqZ174UQakYfufj-vkV1QGdMTzL1xwhkWTMi4&dib_tag=se&keywords=Preachers+in+Purgatory+book&qid=1728563994&sprefix=preachers+in+purgatory+book%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-1>,
> that covers much the same ground with a lot of reports from real UU
> congregations. It is less entertaining, but I have a copy if anyone
> would like to borrow it.  Also available used on Amazon.
>
> I'll reprint my review from last year here:
>
> Preachers in Purgatory by Lester Mondale
>
> reviewed by Ted Goertzel
>
>
> I bought this book in 2011, but didn’t finish it then because of the
> writing style which the Kirkus reviewer described as “pontifical.” But this
> is a Unitarian book, written by a UU minister, published by Beacon, the UU
> press, and based on reports from over 100 UU churches reporting on crisis
> situations. The dust jacket is well written: “Within the self-defined
> island of brotherly love, the local church, there smolders a potential for
> searing personal conflict which is seldom openly admitted—yet which erupts
> into crisis with a periodicity which approaches the seasonal. The focus of
> the crisis is a challenge of the minister’s leadership by a segment of the
> congregation, but its real significance is far more complex—and its
> solution is seldom achieved by the obvious device of removing the minister
> .”
>
> As I understand his argument, churches have members with different
> expectations from a minister. When a minister is new, everybody hopes to
> get what they want, but with time, some are bound to be disappointed. It’s
> similar to a president of a country who gets a honeymoon period followed by
> disillusionment. A faction emerges which pressures the minister to resign.
> If the minister doesn’t slink away quietly, it goes to the Congregational
> Meeting where there is a split. Purging the minister doesn’t solve the
> problem, the cycle just repeats.
>
> This classic book was published in 1966, but the same problem is described
> in a best selling 2022 novel, Search
> <https://www.amazon.com/Search-Novel-Michelle-Huneven-ebook/dp/B09B8XMWRF/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BGM9AGZME5T7&keywords=search+a+novel+by+michelle+huneven&qid=1694613497&sprefix=search+huneven%2Caps%2C815&sr=8-1>
> by Michelle Huneven, set in a Unitarian Church. She focuses on how the
> conflicts get even worse when the minister leaves and the church has to
> search for a replacement.
>
>    The problem may be even worse in other churches. In Departure: Why I
> Left the Church
> <https://www.restorativefaith.org/post/departure-why-i-left-the-church>,”
> Presbyterian Rev. Alexander Lang, says: “As a pastor, you know you’re not
> going to be able to please everyone. You know that some people are going to
> dislike what you do. You expect to bring new people through the door who
> identify with your preaching, while others will leave who disagree or don’t
> like your style. But when you see that there is a group of people whose
> sole goal is to dismantle your career, that is an entirely different beast
> that no one expects, particularly from people who supposedly label
> themselves Christians.”
>
> If anyone wants to borrow Preachers in Purgatory
> <https://www.amazon.com/Preachers-purgatory-reference-ministers-situations/dp/B0007DTP1U/ref=sr_1_1?crid=12TP7GQYR4ZHI&keywords=preachers+in+purgatory&qid=1695219837&sprefix=preachers+in+purgatory%2Caps%2C450&sr=8-1>,
> I have a copy. Search: A Novel
> <https://www.amazon.com/Search-Novel-Michelle-Huneven-ebook/dp/B09B8XMWRF/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BGM9AGZME5T7&keywords=search+a+novel+by+michelle+huneven&qid=1694613497&sprefix=search+huneven%2Caps%2C815&sr=8-1> is
> much more amusing and available on Kindle for $4.99 or $14.99 hardcover, or
> from the public library.  Departure: Why I Left the Church
> <https://www.restorativefaith.org/post/departure-why-i-left-the-church> is
> a free blog post. A related story from Christianity Today is The Pastors
> Aren’t All Right: 38% Consider Leaving the Ministry
> <https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/november/pastor-burnout-pandemic-barna-consider-leaving-ministry.html>
> .
>
>
>
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