This Christian Life

The “Official” News

Husband-and-wife pastors ousted at <Name of Church>

Thursday, July 11, 2002
By Matt Vandebunte

The split between a local congregation and the first woman ordained as a minister in the <Denomination> is official. Citing a difference in their view of the church’s mission, local church leaders from the <City Name> Classis on Wednesday approved a separation agreement between <Name of Church> and its co-pastors, <Names of Pastors>.

The <Name of Church> council in May voted to dismiss the co-pastors, citing a persistent refusal to work with church leaders. Elders charged Wednesday that <Names of Pastors> failed to compromise with the council on worship style and preaching methods, and said the co-pastors focused time and energy on neighborhood outreach at the expense of church members.

“Our pastors had a very different mission at <Name of Church> than much of the congregation,” elder <Name> said. “This spring it became clear that our pastors were not interested in any form of meaningful compromise. We were met again and again with total uncooperation.”

But several church members said the council dismissed <Name of Pastors> to appease long-time members who clashed with the co-pastors. The council acted on complaints from only a small segment of the congregation, said church member <Name>.

“The elders are making it seem as if the whole of <Name of Church> supports this,” she said. “A small core of people were the squeaky wheel.”

<Pastor Name>, a graduate of <School Name> Christian High School, became the denomination’s first female minister when she was ordained in 1996 as pastor at <Name of Church in another city>. She shared the full-time pastor position at <Name of Church> for the last three years with <Spouse Name>, who had worked in youth and street ministry in <City Name>.

<Names of Pastors> made brief statements during the meeting about the denomination’s process of intervention, but declined to comment on specific tensions within the church.

In non-disciplinary matters, <Denomination> church order permits a congregation to sever ties with its pastor for “weighty reasons.” The separation agreement requires <Names of Pastors> to receive counseling before accepting a call to another church. It also instructs <Name of Church> to retain an interim minister for at least six months before calling a new pastor. Other details were not released.

<Elder Name> and fellow elder <Elder Name> told Classis that the church council voted to dismiss <Names of Pastors> after 18 special meetings and several months of guidance from the Rev. <Name> in the <Denomination> office of church-pastor relations. They said <Name of Church> has lost 25 percent of its membership under the co-pastors—including eight long-time members who resigned from church leadership positions—and fallen $50,000 behind this year’s budget.

<Elder Name> said many church members disliked the weekly practice of open microphone testimony favored by the pastors. And the congregation took issue with <One of the pastors> preaching, he said.

“<One of the pastors> preaching was a constant sore spot in our church,” <Elder Name> said. “<One of the pastors> in particular was unfaithful to the text. No matter what the text was, his sermons always came out the same.”

Elders said those sermons often called on church members to get active in the low-income neighborhood around <Name of Church>, 100 Buckley St. SE. But some of the 550 members felt the focus on local outreach did not match their needs to be nurtured for service in all areas of life.

“We never thought that (neighborhood outreach) meant abandoning care for our own members,” <Elder Name> said. “We assumed that was a given.”

Some neighborhood residents said church members looking to dismiss <Names of Pastors> were prejudiced against the people whom the co-pastors invited to church. They were uncomfortable with prostitutes and drug dealers giving their testimony during worship, said <Name>, a nearby resident and churchgoer.

<Resident>, a nearby resident active in the local neighborhood group, said <Names of Pastors> took an active role in the lives of nearby residents—whether they went to church or not. The co-pastors intensified the church’s history of neighborhood involvement, he said.

“<Names of Pastors> were trying to build on what already had been done and take it to the next level,” said <Resident>, who does not attend <Name of Church>. “There is a significant neighborhood consensus that if they go it would be our loss.”