05-4 Theology of the..

LOGIA FORUM 71
make a few blunders, it is really not your fault but our ability,
which is still very slight even if we have sung (the piece) over two
or three times.” To this Larson adds his own “Amen.” We do, too,
Jeff. Keep on singing!
Harold L. Senkbeil
Elm Grove, Wisconsin
DIDACHE TODAY
Over the years, the Rev. John T. Pless has developed an adult
catechetical work. He refers to his catechetical sessions at University
Lutheran Chapel in Minneapolis by the name Didache in
accord with the doctrinal corpus of early Christian church that
bears the same name.
This work continues in the same apostolic tradition by bringing
together the Scriptures, liturgy, and hymnody together with
Luther’s Small Catechism to teach the Christian faith. It is now
published as a fifty-eight page workbook and is available to those
who would like copies.
Copies of Didache may be ordered for $5.00 plus postage ($1.50
for one copy; $2.00 for 2–4 copies, $3.00 for 5 or more copies).
Send your order along with your check to University Lutheran
Chapel, 1101 University Ave. SE, Minneapolis MN 55414. Payment
must accompany order.
CLERGY KILLERS
From Restoring the Soul of a Church: Healing Congregations
Wounded by Clergy Sexual Misconduct, Nancy Myer Hopkins
and Mark Laaser, editors. Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, pages
79–81. The descriptions found in this citation may seem so characteristic
of some parishes that readers might begin to imagine clergy
sexual misconduct behind the scenes of many troubled congregations.
Such intimations could easily be more harmful than helpful.
Whatever the root cause might be in such clergy-killer congregations,
how do you think such situations should be handled Is some
sociological method likely to be the solution What about the proper
distinction and application of law and gospel
The bishop shook his head as he walked to his car. It had been a
long meeting with the lay council of Faith Church, where they
had just lost their third pastor in five years. Clearly, there were
some tenacious patterns in the congregation’s life. Somewhere
within those patterns, the bishop thought, was a circumstance,
an issue, a dynamic that would explain the rapid turnover of pastors.
The bishop mentally reviewed the congregation’s recent history,
beginning with the first premature pastoral departure.
After the first pastor left, one of the bishop’s staff did the
vacancy consultation and heard a long recitation of the faults of
the departed pastor. They had to get rid of this pastor—he was
never in the office, never made house calls, preached terrible sermons,
was too liberal, spent too much time on community
issues, didn’t return phone calls quickly enough, and had gravely
offended some of the pillars of the congregation by his sympathetic
posture about AIDS. The litany of complaints sounded
legitimate if a bit exaggerated. Although the members of the lay
council had diverse opinions as to the deficiencies of Pastor One,
all agreed that a new pastor would make the difference.
A second pastor was called. Within a year, word was out that
Pastor Two was too scholarly, preached too long, was not a
warm person, didn’t pay attention to the older members,
couldn’t get people to give enough money, and made too many
changes in the worship. Besides, she was too young. She spent
too much time with her family. In fact, there was speculation
that she had serious marital troubles—the family seemed to
need quite a lot of time and attention. They needed an experienced
pastor, someone who knew how to work with older members,
someone who was more traditional. Someone who was
more the “old time” model of a pastor—always available, always
generous with his time.
The bishop recalled an exit interview he had held with Pastor
Two, who reported episodes of obstructionism, back stabbing,
and power plays. People made decisions and did things without
any communication. She had come to the church one day to
find that the locks had been changed without anyone’s knowledge.
Inquiring about that, she was told that “there seemed to
be some strangers hanging around outside the church, so we
just called a locksmith to take care of it.” There were secret
meetings to gather criticism from the older members, open
hostility to any discussion of new ideas, and veiled references
to a long-ago pastor who was so warm and friendly that everyone
in the community spoke of him fondly. Pastor Two
lamented that people would complain about not being visited
in the hospital, but their hospital admissions were never
reported to the church office.
In the face of criticism about pastor skill, Pastor Two was
bewildered. These folks seemed to have no trust of clergy. Without
trust, pastoral care was impossible. People withheld from the
pastor any of the life issues that pastoral care addresses. The
bishop remembered Pastor Two’s desperate search for another
post: “I have to get out of this church before I lose all sense of my
own gifts and skills. I’m already feeling at the end of my rope and
my family is tired of seeing me beaten up.”
When Pastor Two left and Pastor Three was called, there was
much enthusiasm. Here at last was the person who would get
this congregation moving. The honeymoon period lasted almost
two years. During the third year, the congregation quietly
slipped into isolation. No one represented the parish at the
Annual Missions Fair held each year. The pastor stopped going
to denominational gatherings. Attendance began to fall. People
would make and then break commitments to various parish
projects and activities. The long-time secretary quit, complaining
that people expected her to do everything. No material was
turned in for a monthly newsletter except for the items written
by the pastor.
An unsuccessful stewardship campaign yielded a bare-bones
budget, barely enough to cover the pastor’s salary and the building
utilities. The only energy in the congregation came from a