Case Study

Situation

After Pastor Martin admits to having an affair with a member of Grace Lutheran for over a year, the District President suspends him and takes steps to remove him from the clergy roster. The developments leave the congregation in a state of grief, rage and shock.

Resolution

At the encouragement of the District President, Grace Lutheran calls Pastor Brown, an intentional interim minister. Pastor Brown and district officials meet with the congregation to work out the focus of the interim period, coming up with the following list: · Ensure that the ministry of Word and Sacrament continues. · Enable the members of Grace Lutheran to work through feelings surrounding the infidelity. · Redevelop a sense of mission - something which had, not surprisingly, slipped during the term of the previous pastor. · Develop consensus about future direction and issue a call.

Pastor Brown begins immediately with the first task, the Word and Sacrament ministry. For three months, Pastor Brown sets the groundwork to begin to deal with the congregation's many emotions, including anger, frustration, disgust, betrayal, grief and shock. Not everyone agrees on what to do; while some members are extremely angry, others want Pastor Martin forgiven and reinstated. It becomes clear to Pastor Brown that the members need to come to terms with the issues and dialogue about what happened, and he sets up small groups to facilitate this.

Over Pastor Brown's first nine months, many issues continue to surface as trust builds and members come forward to express their frustrations. Some of the issues are about church leadership, the direction of Grace Lutheran, and even the events leading up to the previous call. In conversations with the elders, it becomes apparent that there are other issues within the congregation that had been festering for years. Members are brought together to speak to the issues and find resolution.

Nearing the end of Pastor Brown's first year, it appears that the congregation is beginning to heal. There is a sense of a new energy within the church and signs of spontaneous enthusiasm for the mission. Pastor Brown and the church leadership begin to define a vision for the congregation. Everyone agrees when one elder brings up his feeling that Grace Lutheran is, once again, being led by the Holy Spirit.

As a result of their work, the church leadership is able to articulate a strong new mission in the community. Eighteen months after Pastor Brown was hired, Grace Lutheran extends a call to a new pastor whom they feel is ideal for the new direction of the congregation.

We have worked to accurately represent the dynamics of interim ministry. Where appropriate we have changed names and places, and, for simplicity, used composites of actually occurring events.