The Ministering to Ministers Foundation Story:

What, Why and How

Charles H. Chandler

Published by Ministering to Ministers Foundation, Inc.

Richmond, Virginia

Copyright 2016

The Ministering to Ministers Foundation Story: What, Why and How

In the 19th century, Charles Dickens began his book, A Tale of Two Cities, with these memorable words:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of

foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the age of foolishness, it was the season of Light, it was the

season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us,

we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way -

in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on

its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.1

As a result of my pilgrimage with the Ministering to Ministers (MTM) Foundation during the past two

decades, I have concluded that Dickens’ words are also descriptive and appropriate for the 21st century. It is

a time of abundance and poverty, security and insecurity, opportunity and closed mindedness, respect and

disrespect, fulfillment and emptiness, sense of community and severe polarization, health and dysfunction,

and stress, distress and eustress.

Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., has written a thought provoking book entitled, The Upside of Stress: Why Stress is

Good for You and How to Get Good at It.2 A Stanford University health psychologist and lecturer, she began

rethinking her own assumptions when she came across a study of nearly 30,000 American adults that

seemed to contradict almost everything she knew about stress.

The sample group in the study was asked about the stress in their lives and whether they felt stress was

harmful to their health. When researchers looked, eight years later, at who had died, it turned out that high

stress levels were associated with a 43 percent increase in risk of death, but only if people believed that

stress was bad for them. Those who also had high stress levels but did not believe that stress was bad for

them had the least risk. McGonigal concluded that it is people’s belief about stress - not the stress itself -

that was linked to their reaction.

McGonigal points out that beyond “fight and flight” there are several biological responses to stress. She also

states that we can consciously choose them. Here are three such choices:

A “challenge response” in which stress becomes an energizing force.

A “tend and befriend” response which activates our pro-social side and makes us want to reach out

to others.

A “learn and grow” response which prompts us to find meaning in stressful events and learn from

them.

These options are viable alternatives to being afraid of or defeated by stress. Ironically, trying to avoid

stress can result in increased depression, missed opportunities, and a limited future. McGonigal suggests

ways to embrace stress and to use stressful events for a healthier, more fulfilling, and even longer life.

Various studies show that ministry, a profession that advocates for healthy lifestyles, has a very poor health

rating.3 Though ministry is a stress filled vocation, so are many other professions such as physicians,

attorneys, educators, social workers, business executives, law enforcement officers, firefighters, nurses,

construction workers, marketing and retailers, and assembly line workers, to name a few. In fact, life itself is

stressful.

The Barna Research Group, which does marketing studies of American culture and the Christian faith, has

found that during the past two to three decades the tenure of the average minister has declined from over

seven years to barely five years. Barna warns that this trend may be shortchanging both pastors and the

congregations they serve by prematurely forcing them out of their church ministry positions.4

There are over 1,700 forced terminations per month among Protestant ministers in the United States.5

That's a lot of uprooting and it causes congregations to miss the most productive period of a minister's

tenure, which the Barna Group says begins about the tenth year.

Churches are deeply wounded when they push God's servants out. Some congregants drop out of the

church. Newer Christians may be disillusioned. Children are scarred. Excitement about the good news of the

Gospel is dampened. Congregations are polarized, pitting church members against one another, often

disrupting the church’s central fellowship. As a result, the system becomes dysfunctional.

Those most deeply hurt and scarred are the ministers and their families. Not only do ministers lose their

jobs, they also lose their support system. The minister's family typically does not have a pastor and church

to undergird them in prayer and to walk with them through the storm and pain of forced termination. The

roots of pastor-parishioner relationships are planted one at a time and grow deeper with shared time and

experiences. Forced termination seems to dictate that these relationship roots are "yanked up" all at once,

resulting in a lot of trauma.

Rabbi Gerald L. Zelizer, an opinion writer for the U S A Today newspaper shared in a February 21, 2002

issue6 some research by Alan Klaas, Executive Director of Growth Ministries. Klaas’ findings placed most of

the blame for clergy abuse on congregations. Some of these findings include:

In 67 percent of the cases, the congregation had been in conflict with the previous pastor.

In 45 percent of the cases, a minority faction was successful in manipulating a supportive majority

to push the pastor out.

Only 7 percent of the time was the personal conduct of the minister or moral failure the cause of the

termination.

In 62 percent of the cases, regional officials of the various denominations who could have helped

mediate were kept away until it was too late to resolve the dispute.

Zelizer interviewed me while writing the article and spotlighted the Ministering to Ministers (MTM)

Foundation in the first paragraph. Within a few days following the article's publication, I received over sixty

e-mails in addition to an abundance of phone calls even though the article did not list the MTM phone

number or e-mail address. The contacts suggest that the epidemic of church conflict and forced

terminations continues with no letup in sight.

Zelizer's article was very revealing. It is sad when you consider that the average minister never reaches the

most productive years in a pastorate – beginning with year 10. Zeilzer's headline was "Revolving Clergy

Harms Religion." Both minister and church are shortchanged.

An earth shattering revelation to me was Zelizer’s reference to a statement by Kevin Leicht, professor of

sociology at the University of Iowa, in his book, Professional Work, which points out that clergy terminations

are very high when compared with the national labor force where 1.2 percent of all employees are

involuntarily terminated. Leicht goes on to state that the rate of termination for ministers is even higher

than coaches in the National Football League – usually considered a notoriously unstable profession.

Another observation from Zelizer’s article was equally revealing and disturbing. It indicated that unless the

cycle is broken, the most competent clergy will flee their calling, mediocrity will fill the void, church

memberships will erode, and America's faith will diminish.

Marcus Tanner,7 a Texas minister, experienced forced termination that left him deeply distressed

financially, emotionally, socially, and physically, and with every intention of leaving ministry altogether. The

perplexing experience led him to enroll in a Ph.D. program at Texas Tech University to study human

development and family studies. In a specific research project he and the research team learned that

forcibly terminated ministers were more likely to experience negative marital and family satisfaction, have

higher levels of stress and more physical and emotional health problems, and to consider leaving ministry

than those who had not been pushed out of their ministry position (Tanner & Zvonkovic, 2011).

In another study (Tanner, Wherry and Zvonkovic, 2012), researchers listened to the stories of ministry

couples who had been forcibly terminated and collected some specific data on Generalized Anxiety Disorder

(GAD) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Overall, clergy and their spouses scored high - and in

some cases above the clinical cutoff - for GAD and PTSD. These couples – minister and spouse - also scored

themselves as having experienced mobbing – bullying tactics – prior to the forced termination. This

suggests that forced termination is more than an event. It is also a process. Tanner states that some of the

stories they heard were heart breaking.

These research findings are similar to what we have observed in the MTM Healthy Transitions Wellness

Retreats for Ministers and Spouses. The severity of the trauma is far greater in many cases than can be

adequately communicated. Some of the extreme cases include:

A pastor and his family living in a car and small tents in a park all summer because they had

nowhere else to go when they were forced out of their ministry position with only a pittance of a

severance and were also pushed out of the church owned house. They credited an MTM Wellness

Retreat as a major factor in their recovery process.

A pastor pushed out as a result of a relative of a disgruntled associate pastor bringing false

accusations about the pastor misappropriating funds. The relative also fed doctored documentation

to the FBI suggesting money laundering internationally. A Good Samaritan attorney – an MTM

trustee - was able to find a paper trail that cleared the pastor, but the damage had already been

done. The pastor was terminated without severance resulting in a period of deep depression

including hospitalization. They had to sell their house, move in with a relative, and one of their

children had to drop out of college. Though the congregation's leaders stated that if the pastor was

proven innocent, they would revisit the severance issue, by then about half of the congregation had

left the church and the severance issue was not revisited. After a couple of years of healing, the

pastor had another fruitful pastorate. The congregation, however, still has not recovered.

Three years into his tenure, a pastor was blindsided when two church leaders took him to breakfast

and demanded his resignation even though the church had doubled in membership and attendance.

If the pastor would sign the resignation letter - which they had already written - and leave quietly,

he would receive six months of total monthly compensation including benefits. After clearing the

office that day, the pastor never entered the church building again. There was no opportunity for

closure for the pastor or the congregation. Six weeks later, the pastor was notified by the “gang of

two” that they had discovered that the business meeting at which the severance had been approved

did not meet the requirements of the church’s constitution and by-laws. The document called for a

ten day advance notice for the called business meeting, they explained, and it had been held after

only one week, therefore, the severance agreement was null and void. They also explained that

since the pastor had not been in the church office or performed any pastoral duties for six weeks,

they had terminated him for Derelict of Duty. Though it was more than four years later that the

pastor’s spouse shared this experience at an MTM Board of Trustees meeting, it was still very fresh

for her. But since the Statute of Limitations in the state had expired, there was no legal recourse for

the breach of contract. The conniving “gang” had done their homework well.

All cases are not as severe as the above, but the betrayal still traumatizes. Often, the minister is caught in the

cross fire of two warring factions in the church. At other times it may be a good pastor and a good church,

but their visions and expectations do not match. In these cases, if good common sense is given a chance, fair

solutions should not be that difficult to discern, especially with the help of an organization like MTM.

In 1973, the U.S. Congress enacted the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), in which the

Federal government mandated state employment commissions to provide a higher level of services to

displaced workers whose profiles indicate they need additional assistance in their job transition. The

services include workshops that train recipients in fundamentals such as resume writing, search techniques

and interviewing skills. While state agencies cannot attempt to meet the emotional needs of displaced

workers, they do recognize them. Consequently, the workshops provide a component on networking, or

making contacts with friends, colleagues, and churches in an effort to heal from the trauma of losing one’s

job and moving into productive employment. These programs have been revised many times since 1973 to

meet growing needs.

One segment of our society, however, does not benefit from the above mentioned workshops or other

tangible concerns – clergy who have been forced out of their ministry positions by their congregations. Also

of great importance is the fact that clergy terminated from a church are not eligible for state unemployment

benefits.

It was this kind of climate that prompted several ministers who had experienced the pain of pastor-

centered church conflict and forced termination, along with some interested lay church leaders, to join me

in forming the MTM Foundation in November 1994. The first Healthy Transitions Wellness Retreat for

Ministers and Spouses was held the following year. The mission statement was and continues to be: MTM

seeks to serve as advocates for clergy and their families in all faith groups who are experiencing personal or

professional crisis due to deteriorating employment or congregation-clergy relationships.

We define forced termination as when a minister leaves a ministry position as a result of deteriorating

relationships. Though some are fired, most resign with the threat of being fired if they do not resign. Others

resign as a result of not being able to survive in such a hostile climate any longer. Had the relationships

remained healthy, the minister would have remained in the position.

Our goal at MTM is to help ministers and churches have a better and healthier relationship. We want

ministers to learn to follow the positive dynamics of stress and utilize it as an opportunity for

personal and professional growth rather than a destructive interference. We want to be

contributors to the positive forces that will enable ministers and churches to grow together rather

than divorce. If the relationship cannot continue, our desire is that solutions be found that embody

the Spirit of Christ and assure that no one be destroyed in the process. The message of Christ is too

important to allow conflict and termination of ministers to thwart its impact. Every minister and

every congregation deserve to be treated fairly.

One of the primary aspects of the MTM ministry is to help ministers see a full range of alternatives in

everyday ministry as well as when under attack or while deeply wounded. At MTM, we do it in many ways.

Some of the major aspects of the total ministry that have evolved over the past couple of decades in an effort

to prevent ministers from having to suffer alone and in silence are:

The Healthy Transitions Wellness Retreats for Ministers and Spouses

The Ministry of Presence

The Friends for the Journey Network

Helping Ministers Help Other Ministers Workshops

Creating Awareness: Communicating and Educating

The MTM Membership Association

MTM Regional Boards

Prayer Partners

Volunteers: The MTM Lifeline

The “Healthy Transitions Wellness Retreats for Ministers and Spouses”:

The Wellness Retreats provide the relaxed atmosphere and confidential setting for healing and

encouragement to ministers and their spouses who have experienced forced termination or for those in

conflict possibly leading to termination. Through competent leadership teams, along with the participants,

the journey toward wholeness and health may be pursued through counsel, helpful information, sharing

and rest that speak to the emotional, physical and spiritual needs of participants.

The first Healthy Transitions Wellness Retreat for Ministers and Spouses was held May 8-13, 1995, when ten

participants gathered at a retreat center about 15 miles west of Richmond, Virginia. The leadership team

was a “dream team:” A psychiatrist, two seminary professors with one focusing on pastoral care and the

other on spirituality, two attorneys, a pastoral counselor, two ministry consultants, and a couple of

experienced pastors trained in small group dynamics. When the retreat concluded, we all felt both drained

and energized. Our bodies and minds were exhausted but we left feeling a sense of community and peace

with an emerging hope.

The retreats are small by design – an average of ten participants per retreat – in order to maintain small

group dynamics. It is amazing to witness such diverse groups bond into a community in the real spirit of

Koinonia. The diversity includes geographic, cultural, theological, church polity, age, experience, gender, and

ethnicity. The pain and isolation, however, become the common denominator. The participants realize they

are not alone in their experience, and as the isolation disappears, hopelessness fades. Some retreat groups

have become continuing support groups.

The retreats are a progression with each session building on the previous sessions. The retreat leadership

team always includes a certified clinician and a minister who has experienced forced termination and who

has made a healthy recovery. We believe with time, and guidance by professionals, every experience in life

has the potential to help prepare one for the future. We can, indeed, grow strong at the broken places when

the painful experiences in life are given to God for his redeeming power.

These intense five-day retreats are the centerpiece of the MTM ministry. Three components – 1) small

group dynamics, 2) information sessions led by experts in specific areas, and 3) group therapy led by a

psychiatrist, psychologist, or certified therapist – are blended to make the retreat experience greater than

the sum of its parts - synergy. It is based on the premise that some of the best ministry that a participant will

receive will come from peers who are going through similar pilgrimages who can engage one another in a

safe setting. A major focus at the retreat is trauma care. I am amazed at the change in the countenance of the

participants from the first to the last day of the retreat. I marvel at the trust that develops within the group

in such a short time, especially considering their lack of trust upon arrival. This is proof that they will learn

to trust again even though it may be selective for a while. I have met some great people through the retreats

whose friendships I will cherish for years to come.

The late Dr. D. Ross Campbell, psychiatrist, stated that he saw more healing take place in the MTM Wellness

Retreats than in any other five-day model during his entire professional career. The Wellness Retreat

includes:

Emotional Wellness. . .

Telling Your Story

Increasing Your Self-Awareness

Identifying, Understanding, and Managing Your Emotional Responses

Listening to Ministers’ Spouses

Personal Wellness. . .

Thinking in Systems

Resolving Disputes

Leading by Empowering

Understanding Affect Psychology

Enhancing Your Emotional Intelligence

Physical Wellness. . .

Caring for Your Physical Self

Maintaining Your Sense of Humor

Unstructured Time

Professional Wellness. . .

Creating a Market for Your Skills

Developing a Support Group

Responding to Authority

Preparing Resumes and Enhancing Interview Skills

Spiritual Wellness. . .

Devotions

Enriching Your Spiritual Self

Praying for One Another

Facing the World Again

As of December 1, 2016, MTM has conducted 133 Healthy Transitions Wellness Retreats in Alabama, Illinois,

Kentucky, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. The

1295 participants have come from 38 states plus Canada and the Bahamas and represent 40

denominations/faith groups.

Research shows that only 54 percent of those who have been forced from their church ministry position

return to a full-time church related ministry role. In 2012, MTM did a survey of those who had participated

in a Healthy Transition Wellness Retreat for Ministers and Spouses, and of those who responded, 67 percent

served in another church ministry position. Others served in non-profit ministries and did volunteer work

through local congregations. This distinct increase validates the investment in their lives and ministries,

though MTM does not try to persuade ministers to stay in church ministry vocations or to get out of church

ministry vocations. Whichever choice they make MTM’s goal is for the decision to be made as a result of

serious and healthy discernment, not as an angry reaction. A few ministers discover that they

misunderstood their calling. Others recognize that they need to step away for a period of time to allow the

mind, body and spirit to heal. Later they accept a new ministry call and discover that they are even more

effective as ministers as a result of their experience and the healing process. Others take early retirement

because their age becomes a negative factor in their marketability. This is a very sad way for a minister’s

career to end.

Here are some testimonials from retreat alums:

After being bullied for months, I found myself in deep depression, with self-confidence and self-esteem

eroded, totally fatigued, and with an inability to trust. I was ready to abandon my call to ministry. I

participated in a Healthy Transitions Wellness Retreat and it not only saved my ministry, it saved my

life.

The Wellness Retreat I attended has been perhaps the most humanly authentic and spiritually

powerful experience of my entire life. Thank you.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to participate in a Healthy Transitions Wellness Retreat. I felt

loved and cared for, and encouraged that beauty will indeed rise from ashes. My heart is full of

gratitude and my spirit is full of hope for the future.

The retreat leaders brought such grace and wisdom to our retreat. I appreciated how they often

helped by restating complicated things in a clear way. I also appreciated the good humor displayed

throughout the week, reminding us of how healthy laughter is. I haven’t laughed so much in a long,

long time!

Thanks again for a life-saving, life-affirming, life-enhancing retreat experience that has helped both of

us beyond words.

MTM does not see the Wellness Retreats as a “Quick Fix,” but as the beginning of a long road toward healing.

Follow-up is vitally important. In the early years, we scheduled six-month retreat reunions. Due to travel

distance and expense, the Friday night through Saturday noon events were only partially successful. Half or

less of the participants could make the journey back. The groups have had a much better response

maintaining contact through telephone conference calls, text messaging, closed Facebook groups, and e-

mails that go to the entire group. Others have arranged for those in a local area to get together periodically.

MTM continues to work at maintaining contact with all retreat alumni. However, due to several states being

represented at each retreat, the most logical option will be through some form of social media and

individual contact by a member of the “Friend for the Journey” ministry. Members of the Wellness Retreat

leadership team try to maintain contact for the first several months following each retreat.

MTM has also held some area Alumni Gatherings for all retreat alumni from any Wellness Retreat to gather

for fellowship, small group discussions, a personal and professional growth presentation, and a brief

worship service. These gatherings have been held in Virginia, Alabama, and Michigan. More dedicated

volunteers are needed to assist with this aspect of the Wellness Retreat ministry. Comfort Services have also

been held at a few locations in Virginia and Alabama for retreat alumni and other forcibly terminated

ministers/spouses during the Advent Season in an attempt to minister to those who are feeling a deep sense

of loss during a season in which ministers were accustomed to being so heavily involved in very meaningful

congregational worship. These gatherings have had limited success. The retreat follow-up ministry is

important and will continue to be high on the MTM priority list.

To learn when and where the Wellness Retreats are scheduled, check the MTM website at

mtmfoundation.org or call the MTM office at (804) 594-2556. Our recommendation is for ministers and

spouses to participate in a Wellness Retreat as soon as possible in order that the healing process can begin.

Though it is not required that ministers and spouses participate together, it is encouraged. Our experience

has been that the spouses often experience more pain, have more anger and recover more slowly than the

ministers, in part because they often have no place to take their burdens and pain. Scholarships are

available.

The Ministry of Presence:

The largest portion of the “Ministry of Presence” is via the telephone and/or e-mail. The phone calls have

some of the effects of a “Hot Line.” Sometimes the callers simply need a listening ear. At other times they

need advice. Most often they need to be rescued from the clutches of isolation. Most are experiencing new

dimensions of their lives and do not know what to do, where to go, or what their rights are. A majority of

those who call or e-mail learned about MTM on the Internet or from someone who had benefitted from

some aspect of the MTM ministry. For every person who participates in a Healthy Transitions Wellness

Retreat, however, there will be nine others who benefit from some other aspect of the MTM ministry. We

need more people trained to receive the phone calls and respond to the e-mails.

Isolation is a big culprit in major church conflicts and/or forced terminations. A minister-centered church

conflict leaves ministers and their families with a fractured trust level. A part of the congregation will have

already cut themselves off from the minister. Colleagues in ministry often distance themselves from

ministers in the midst of church conflict or forced termination, preferring not to be seen near or identified

with their “bleeding” friends. Wounded ministers compound the situations by withdrawing because they no

longer know whom they can trust. Being blindsided by trusted church leaders who suddenly become their

adversaries can sabotage their ability to trust, erode their self-esteem, and destroy their self-confidence.

Isolation soon begins to breed more isolation. Tunnel vision develops, disabling the isolated minister’s

ability to see alternatives. It can reach a paralyzing state. These wounded servants need someone to listen

to them, pray for them, and serve as living proof that the sky is not falling. They need a healthy presence

that can help instill hope and be willing to take the initiative in the relationship because the wounded

ministers have had life sucked from them. MTM needs more healthy ministers/spouses who will be a strong

and valued presence for those too wounded to take the initiative.

Advice given to first time contacts is, “Don’t agree to anything or sign anything until you have had an

opportunity to discuss it with someone whom you trust and who has some knowledge about employment

policies and how to negotiate a fair closure agreement that treats all parties with respect and Christian

love.” As much time should be spent in agonizing prayer for discernment concerning leaving a ministry

position as a minister spends praying for discernment in accepting a church call. It is important that the

process be slowed down so that good decisions can be made. Once the minister verbally agrees to the

demands or requests of those opposing him or her, signs their prepared articles of separation, or writes or

signs a resignation letter – which they may have already prepared - there is little that can be done to change

the climate or direction. We face this dilemma often. MTM encourages the minister to listen, ask questions,

take notes of what is being said, and then ask them to put in writing what they have requested and what

they will commit to in exchange for the resignation. If a deadline is given for a response, make sure that it

gives adequate time to talk with confidents and legal advisors. No minister owes an immediate response.

Most decisions in life that I have regretted were those that were made in haste and in isolation.

MTM also has some competent advocates who are life coaches, therapists, and attorneys to whom we can

refer a caller. MTM has several attorneys who are also credentialed mediators who can view the situation

objectively and advocate for the best possible solution for all concerned. They usually prefer to coach the

minister from the background in a non-anxious way. Most often, the church leaders will have already

consulted with an attorney. This kind of help is priceless for the minister.

The “Friends for the Journey” Network:

Similar to the “Ministry of Presence” but much more intentional is the “Friend for the Journey” ministry.

This calls for more time and often a physical presence. Having someone to walk with wounded clergy and

clergy spouses through this journey is life changing. If the “Friend” has traveled the path and recovered, the

wounded servant can see living proof that there is life and joy beyond forced termination.

In 2004 MTM received a grant to underwrite a three-day training seminar to initiate the “Friends for the

Journey” phase of the MTM ministry. Forty men and women who had experienced major church conflict

and/or forced termination, participated in an MTM Wellness Retreat and healed sufficiently, along with

some individuals who had worked with wounded ministers, participated in the training. The training

included improving their listening skills, learning how to redeem their painful experience by using it as a

means of helping others heal, being living proof that there is life beyond church conflict and forced

termination, helping remove the wounded minister from the clutches of isolation, offering friendship and

affirmation, and helping them discover and consider options for the future. It is not the role of the “Friend

for the Journey” to try to be a therapist or legal adviser, nor to try to “fix” the wounded minister. The ideal

would be to pair a “Friend” with a wounded minister who lives within one or two hours so that they can

meet occasionally for lunch or coffee in addition to being in contact by phone, e-mail, and other social

media. This ministry calls for dedicated “Friends” who are willing to invest a portion of themselves – time,

energy, expertise, and experience – into a fellow pilgrim who is currently where the “Friend” has been and

from which the “Friend” has found healing, joy and an even deeper commitment to life and ministry.

MTM needs more healthy and seasoned ministers who are willing to be trained as “Friends for the Journey”

to walk with those who are “bleeding” and do not know what to do.

“Helping Ministers Help Other Ministers” Workshops:

This ministry is implemented through one-day workshops which are designed to help ministers be a better

“Presence” but also includes some “Prevention” features. Most clergy have watched friends go through

unbelievable destructive experiences as the congregation-clergy relationships deteriorate. Clergy on the

outside looking in usually feel inadequate, not knowing what to do or say. As a result, often they do and say

nothing.

As clergy learn how to minister to their peers, they also learn how to be better prepared to prevent or deal

with conflict that may be directed toward them at a future date. These workshops also serve as training

opportunities for “Friends for the Journey.”

The workshops may be co-sponsored by denominations, regional denominational groups, local ecumenical

ministerial alliances, or by individuals who have an interest in the health of clergy. Some of the topics

include:

“Learning to Read the Signs before Conflict Reaches the Point of No Return”

“Check the Congregation’s DNA before Accepting a Call”

“Good Emotional Intelligence Could Prevent Some Forced Terminations”

“Transforming Power Structures into Assets When You Can Do So without Compromising

Integrity”

“Confronting Bullying: Refusing to Perpetuate a Diseased Culture for Your Sake and the

Congregation’s Sake”

“Why Do Clergy Who Promote a Healthy Lifestyle Have Poor Health Ratings: A Look at Good Self-

Care”

The workshops usually involve four to five hours including lunch and provide opportunities for participants

to learn from one another through group activities. To schedule a workshop in your area, contact the MTM

office at 804.594.2556 or by email at mtm@mtmfoundation.org.

Creating Awareness: Communicating and Educating:

Creating awareness of difficult problems is the first step in prevention. Educating ministers and key lay

leaders about the enormity and consequences of the epidemic of church conflict and forced termination

within itself helps to deter rash actions and reactions on the part of clergy and congregations. The MTM

ministry focuses considerable time and energies on creating awareness through presentations, exhibits,

interviews, television, radio, printed articles and other media venues. These efforts are primarily two-fold,

1) creating awareness of the magnitude and consequences of the problem and 2) presenting the MTM

ministry which can make a difference. Most church members are unaware of what is happening in

congregations all around them. Many are unaware that it has happened in their congregation – or is

happening at that very moment.

As already stated, part of the solution to the problem is educating congregations, especially the key lay

leaders in congregations. If they do not know what is happening to our ministers and the effect it has on the

clergy and their families, the congregation, and the community in which the congregation is located, the

problem will continue. When a congregation succeeds in forcing their minister out without cause, the

congregation tends to become a repeat offender with tenures becoming shorter. A dysfunctional model

becomes the dysfunctional norm. Healthy congregations learn to defuse toxic situations and understand the

importance of having procedures in place that will prevent irrational actions and reactions.

Communicating and educating ministers and congregations utilizes varying forms and venues, such as:

Awareness Dinners: Sponsors purchase tables for eight people (or six, depending on the size of the

table) and invite their friends or acquaintances to fill the table at a banquet or dinner. The

magnitude and consequences of the problem of church conflict and forced termination is presented

and a couple of Wellness Retreat participants share how the MTM ministry made a difference for

them. Some form of entertainment is usually included. These settings are often used as low key

fund raising opportunities. Many non-profits use this format to create awareness and as a

fundraiser. Individuals or businesses are often enlisted as event sponsors and are listed in the

program as well as introduced during the program. It is also an opportunity to increase the MTM

mailing list and donor base.

Benefit Concerts: Testimonials are interspersed in the concert and MTM information brochures and

offering envelopes are provided for the attendees. These events are often funded by Sponsors who

are listed in the program, ticket sales, and/or love offerings.

Worship Services: An MTM representative presents a message concerning healthy and dysfunctional

congregations and points out the Apostle Paul’s admonition that there is a better way (I Corinthians

12:31). Statistics show that in most forced termination cases, 80 percent of the congregation never

knew what happened.

Informing Groups: An MTM representative speaking to a Sunday school class, missions

committee/team, ministers group, seminary class, or key lay leaders group. MTM has a number of

representatives who can and do lead such sessions. Helpful information can also be found on the

MTM web site.

Galas: A large gathering for an evening of fun, fellowship, learning about the ministry and

fundraising. This is an excellent way to introduce MTM to friends and acquaintances and to meet

people who have benefitted from the MTM ministry. It is also an opportunity to increase the MTM

mailing list, donor base, and prayer partner list. Galas are usually funded by sponsors who receive

recognition, ticket sales, and live or silent auctions – sometimes all of the above.

Denominational Meeting Exhibits: MTM displays information material, explains to those who stop at

the exhibit the mission and ministry, and encourages them to sign up to receive MTM newsletters

and other mailings. We have had exhibits at numerous denomination meetings in more than a

dozen states.

Media Interviews: Several years ago, a Los Angeles Times newspaper reporter called me on a

Saturday evening for an interview. She was writing an article resulting from “breaking news” for

the Sunday morning edition. Her staff had searched the Internet to find an organization whose

mission would best meet their need and MTM was selected. A high profile pastor had been

terminated amid accusation of immoral choices. The reporter wanted information on why some

ministers make such destructive decisions. She was particularity interested in efforts toward

restoration. The article was published in the Los Angles Times the following day. As a result of that

article, within a few days a National Public Radio (NPR) reporter called to do an interview that was

broadcast on their network of stations across the nation concerning ministers and their

vulnerabilities. Within another few days the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) called to

interview on the same subject and broadcast across the United States and Europe. This was

followed by other local and regional newspapers and radio stations. While attending a

denominational meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, where MTM had an exhibit, a reporter from the

Birmingham CBS affiliate TV station stopped at our exhibit and became interested in the MTM

ministry. He set a time to do an interview that afternoon about clergy forced terminations and the

MTM ministry, to be broadcast during that evening’s six o’clock news. The MTM story has been

featured in articles produced by the Associated Baptist Press (ABP) - now Baptist News Global

(BNG) - that feeds news articles to most religious and secular newspapers throughout the nation

and beyond. Following each Wellness Retreat co-sponsored by and held at Judson College, Marion,

Alabama, their public relations director – an MTM retreat alumnus - wrote articles about the retreat

and the MTM ministry that were provided to a network of more than 50 daily and weekly

newspapers located across Alabama. The U S A Today, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Birmingham News,

and many other newspapers as well as many denomination newsletters/newspapers have featured

articles about MTM and its unique ministry.

Published Articles: In our quest to spread the MTM story, we have published testimonials, editorials,

position papers and suggested helps in our newsletters and written articles for church and

denomination newsletters as well as for scholarly journals and denomination periodicals. Most of

these can be found on the MTM website. You can help by encouraging your church or denomination

to include information about the MTM ministry in their media venues.

MTM Website: The website has become a major depository of information concerning church

conflict and forced termination of clergy. This includes articles published by MTM as well as

research findings, editorials, and published reports by many denominations and various ministries

or research institutions that deal with clergy and congregational health. Additional information

about the website is shared under the MTM Association.

Mass Media: When MTM was organized in 1994, we felt fortunate to even have a cell phone – a bag

phone – and computer with e-mail capability. The advances in social media in the past two decades

defy the imagination. Within a year or two of its inception, MTM had its own website. Now, more

people learn about MTM through the Internet than through any other means. MTM has benefitted

from Facebook, LinkedIn, Text Messaging, Instant Messaging, You Tube, conference calls, and

numerous other venues. We are committed to making better use of Twitter, Blogs, Webinars,

Google Groups, Web meetings and any other means of helping spread the MTM story. We also plan

to do a better job of providing posts that friends can repost through various venues, thus

multiplying our efforts to a larger percent of the population. This is another area in which we need

volunteers to assist with the MTM ministry. Obviously, this is the means of creating awareness in

the future, both technologically and economically. Several denominations and seminaries have

included a link to MTM on their websites as an available resource for ministers/spouses as well as

lay church leaders who may need the MTM ministry.

Most church members are unaware of the frequency or the devastation of conflict that can destroy a

church’s vision, dissipate its energy, distract its focus, polarize its fellowship and rob it of its joy. Though it

will take more than just awareness, without awareness preventative procedures will not be put in place to

enable a congregation to deal with the problem in a healthy way.

As a result of his work with MTM, Dr. Ross Campbell, psychiatrist, who had assisted with over 70 Healthy

Transitions Wellness Retreats, was asked to speak at his church’s Clergy Appreciation Day celebration

worship service. He shared about the epidemic of church conflict and forced terminations including the

magnitude and consequences to both ministers and their families and to congregations. Knowing that most

congregations believe that such events could never happen in their church, he shared that it had happened

in their church at a time while he was serving as a deacon and he did not know the reason the pastor left

until a few years later.

Hearing this, the congregation was in a state of shock. He went on to point out that often there is a “gang of

two or three” that works in secret, bullying the minister until he or she is beaten down and then when the

minister is at the most vulnerable point they blindside him or her. While the minister is in a state of shock,

the “gang” pushes for a resignation – often having a resignation letter ready to be signed. A promise of a

small severance package is offered as a bribe provided they tell no one. The minister, fatigued from months

of being bullied – or mobbed, is afraid to take a chance on not getting any severance, therefore resigns.

Often after the dust settles, it is discovered that the opposition numbered ten or less. By then, however, it is

too late to undo the damage.

Dr. Campbell stated that when the worship service ended, the congregation ran to their pastor and staff,

hugging them and telling them how much they loved and appreciated them. Then they made their way to

Dr. Campbell, emphatically stating that nothing like that would ever be allowed to happen in their church

again. Next came the “tell-tale” statement; “Tell us what to do!” Most of the time, a majority of church

members want to do the right thing, but they need strong leaders with good Christian hearts to guide them.

Awareness can make a significant difference.

Over 10,000 people have been exposed to some aspect of the “Awareness” portion of the MTM ministry. In

addition, thousands more have been touched by news outlets and various forms of mass media.

The MTM Association:

The MTM Association was officially launched in January 2016 to provide a venue for clergy to find resource

materials and forums in which they may interact with peers via the MTM Website:

www.mtmfoundation.org.

The purposes of the Association:

Being a member is a voluntary investment in the mission and ministry of the MTM Foundation.

Being a member enables individuals to become part of the MTM family, thus making a difference in

the lives of wounded ministers and their families.

Members can help to expand the ministry to other geographical areas through the development of

additional Regional MTM Boards.

Members can help to discover additional resource people to implement the expanded ministry.

Membership provides a stream of income to help support and expand the MTM mission and

ministry.

The MTM website archives are available to anyone with or without MTM Association membership and

contain articles, editorials, position papers and testimonials published by MTM as well as articles published

by other sources. It also includes copies of The Servant newsletter and the MTM Messenger, the electronic

newsletter.

Prevention information is also available to everyone and contains model Covenants that may be customized

– personalized – to use as agreements for both clergy and congregations to agree to as tenures together

begin. These delineate responsibilities and expectations as well as procedures to be followed in cases where

tenures cannot continue. It is as important to have defined processes to follow as tenures end as it is to have

detailed processes in place when congregations call a new minister. This can remove the potential

meltdowns that frequently follow church-minister conflicts when emotions explode and both ministers and

congregations are deeply wounded – a state from which some never heal. Also included under Prevention is

the model Closure Agreement which can be followed when no Covenant was adopted as the tenure began

and neither the congregation nor denomination has a Policy Document containing such procedures.

Remember, prevention is always the best policy.

The Forums are what make the MTM Association unique. These are intended as safe settings for affinity

groups to share joys and frustrations with peers who may have some of the same feelings and experiences.

Some of the clergy/clergy spouses’ best ministry often will come from peers in similar circumstances.

Though the MTM website can be accessed by anyone, only MTM Association members can access the

Forums. The Forums will always be a work in progress, the first three to be launched were:

General MTM Forum

Clergy Forum

Clergy Spouses Forum

The General MTM Forum can be accessed by all MTM Association members through Google Groups. Each

member will need to set up a Google account. In addition to the General Forum, each Association member

will be able to choose one other affinity group – forum - that best describes him or her. This assures

Association members of an affinity group where all the members have a common experience. For instance,

members of the Clergy group cannot access the Clergy Spouse Forum, nor can the Clergy Spouse Forum

members access the Clergy Forum. Every effort will be made to make the Forums safe settings.

Professionals have designed the website and have used the best security technology available. However,

users should keep in mind that over a period of time, someone may be able to compromise the security

since hackers thrive on such challenges.

The MTM Association was started in part out of a growing conviction of moral imperatives. Jesus said,

I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I

was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked

after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me (Matthew 25:35-36).

The evidence of the MTM ministry is seen all around through the thousands who have been positively

impacted by some phase of the ministry. Just think, for $100 per year, you can be an important part of this

effort to reach out to some of God’s chosen but wounded servants – that’s less than two dollars per week. As

a fellow pastor, as a friend of pastors, as a churchgoer concerned about pastors, is there any good reason for

not being a member? Jesus also said, Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers

and sisters of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:40).

MTM Regional Boards:

The purpose of Regional Boards is to work under the direction of the Advisory Board to help expand the base

of support for MTM by raising awareness, discovering resource persons to help carry out the ministry, and

securing financial support. They are designed also to enhance the ministry of MTM by planning supporting

activities in their respective regions. The Regional Boards members are elected by the Advisory Board and their

work is done under the auspices of the Advisory Board. They are not separate entities.

Responsibilities of Regional Boards include but are not limited to the following:

Sponsor at least one “awareness” breakfast, luncheon, dinner, benefit concert, gala, or some form of

awareness venue each calendar year to help publicize MTM and its mission and ministries in that

region and to cultivate potential donors who will help to fund the MTM ministry, either at the regional

or national level.

Develop financial support at least to the degree that the Wellness Retreats in the region would be

funded entirely through the Regional Board.

Attempt to get MTM in local church budgets and to secure foundation grants and business and

community leaders’ contributions.

Help recruit volunteer attorneys, psychologists and group facilitators who will be able to help assist

with Wellness Retreat leadership within the region. Having submitted to an interview with leadership,

those engaged in these roles will have attended at least one Wellness Retreat or equivalent experience.

The spirit and approach of these helping professionals will be consistent with the format as outlined in

the Ministering to Ministers Wellness Retreat Manual.

Be responsible for the recruitment and nomination of its own regional board candidates for election by

the Advisory Board to the regional board.

Regional Boards will not, without the express consent of the Advisory Board, expend or commit to

expend funds of MTM (except for the “awareness” functions) or conduct “wellness retreats” or other

substantive activities carried on by MTM.

All Regional Boards will embrace and carry out the policies, spirit, and mission of MTM as set by the

Governing Board. They will not have separate bylaws, but will operate under the MTM bylaws and have no

responsibility to set policy or governance issues, either locally or nationally, and will govern themselves in a

manner consistent with the values and strategies of the Governing Board as well as the guidance and

support of the executive director of MTM and the Advisory Board. Each Regional Board will report to and be

accountable to the MTM Executive Director and/or the MTM executive team. While the presence of a

representative of every region is preferred, a representative or chair of the Regional Team will bring news

and participate on behalf of the Regions when the Advisory Board meets..

The qualifications of Regional Board members will be the same as members of the Advisory Board. The

chair of each regional board will also be a member of the Regional Team and a member of the Advisory

Board. Each Regional Board shall have a minimum of three (3) and a maximum of fifteen (15) Regional

Board Members; provided, however, in starting-up a Regional Board, and for the first 12 months of a

Regional Board’s existence, the minimum number shall be two. Specific guidelines for the development and

operation of Regional Boards are included in the MTM Constitution and Bylaws.

Currently, there are five Regional Boards – Central Alabama, East Tennessee, Central Virginia, Western

Michigan, and the most recent, Northern Virginia. Several other Regional Boards are in the process of being

developed. The Regional Boards give a local presence in selected geographical areas and serve as extensions

of the MTM ministry. Regional Boards help expand all of the above aspects of the MTM ministry.

Prayer Partners:

Electronic Prayer Alerts are sent to over 800 e-mail addresses prior to each Healthy Transitions Wellness

Retreat for Ministers and Spouses. It is a call to prayer to undergird retreat participants and the retreat

leadership team as they travel to and from the retreat site and during the five days of an intense journey

toward healing. Another Prayer Alert is sent following the retreat expressing appreciation to the prayer

partners for their prayer support and requesting they continue to pray for the participants and leadership

team as they continue the journey toward emotional, spiritual, and physical healing. Though the prayer

partners will not know the names or anything about the participants, they will have formed a bond with the

MTM ministry and become a vital part of that ministry through their prayer support. The participants and

the retreat leadership teams have reported they have felt the effects of the prayer support during the five

days. The participants and leadership team continue to pray for one another and communicate with one

another long after they bid farewells at the close of the retreat.

You can become a Prayer Partner by clicking on the Prayer Partner link on the MTM website. As time and

resources permit, MTM ministries will continue to expand. The MTM website address is

www.mtmfoundation.org.

Volunteers – The MTM Lifeline:

Without volunteers, the MTM ministry could not exist. The members of the Board of Trustees volunteer

their time and energies in developing policy, utilizing their expertise and experiences, serving as

ambassadors for the ministry by telling the MTM story, and helping to raise funds to undergird the ministry.

They also provide strong prayer support.

Approximately one-half of the MTM budget is service-in-kind; professionals giving their time in assisting

with the Wellness Retreats, mediating closure agreements, providing legal advice, providing counseling and

coaching pro bono, assisting with resumes and job searches, serving as “Friends for the Journey,” and

folding, stuffing and stamping envelopes for large mailings. More than 50 volunteers contribute over

$300,000 of service-in-kind each year with varying levels of time availability. The Wellness Retreats are

staffed with professionals – with almost all of them volunteering their time and valuable expertise. About

half of the Wellness Retreats are co-sponsored by a college, university, seminary, retreat facility,

denomination, area churches, individuals, or businesses that provide the meeting space, lodging, and meals

for the retreat. Many of these are arranged by volunteer Regional Boards. These partnerships involve local

resources. The volunteers help create awareness of the MTM ministry and the growing awareness of the

ministry helps recruit more volunteers. This not only enhances the trauma care provided by MTM, it also

greatly enhances the follow-up ministry. Volunteers are the Foundation’s lifeline. Much of this aspect of the

MTM ministry could not be purchased with money – even if sufficient amounts of money were available.

The value of volunteers is priceless.

Two volunteers in particular have made significant impacts on the MTM ministry. Their commitment and

expertise have been nothing less than life changing.

Dr. Ross Campbell, psychiatrist from Signal Mountain, Tennessee, author of more than 20 books, professor at

the University of Tennessee Medical School at Chattanooga, and for many years director of a psychiatric

clinic, took early retirement in order to give more time to work with ministers and their families. Soon

afterwards, he was informed by a mutual friend about the MTM ministry and called me to learn more about

it. As a result, he agreed to join the MTM Board of Trustees and over the next 16 years - until his untimely

death - he gave over 70 weeks serving as the clinician at Wellness Retreats, doing follow-up work with

Wellness Retreat participants, assisting with workshops and seminars, speaking to denominational groups,

ministers’ conferences, and college/seminary classes. Ross, a graduate of the US Navy Academy, was a pilot

and utilized his personal twin engine plane to travel to trustee meetings, Wellness Retreats, speaking

engagements and to spend on-site time working with groups doing retreat follow-up ministry.

During his service as an MTM trustee and volunteer with the MTM ministry, Dr. Campbell gave service-in-

kind valued at more than one million dollars. He was a “God-send” to hundreds and hundreds of ministers

and spouses and always managed to get a good word in about the MTM ministry when speaking to other

groups.

Reverend Archibald “Arch” Wallace, III, attorney and bi-vocational pastor, was a charter member of the MTM

Foundation Board of Trustees. His legal expertise was the backbone of the advocacy dimension of the MTM

ministry. He talked with wounded ministers and guided them through the process of negotiating departure

packages. He accompanied numerous ministers as they met with a personnel committee or church board,

drafted closure agreements, served as mediator and wrote letters when needed. In working with

connectional churches, he often represented wounded ministers in church courts and often was the

minister’s advocate in appealing decisions to a higher level of the denomination’s judicatory. Arch made

presentations at Wellness Retreats locally and made a video to be shown at retreats in other locations. He

also made presentations at awareness events, encouraging ministers and congregations to take preventive

measures by putting into place procedures to be followed when tenures could not continue.

His work was pro bono and added a great dimension to the MTM ministry. It’s a ministry that is unique to

MTM. More than a decade and a half ago, Arch pulled out of a downtown Richmond law firm that had over

60 attorneys in which he was the second most tenured partner and, with a friend, formed a small law firm

which enabled him to have more time for pro bono work with ministers and their families in major church

conflicts. Arch described his work as an effort to “level the playing field” by walking with ministers who

often did not know what their rights were. His dual role as an attorney and an ordained Presbyterian

minister equipped him to understand the dynamics surrounding church conflict at various levels. Arch’s pro

bono service-in-kind advocacy through the years totaled over one million dollars in value.

MTM established the Campbell-Wallace Award for outstanding service to and through the MTM ministry.

Ross Campbell fell to his death while hiking in the mountains of East Tennessee in November 2012. Arch

officially retired from the practice of law on December 31, 2014. But their experience, commitment, and

pioneering work with MTM impacted thousands of lives through MTM and through the ministries of those

who were positively impacted by the MTM ministry.

In addition to Ross and Arch, MTM is fortunate to have other clinicians – psychologists and other certified

therapists – and attorneys who are well experienced and committed to the MTM ministry. We are

constantly looking for and training professionals who contribute their time, energy, and expertise. The

clinicians lead in the trauma care, attorneys lead in dispute resolution, ministers lead in small group

facilitation and in creating awareness of the MTM ministry, and others who are experts in Family Systems,

Personality Inventories, the Cultural Shift, Emotional Intelligence, Preparing for Job Searches and Resume

Writing, Leadership and Power Structures, Developing Support Groups, and Spirituality assist through

presentations in these areas.

As stated earlier, volunteers are the MTM ministry lifeline. The ministry could not exist without well

qualified and committed volunteers. We are always looking for others to join the team.

Concluding Thoughts:

The MTM Foundation seeks to advocate for clergy and their families in all faith groups who are experiencing

personal or professional crisis due to deteriorating employment or congregation-clergy relationships. This

mission is carried out through Communicating, Advocating, Reclaiming, and Equipping. This enables MTM

to “Offer C. A. R. E. to Clergy.” We believe healthy ministers help produce healthy churches, healthy

churches help produce healthy communities, and healthy communities help produce healthy societies.

Aaron Earls, online editor of Facts and Trends, states that “Fighting Churches are not growing churches.

Serious conflict stunts growth.”8 The reasons are simple. Their energies are dissipated within the

congregation, and there is little or no energy to reach beyond the walls of the church. Also, if new people

moving into the area visit the congregation, they often sense the tension and look elsewhere for a church

home. Most families have enough tension in their lives without purposely adding more tension by joining a

conflicted congregation.

Chris Hedges states that after a period of time, war begins to develop its own life. The former theology

student turned journalist wrote in his book, War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning,9 that those involved are

able to perform superhuman acts because they are energized by the war. A veteran war journalist, Hedges

studied the nature and dynamics of war – especially the wars of the 1980s and 1990s – concluding that war

provides a purpose for living. He argues that war bonds people together from diverse backgrounds into a

common cause, sometimes bringing together strange “bedfellows.” This cycle can be contagious.

Church conflict, sometimes like war, can take on a life of its own. It does so for the same reasons. Swords are

drawn among the factious groups, gossip follows, and the myths take on a life of their own to fuel the

conflict (war). In this war both sides share a cause that unites them because they have something or

someone to oppose or support. Each side convinces themselves that they are participating in a “noble

cause.”

A communal march against the common “enemy” generates among people who otherwise have so little in

common. It can disintegrate into a feeding frenzy. Perspectives are blurred as people engage in gossip that

destroys the enemy without considering what it does to the Body of Christ. Pack thinking replaces reason

and investigation of the facts. The end justifies the means no matter who is wounded or killed. The cause

demands full attention and “follow-ship.” Sometimes the major issue(s) is no longer the focus. The conflict is

now the focus. Lines are drawn in the sand creating divides that are seldom bridged.

Disregarding the Spirit of Christ and the mission of the church is never right or productive. The prophet

Isaiah admonished, “Come, let us reason together” (Isaiah 1:8).

The sad reality is that it does not have to be that way. Sometimes it’s a good minister and a good

congregation, but they are not a good match. This means that the pastor search committee - or call

committee - and prospective minister did not do their homework sufficiently. Why should the minister and

his or her family have to pay the price when both parties failed in doing their investigation of one another?

Why can’t a mature minister and a mature congregation be able to calmly agree that the relationship is not

working and then ask, “How can we deal with this issue in such a way that no one is destroyed in the

process?” That’s what we try to accomplish with our model Covenants and model Closure Agreement. It is

also what we try to accomplish with MTM volunteers who advocate for ministers, especially those who

serve as negotiators or mediators on behalf of ministers. If there is no criminal activity, sexual misconduct,

or fiscal malfeasance, why does the minister have to be gone tomorrow? It is a proven fact that a minister

can move to a new church ministry position, while in a ministry position, easier and faster than from being

unemployed. There is indeed a better way!

1 Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities, Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Andrew Sanders. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Pl. 1998. 2 McGonigal, Kelly. The Upside of Stress: Why Stress Is Good For You, and How to Get Good At It. New York, New York: Avery, A Member of Penguin Random House, 2015. 3 Vitello, Paul. Taking a Break From the Lord’s Work, The New York Times. August 1, 2010.

4For more information concerning findings from Barna Research Studies, see Barna Research Online, “Strategic Information You Can Trust,” at www.barna.org.

5Lane, Bo. Why Do So Many Pastors Leave the Ministry? The Facts Will Shock You, ExPastors. www.expastors.com/. (Accessed 3/22/2016).

6Gerald L. Zelizer, USA Today, February 21 2002 Issue. Zelizer, rabbi of the Metuchen -Edison, NJ area, is a contributing writer on religion for USA TODAY. 7 Tanner, Marcus. The Back Side of the Storm: Clergy Families in Distress,” Family Focus. Winter 2013. F 15016.

8 Earls, Aaron, Online Editor. Seven Statistics That Predict Church Growth, Facts and Trends. Nashville: Lifeway Christian Resources. March 17, 2016. http://factsandtrends.net/2016/03/17/7-statistics-that-predict-church-growth/#.VvVSLOIrJ1s 9 Hedges, Chris. War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning. New York, New York: Public Affairs, 2002.