Toxic parishes: who’s to blame and what should be done?

03.01.10 / Uncategorized / Author: admin / Comments
Tags: Address, Attempts, Conflict, Congregations, Denomination, Denominations, Duty Of Care, Dysfunctional, Emotional Support, England, Faith, Health, Meaningful Ministry, Pastors, Toxicity, Vibrant Community, Vicar

Ask any pastor, and he or she will confirm that toxic parishes exist. He or she may well have served one at some point. To be fair, there are certainly toxic pastors out there as well, though it tends to be easier to address that problem than it is to deal with toxic parishes.

What is a toxic parish? I define it as a parish that is so embroiled in conflict and unwilling to make the changes necessary to move toward health that it actively sabotages or passively resists all attempts to engage in meaningful ministry.

Of course, there are varying degrees of toxicity, and in some situations the right pastor can transform a conflicted, dying congregation into a vibrant community of faith. Is there a point, though, at which denominations should simply refuse to send another pastor to a parish with a long history of chewing up and spitting out its pastors? Does the denomination have any responsibility to forewarn pastors about a parish’s history of conflict, or to provide financial or emotional support to pastors who are forced to leave dysfunctional congregations?

One vicar in England thinks it does, and he is suing his diocese for not exercising its “duty of care.” You can read more about it by clicking here.

What do you think? Please add your comments below.