The congregation where I served as lead Pastor had enjoyed ten years of growth in ministry creativity, dynamic outreach, attendance and facilities when conflict erupted. Personal confidence was replaced by a whirlpool from which escape would abandon others also drowning. They were persons I loved deeply; persons God and the congregation had charged me to shepherd. To walk away would have felt like violation of calling and integrity. Yet I knew not how to stay and survive. It raged two long years. Rumors and personal attacks drained life, vision, energy from this young Pastor. How does one lead through chaos? How does one preach in the face of confusion, fear, mistrust, and even pockets of hate? How does one protect Christ’s kingdom, a church’s witness;...
