Michael MacKenzie - Dont Blow Up Your Ministry: Defuse the Underlying Issues That Take Pastors Down

M Y MOTHER ENJOYED GARDENING, and she taught me that weeding was not just about clearing away the visible intruders you could see among the vegetables or flowers. It was whats underground that had to be dealt with.

So my naive efforts to remove the blossoms, leaves, and vines of the dandelions or thistles or Creeping Charlie made things look better for a day or two, but Id not really accomplished anything. The weeds quickly returned and even spread farther! Unless I had removed the root, I learned, I hadnt done any real weeding.

Mike MacKenzies decades of work with ministry leaders reveals a similar reality. When a pastor or missionary or parachurch worker is found guilty of adultery or addiction or abusive outbursts, the temptation is to focus on the unacceptable behavior and get it stopped. But cleaning up only whats visible does not solve the problem. The behavior may disappear for a while, but it almost always returns and even spreads further. The problem is the root. And this book helps us recognize the deeper, less visible areas that produce the unacceptable behaviors.

I first became aware of Mike and Kari MacKenzie through Marble Retreat, a center in Colorado that focused on helping ministers and ministry couples in crisis. For many years, Mike was Marbles clinical director, and while I was editor of Leadership Journal, he wrote helpful articles for us.

Back in 1979, Marble Retreat founder Louis McBurney had written a book, Every Pastor Needs a Pastor, that first introduced me and many others to the underground roots of destructive behavior among ministry leaders. It brought awareness of the deep psychological issues that plague those in ministry and leadership settings. Things such as contentment, insecurity, the need for approval, honesty, internal dialogue, self-worth, and identity.

In the years since Mike and Kari became the leaders of Marble Retreat, their insights and approach have developed further. The hundreds of guests theyve worked with in intensive ten-day retreats have revealed additional lessons about spiritual and psychological health that are necessary for those in stressful leadership roles.

Dont Blow Up Your Ministry: Defuse the Underlying Issues That Take Pastors Down shares those lessons through the stories of many of the leaders who sought and found help with Mike and Kari MacKenzie. You will learn to not be content with surface treatments of destructive behavior. You will develop the ability to look beneath the surface to address the root causes. I enthusiastically commend this book to you.

B EING A CHRISTIAN LEADER is a dangerous job.

I grew up in Prince Edward Island, Canada, the son of a lobster fisherman. The TV shows Wicked Tuna and Deadliest Catch show how deadly commercial fishing is. Men can lose their limbs or even their lives from the dangers of working at sea.

One day when I was fishing with my father we were running off a set of lobster traps. Fishermen tie six traps together, weight them to sink to the bottom, and attach a buoy on each end. The traps line the edge of the boat and the captain steers to where he believes the best catch is. Then the crew sets the traps by pushing the first one over into the sea. The first one drags the next one overboard and one by one they drag the entire set of traps into the sea.

My father gave the nod to drop a set of traps and I pushed the first one overboard. We reached the last trap when he suddenly slammed the boat into reverse, almost knocking me off balance. I looked toward the cabin with an expression of, What the heck? My annoyance turned to gratitude when my father pointed to the rope wrapped around my foot about to pull me overboard.

Multiple men on P.E.I. (Prince Edward Island) have lost their lives fishing, including one of my best friends. What makes it so dangerous? Some of the factors include the dangerous equipment; the ever-changing movement of the sea and corresponding instability on deck; working through storms with their powerful waves; and the weariness caused by the long hours of heavy work. An additional risk at play was making the same fatal mistake many makegoing out to sea alone.

Many get caught in nets or rope and have been dragged overboard into the sea. They dont always end up losing their lives; some only suffer injuries. Why did they survive? Because someone was there to pull them out. And countless others are spared injury because someone was there to warn them of trouble. Being a Christian leader is a dangerous job. If someone tries to go it alone, to not seek help, damage and even destruction can result.

Power saves. Power in the hands of Churchill saved many lives. Power destroys. Power in the hands of Hitler destroyed lands and cities and huge numbers of people.

There is power in the position of the Christian leader. If we have influence, we have power, we have capacity, we have potential. This power is carried in a container, a vessel. In this case, the vessel is the Christian leader. The vessel is under pressure. Pressure without, power within. If the vessel is not cared for and the pressure is too much, the result is ignition and explosion.

Collateral damage is unintended damage, injuries, or death due to an action. The last thing a Christian leader thinks he will do is harm the church, the kingdom, or bring shame to the name of Christ. Yet because many Christian leaders underestimate the power they have and the pressure they are under, they end up destroying their own lives and ministries and hurting others around them.