Addiction and Anxiety: Ministry to Addictive Churches

Perhaps some of the most difficult experiences of pastoral ministry occur in churches dominated by addictive emotional processes. Totally unaware of the situation, passionate, gifted, and well-intended men and women of God (clergy and lay) go into such churches to "save" them. They naïvely believe that by simply providing quality ministry, leadership, and their own remarkable skills, the churches will move from anxiety to health. Certainly the people will understand simple logic, they think. Certainly they’ll understand God’s Word, right?

No, they won’t understand it, perhaps not at all!

The prophetic tradition in the Christian scriptures records numerous times when great spiritual leaders were sabotaged or ineffective at ministering to the people of God. "Repent!" was often their message. A violent, reactive, and vehement "No, thanks!" was often the response. Whether one considers Moses, Abraham, Paul, or Jesus, the words of Isaiah apply: "Ever seeing but not perceiving, Ever hearing but never comprehending" (Isaiah 69 NIV).

Dealing with Congregational Addiction Today

Like prophets, pastors and other church leaders should expect that they, too, may have difficulty being heard by anxious crowds. After all, the ministry bears the mantel of the early prophetic tradition in our day. Unfortunately, the pattern that often plays out goes something like this:

1. A naïve but energetic and remarkably competent individual becomes the pastor of an addictive church.
2. The pastor believes that if everything is done perfectly, people will respond positively and love/respect/accept the pastor’s ministry.
3. When the congregation doesn’t respond as expected, the pastor simply tries harder and harder to please others through ministry accomplishments. As the pastor exerts greater efforts, he or she becomes unintentionally absorbed and involved in the addictive emotional process.
4. The congregation rejects the pastor and anything he or she has done to bring growth.
5. The pastor, broken and devastated, goes into a deep depressive cycle with a loss of self-respect, self-confidence, self-control, self-importance, and self-love. Without intervention, the pastor may leave the ministry by active choice or by "acting out anxiety" via professional misconduct.
6. The unhealthy addictive congregation gets another pastor.
7. See step #1.