Welcome to the online resource list for Susan Nienaber's seminar, "Conflict Over the Leadership of the Pastor: When the Call Is at Risk," offered through the Alban Institute.

As a seminar participant, you may find the following resources relevant and helpful.

For more information or to obtain a resource, click on the title. If you prefer to obtain a book from Amazon.com, click on "Amazon" at the end of the resource description.

This resource list is also available in a print-ready version . (You will need to have installed the free download, Adobe Acrobat .)
 

Behavioral Covenants in Congregations: A Handbook for Honoring Differences (Book)
Gilbert R. Rendle, Author. Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 1999.

Behavioral Covenants in Congregations offers congregations an approach to managing their differences with maturity and respect. Gil Rendle discusses the behavioral covenant as a useful approach to answering a key question: "How will we behave when we don't understand each other and when we don't agree?" A written document developed and agreed to by leaders and creators, the behavioral covenant is a set of promises to practice the Golden Rule in clearly identified ways. The book provides modules for developing behavioral covenants in various group settings. Among the book's additional resources are examples of covenants for congregations during troubling times.
Amazon
 

Clergy Women: An Uphill Calling (Book)
Barbara Brown Zikmund, Adair T. Lummis, Patricia M. Y. Chang, Authors. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998.

Clergy Women discusses the results of a 1993-94 survey of male and female clergy in 15 Protestant denominations, comparing them with the results of a similar 1980 study conducted by Hartford Seminary. Statistical analyses address such topics as clergy couples, clergy spouses and children, age and health, differing leadership styles, career paths, the call to ordained ministry, and expanding ministries. The authors conclude that women have made advances but are sometimes concentrated at lower or midlevel placements. At the same time, as parish ministries are outnumbered by ministries expanding outside the parish, clergy women are reinventing ministry. In the process, they are challenging denominations to rethink leadership.
Amazon
 

Conflict Management in Congregations (Book)
David B. Lott, Editor. Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 1999.

In Conflict Management in Congregations, editor David Lott gathers the experience of more than a dozen authorities on church conflict. Revealing that "conflict" means different things in different settings, this book features essays that focus on managing organizational tensions related to power sharing, that explore the flawed and unpredictable ways people cope with stress, that provide standards by which to evaluate the potential for success in conflict resolution, and that share helpful insights from ethnically diverse congregations. Congregations facing new conflict challenges, as well as persons who work at conflict mediation, will find a valuable and ready reference in this book.
Amazon
 

Congregational Fitness: Healthy Practices for Layfolk (Book)
Denise W. Goodman, Author. Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2000.

Congregational Fitness focuses on multiple resources for lay people who are addressing church conflicts or seeking to avoid destructive conflicts in the future. Acknowledging that conflict is not necessarily bad, Denise Goodman presents the problems of both pastoral and congregational accountability in conflict situations and suggests ways to distinguish between healthy and destructive conflict. Congregations seeking to deal with conflict before it becomes destructive would benefit from this resource, as would seminaries and church-related colleges. With reflective questions at the end of each chapter, this book may be used in lay leadership training and small group discussions.
Amazon
 

Ex-Pastors: Why Men Leave the Parish Ministry (Book)
Gerald Jud, Edgar W. Mills, Genevieve Walters Burch, Authors. Philadelphia, PA: Pilgrim Press, 1970.

This book, published more than 35 years ago, is the result of a UCC research project that sought to listen to ex-pastors in ways that might inform the work of the church. The book includes "confessional statements from ex-pastors, statistical summaries of responses, theoretical interpretations by the researchers, and policy implications." Suggestions offered by these ex-pastors are as relevant now as in 1970: have a clear job description for the pastor; allow the pastor a private life; clarify lines of authority in the church; treat the pastor as both a professional and a human being who has the same needs as others; and pay the pastor a decent salary.
Amazon
 

Forced Termination: Redemptive Options for Ministers and Churches  (Book)
Brooks R. Faulkner, Author. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1986.

Consultant Brooks Faulkner has led workshops for ministers who have been terminated from their churches. In this book he explains why terminations occur and advises pastors and parishes that are experiencing the resultant pain and loss. Faulkner begins by outlining reasons why pastors become "expendable" in the minds of church leaders. Such reasons include clergy or lay rigidity, the loss of respect and trust, the influence of associate pastors, congregational stress, and interpersonal conflicts. Faulkner discusses clergy "retraining," what to do when there's an impasse, and the steps involved in termination. He also helps ministers and churches to consider the next steps after a termination.
Amazon
 

Never Call Them Jerks: Healthy Responses to Difficult Behavior  (Book)
Arthur Paul Boers, Author. Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 1999.

No congregation is immune from people who behave in difficult ways, but Arthur Paul Boers suggests that these behaviors can be countered—and learned from—if understood and responded to in a healthy manner. He describes difficult behavior as patterned and sustained behavior that is abusive, irrational, distorted, or hostile. He cautions against responding to such behavior in emotional, punitive, or defensive ways, instead suggesting that leaders attempt to understand the origins of the behavior. Along these lines, Boers explores family-of-origin patterns, multigenerational problems, triangulation, and mental health issues. He also recommends examining bad behavior in relationship to the larger system of congregational interaction rather than in isolation.
Amazon
 

Pastors in Transition: Why Clergy Leave Local Church Ministry  (Book)
Dean R. Hoge, Jacqueline E. Wenger, Authors. Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005.

Dean Hoge and Jacqueline Wenger surveyed 900 American clergy from five denominations to discover why former pastors left local church ministry. Seven motivations for clergy departures were delineated: alternative ministries; conflict with congregations; conflict with denominational leaders; stress; sexual misconduct; marital problems; and family issues. The authors recommended that seminaries do more to prepare students for the practical aspects of ministry; that denominations improve their call procedures and provide special care for pastors experiencing difficulties; and that congregations be better prepared to articulate their goals when doing a pastoral search. The authors also believe that congregations need to be more realistic about their expectations of ministers.
Amazon
 

The Power of Gender in Religion  (Book)
Georgie Ann Weatherby, Susan Farrell, Editors. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1996.

The essays in this book explore the interplay between gender and religion in American culture. Of particular interest is Adair Lummis' essay, "Why Men and Women Leave the Ministry: Hypotheses from Research on Clergy and from Role Exiters of Other Statuses." Lummis found that "feminist perspectives on women, God, and the church have no significant relationship" to clergywomen's career decisions. Instead, women left ordained ministry because of difficulties in finding full-time work that paid a living wage, difficulties in setting boundaries between church work and personal life, family statuses that made boundary-setting difficult, church crises leading to termination, a lack of contact with peers, and a lack of denominational support.
Amazon
 

United Methodist Clergywomen Retention Study  (Report)
Margaret S. Wiborg, Elizabeth J. Collier, Authors. Boston, MA: Boston University School of Theology, 1997.

The Boston University School of Theology conducted a study to determine why United Methodist clergywomen leave local church ministry and what possible interventions might enable the Church to retain them. The study found that departures from local ministry happened because some women felt called to another type of ministry, while others needed to respond to family responsibilities, experienced rejection by their congregations, cited a "lack of opportunity to use their gifts," believed the current system kept them from maintaining their integrity, or perceived that the district superintendent failed to provide support. Stories of isolation and discrimination are revealed. Included are suggested revisions to the appointment system and Annual Conference processes.
 

The Wounded Minister: Healing from and Preventing Personal Attacks  (Book)
Guy Greenfield, Author. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2001.

Guy Greenfield—a Baptist pastor, professor, and counselor—draws on his own experience of being wounded in ministry to advise pastors who have been wounded by people in their congregations. He describes the nature of abuse, its impact on a pastor, and the damage it wrecks upon a church. He also explains what happens when the pastor is the abuser. Strategies for preventing abuse (such as developing a minister's advisory council) are detailed, as are steps toward healing once abuse has occurred. Particularly helpful are suggestions for understanding the process of forgiveness and learning to forgive. Greenfield reminds us that "forgiving is something good we do for ourselves."
Amazon
 

Additional resources recommended by Susan Nienaber:

"Career Change in the Protestant Ministry" (Article)
Edgar W. Mills, Author. Ministry Studies 3:1, May 1968.

"Clergy Shortage Study" (Report)
Alan C. Klaas and Cheryl D. Klaas, Authors. St. Louis Board of Higher Education, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, 1999.

"Crossroads: Clergywomen Thinking Seriously about Leaving Church-Related Ministry" (Paper)
Karen Smith Seller, Author. Boston, MA: paper presented at the annual meeting of the Religious Research Association, November 1999.

"Ministers Ordained in the 1990s: A Look at Clergy Who Have Left the Ministry" (Report)
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Research Services. Louisville, KY: Presbyterian Church U.S.A., 1999.

"United Methodist Ordained Ministry in Transition" (Essay)
Rolf Memming, Author. In The People Called Methodist, edited by William B. Lawrence, Dennis M. Campbell, and Russell E. Richey. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1998.