Identifying The Clergy Killer

Henry Reyenga


Paul Had Clergy Killers In His Day

2 Tim. 4:14    Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done.  15 You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message. 

The attack has actually been going on for some time, but the clergy killer, when the time is right, gets his plan of attack on the agenda of the official board of his church. He arranges for the minister not to be present. The board will be called to "an executive session,” meaning no outsiders are invited and that includes the minister. Ministers and their staff members are usually "outsiders” to such official boards. At this crucial meeting, the clergy killer lays his charges before the assembled body of lay leaders. He will use "statistics” to bolster his accusations. A common target is church finances, since most churches never have enough money. The shortage of money can easily be blamed on the minister's leadership.

Greenfield, Guy (2001-07-01). Wounded Minister, The: Healing from and Preventing Personal Attacks (Kindle Locations 287-289). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 


When the statistics are interpreted negatively, the finger of blame is pointed at the minister. The bottom line of the charges is very simple: If we get rid of our minister, all of our problems will be solved, because we will bring in a new and different minister who will lead us to new heights of statistical glory. If the accusing leader succeeds to this point, he will probably try to get a special committee appointed (hopefully his friends) to visit the minister in his office as soon as possible to pressure him to resign quietly "for the sake of the church's unity and future.” By the time this happens, many ministers have been so harassed and worn out emotionally by all the accusations (via phone calls, letters--some anonymous--personal visits, and rumors) that they will go as quickly and quietly as possible.

Greenfield, Guy (2001-07-01). Wounded Minister, The: Healing from and Preventing Personal Attacks (Kindle Locations 293-299). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 


This leadership crisis will eventually be brought before the congregation in some official capacity, where it is possible that open conflict will explode. Most ministers have friends and supporters who are caught unawares by the attempt to get rid of them, and these friends will rush to their support if at all possible. It may be too late to prevent the minister's resignation, but some kind of reactive response may take place resulting in either a church split--with some members insisting the resigned minister lead them to start a new congregation--or with the departure of several members in an unorganized fashion to join other churches in town.

Greenfield, Guy (2001-07-01). Wounded Minister, The: Healing from and Preventing Personal Attacks (Kindle Locations 303-304). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 


At this point, the abused clergyperson usually goes into a clinical depression, after being rejected by the church that called him to be their pastor at one time. His wife and children also feel rejected. They may even stop attending church anywhere for a time. They usually feel some kind of public embarrassment over what happened to their husband and father. The clergyperson's marriage may be severely strained, especially when there are acute financial needs. 

This "collateral damage” can be quite heavy and devastating. An already weak or troubled marriage may eventually collapse in separation and divorce, especially if the wife is one who tends to be critical and blames her husband for the problems. 

Abused clergy often tell unbelievable stories of turning to their friends in the ministry and to their denominational superiors for help and getting little if any positive assistance. It's as if they now have some dread disease, and their friends, colleagues, and superiors keep their distance. Rarely does anyone come to their aid.

Greenfield, Guy (2001-07-01). Wounded Minister, The: Healing from and Preventing Personal Attacks (Kindle Locations 304-312). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 


Who Are These Clergy Killers? 

What kind of human beings are they? These are not normal people, average complainers, critics, and typical dissidents who are generally unhappy about life itself. Generally there are very few of them, one or two in an average congregation, but they are deadly and have a knack for gathering a following of ordinary folk with common complaints and disagreements in the church. They can easily create the illusion that there are hordes of people against the pastor.

Greenfield, Guy (2001-07-01). Wounded Minister, The: Healing from and Preventing Personal Attacks (Kindle Locations 319-322). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 


Who Are These Clergy Killers? 

They can easily create the illusion that there are hordes of people against the pastor. They are masters at using the tyrannical they in their comments: "They are very unhappy about . . .” Or the illusive people: "People are saying that . . .”

Greenfield, Guy (2001-07-01). Wounded Minister, The: Healing from and Preventing Personal Attacks (Kindle Locations 322-324). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 


Who Are These Clergy Killers? 

Let me be clear that I am not using the term clergy killer to label the person who happens to disagree with a minister and his agenda. Rather, I am using this term to identify persons who have a very mean-spirited disposition toward ministers in general and who intentionally target ministers for termination.

Greenfield, Guy (2001-07-01). Wounded Minister, The: Healing from and Preventing Personal Attacks (Kindle Locations 325-327). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 


Clergy Killer Characteristics

1. They are destructive. The damage they want to inflict is intentional and deliberate. They are not out simply to disagree or find fault; they want to inflict pain and damage persons. "Their tactics include sabotage, subverting worthy causes, inciting others to do their dirty work, and causing victims to self-destruct.”[4] The clergy killer in my last pastorate used every one of these tactics to accomplish his goals.

Greenfield, Guy (2001-07-01). Wounded Minister, The: Healing from and Preventing Personal Attacks (Kindle Locations 328-332). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

2. Clergy killers are determined. They are headstrong and will stop at nothing. They may pause for a time, change strategies, even go underground to reconnoiter, but they will come back with a vengeance to continue their intimidation, networking, and breaking all rules of decency to accomplish their destructive objectives. For them, their plans have priority over all other programs of the church.

Greenfield, Guy (2001-07-01). Wounded Minister, The: Healing from and Preventing Personal Attacks (Kindle Locations 332-335). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

3. These persons are deceitful. Clergy killers are masters of manipulation, camouflage, misrepresentation, and accusing others of their own atrocious deeds. Their comments and promises are not trustworthy. They are experts at twisting facts.

Greenfield, Guy (2001-07-01). Wounded Minister, The: Healing from and Preventing Personal Attacks (Kindle Location 337). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

4. Clergy killers are demonic. Psychiatrist M. Scott Peck said that there are some people so mean that the only adequate term to describe them is evil.[5] These people in the church who target ministers for destruction may be mentally disordered, but they do not yield to patience or love nor do they honor human decency. 

Apparently clergy killers carry around a lot of internal pain, confusion, anger, and even rage. Spiritual leaders, especially employed parish ministers, become available scapegoats for this pain and confusion, which is unidentified and untreated.

Greenfield, Guy (2001-07-01). Wounded Minister, The: Healing from and Preventing Personal Attacks (Kindle Locations 338-343). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

5. Denial on the part of the church leaves clergy killers unrestrained, so that the whole church in general and ministers in particular are left extremely vulnerable to their wiles. The church tends to deny the seriousness of what clergy killers are about and thus unknowingly cooperates in their agenda of destruction. So many in the church, well-intentioned people to be sure, do not wish to admit the reality of clergy killers and the intentional damage they cause. Believing that this evil should not be happening in the church, we convince ourselves that it really isn't happening. Kindhearted church leaders often told me, "Oh, Pastor, this will all blow over. Don't take it so personally. The Lord will take care of this problem if we just keep praying about it.”

Greenfield, Guy (2001-07-01). Wounded Minister, The: Healing from and Preventing Personal Attacks (Kindle Locations 348-352). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

6. Clergy killers are experts of disguise (or openly attacking) when they see it would be to their advantage. They are able to present themselves as pious, devout, and spiritual church members who are doing their destructive work "for the good of the church, to advance God's kingdom.” They can convince naive church members that they are raising legitimate issues. These religious monsters often hide among their "allies of opportunity,” those members whom they have charmed into friendship-- who are also congregational power brokers--and others who are disgruntled with the church for one reason or another.

Greenfield, Guy (2001-07-01). Wounded Minister, The: Healing from and Preventing Personal Attacks (Kindle Locations 359-362). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 


Best Practices Of Thriving In A World With Clergy Killers

1. Don't accept a call to a church without sensing the total "buy in” from the key leaders.

2. Don't lead in a building project that exposes you to excessive risk.

3. Don't allow someone to get the "over volunteer” syndrome.

4. Set up a pastor's council with the "key” leaders of the church whose task is to be aware of the clergy killers.

5. Keep developing your leadership so that you do not raise up clergy killers.

6. Seek out experienced pastors and mentors to help you discern how to lead in your local situation. 

7. Develop the Peacefire.net base of knowledge in your leadership. 

8. Identify possible "very divisive people” and deal with problems as soon as possible. 

9. Learn how to expect problems, talk them through, forgive quickly, learning as you go and be resilient. 

10. Do a Bible study on the dissension passage right when you start and develop a plan to deal with dissension should it occur. 

11. Don't take yourself too seriously.

12. Pray.

Last modified: Tuesday, April 6, 2021, 1:29 PM