Small Church Pastors and Bullying

Source: Karl Vaters

There are some bullies in church leadership.

No, not all of them. Not even most of them. But there are too many of them.

I doubt even one of the bullies realizes it. But they’re bullies, just the same.

Yes, that’s a strong accusation to make. I haven’t written it lightly. It’s the result of a great deal of thought, prayer and experience. And it may be a little surprising if you’ve read my recent post, 12 Ways to Disagree Online Without Being a Jerk.

But I stand by it.

It’s because I don’t think the bullies intend to be bullies that I’m using such a strong term – to help them see the hurt they’ve been causing to a certain segment of their fellow Christians and church leaders.

Small Churches and their leaders have suffered under the bullies for years. But no one has dared say it out loud. So I’m saying it today, because we can’t fix a problem until we acknowledge it.

Small Church pastors often feel bullied and insulted by the very church leaders we go to for help.

This problem is real. It’s hurtful. And it needs to stop.

What else would you call it when “small church” is commonly used as a synonym for “ignorant”, “backwards” and “faithless”?