It is becoming a consistent scenario in our work with conflicted churches -- Anxious congregations overreact to symptomatic issues and cause great harm to people and ministry.
In its simplest form, it looks something like this: a congregation begins to notice that attendance at weekend Bible study and/or worship is declining. Assuming that a decline in attendance means their church is in trouble, desperate measures seem called for. A move to change ministerial leadership is carried out. Following a bruising internal conflict, the attendance decline accelerates as the church implodes.
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