Defeat and Disappointment
Knute Larson
Church work isn't war, but defeats are.
— Knute Larson I heard it through the grapevine: twenty-three members, pained at the changes I had made during my first days at The Chapel, had secretly met to pool their frustrations. I immediately called the de facto leader and asked for a meeting. He said he had a list of what the group had prayed (and complained) about. "Let's get all the concerned people together," I suggested. He agreed but wanted to meet with the trustees, not me. I contended the grievances were with me, rehearsed the clear guidelines of Matthew 18:15-17, and we agreed to convene. I also invited all the trustees and other leaders. We had scheduled the meeting in the Fellowship Hall, and as I stepped in I was hoping it would live up to its name. But frankly, it already felt like a no-win, no-way situation. The critical group fired away. I listened carefully to their concerns — some fair, some unfair (from my vantage of total objectivity!). A few of the complaints related to music, the way I closed my sermons and appealed to people to come to Christ, and some program changes. I neither argued nor made promises but clarified their points, some of which were based on misinformation or rumors. Four hours later, I emerged from that meeting a little shell shocked, more aware than ever of my vulnerability as a leader. Defeats and disappointments should not surprise us, but they usually do. My regular aches have resulted from bad sermons — especially when I knew it during the first service and dreaded having to preach it again at a couple more — or counseling that wasn't heeded or was refused. More painful are the defeats of rejection, when people leave the church because, they say, "We're not getting fed." Or when a major program ...
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