When Sheep Attack

by Dennis R. Maynard

Do you love your parish? Are you fond of your pastor? Would you believe that in just a matter of a few weeks your pastor and his family could be abused, humiliated, and unemployed? In just a matter of days your parish could be split down the middle. A couple of months from now close to forty percent of the people you currently see at worship could no longer be there. Close to half of those will never again attend worship or participate in any church. Friends that you see talking and laughing this Sunday may never speak again. If you want to do whatever you can to keep that scenario from happening to your pastor and your parish, then this book is for you. It is the product of nearly a decade of work with parishes that are undergoing or have recently undergone the very scenario described above. The substance of this book is based on twenty-five case studies of clergy exercising faithful ministries with positive results that were attacked by a small group of antagonists in their congregations. The antagonists successfully "removed their senior pastor." This book describes how it happened, what could have been to stop it, and what can be done to prevent it from happening to your pastor and parish. The Reverend Doctor Dennis R. Maynard is the author of ten books. He has served as a consultant to over one hundred parish and school boards in the United States and Canada.

Genres: Leadership, Nonfiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published April 12, 2010

Reviews

[Clive Billenness · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first read this book, my immediate thought was to sue Dennis Maynard for plagiarism because he seemed to be telling the exact story of my parish! After checking the date of publication, I was appalled to realise that Dennis is telling the stories of many other religious communities and that clearly what we thought was a unique set of circumstances in our parish is sadly all too common.
I would classify this book as "the one I wish I had read a year ago" because it would have helped to mitigate a current crisis.
This should be on the bookshelf of every pastor, lay minister and church officer and should be included in the teaching of new ordinands.
If you read it and don't recognise your own parish - rejoice and use this to ward off future problems. If you do recognise your own parish, take the book as assurance that you are not alone, not especially bad, have done nothing wrong, and then learn from what Dennis recommends you do next.
Highly recommended and very disturbing reading.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who would think that confrontation and politics could wreck a church parish, but this book has ample evidence that it occurs. A well written study that explains how a minority can destroy the ministry of the best people. It also gives great suggestions on how to nip these problems in the bud. Great reading for Vestry or Parish Council members.

[Nathan Willard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good selection of case studies about pastors and staffed forced from church by toxic personalities. Good for laying out he warning signs, and good for sharing with people who may be naive about church dynamics. A little thin on pastoral responsibility.

I particularly like the repeated emphasis on systems of support and on the importance of non-triangulation.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe 2 stars is too low. I would never have thought there would be antagonists in a church until I read this book by Rev Maynard plus his "Preventing a Sheep Attack." Unfortunately it was too late for me, but it helped me understand things better. One never knows how much things like this could hurt - until it happens in your church and you lose a great priest:(

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. However, it was far too lacking in any real spiritual aid or biblical wisdom. The advice was okay as far as it went. But the book was for the most part just defensive. It was lacking in gospel hope. The author confessed that of the 25 cases studied for the book, in which every minister eventually resigned their position, “Only one reported that they could find spiritual strength in the experience by identifying with the sufferings of Christ” (62). This is more disconcerting. But nothing more of it is said, neither is finding such comfort encouraged or recommended. He himself seems to see little or nothing redemptive about these struggles.

The writing is okay, but he jumps around too much from sentence to sentence. Paragraphs don’t always cohere well. The first sentence of the center paragraph on 113 regarding ordination of women and the roles of gays and lesbians is completely unrelated to the rest of the paragraph.

Occasionally the meaning is obscured by amphiboly as when he speaks on bishops taking a strong stand “with” antagonists (e.g., 105). He means “with” to mean “against,” not “on the side of.”

Sometimes the need of better editing is apparent, as on 113: “Some bishops and clergy have and are being used by antagonists….” “Have *been*” would have been preferable.

Finally, despite the generosity of calling a minister’s detractors “sheep” in the title, they are throughout the book simply called “antagonists.” This wears on my nerves as un-pastoral and de-personalizing.

While this book could let a wounded minister know he is not alone and give some good steps to consider to mitigate the work of destructive criticism, I would very much recommend instead these two books: Well-Intentioned Dragons by Marshall Shelley and Pastors and Their Critics by Joel Beeke. Together they will warm even the wounded pastoral heart and provide the minister with a great course in Biblical wisdom for handling critics and criticism.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit, it was triggering as I’m walking through therapy from PTSD from a couple of our last churches. But the way Dennis ends the book is refreshing and makes me stop to take a breath.

“The Lord brought you to this parish to be a blessing. You were exactly that to those that allowed your ministry to bless them. The condemnation rests on the heads of those that rejected you. In Christ's own words they have rejected the one that He sent to them. In rejecting you they have rejected Him. Just remember, there is life beyond this parish. It just may be a better life than you ever thought possible."

[Russeller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Depressingly accurate. Sadly my attacking sheep are WAY beyond those described in the book.

[Deborah Porras · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another classic

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Applicable beyond the field of ministry. Quick read.

[Edith Bird · Rating 1 out of 5]

working over 30 years in congregations as a pastor, especially during the anxious age we are in, I have had to learn to work responsibly with conflict and destructive communication patterns within families, congregations and society. Yes, I too have been scapegoated and found it devastatingly painful. Strong leaders should count on being scapegoated during this extremely anxious age. Scapegoating is something that all human communities participate in, and yes, of course, it happens in congregations. To understand how conflict escalates is to see how the scapegoat mechanism works and to see how important it is to deescalate conflict so that people can return to their better selves. That is how conflict is transformed - through seeing that people are not acting from their true selves when they participate in scapegoating, and seeking to work within the community to help people remember their better selves, and get back in touch with their better angels. It is deeply spiritual work and deeply transformative, as all authentic spiritual work is. This book, sadly, is not transformative of these situations because it uses scapegoating to deal with scapegoating. In defense of pastors who are being scapegoated, the book scapegoats churchmembers who are unable to express themselves in skillful non-violent ways. Why have church leaders not been trained in non-violence and why have we not been teaching non-violence as a primary way of life for those in our care? Why has the church not helped its members and its clergy to mature in these skills and lifeways? Anyone who wants to exercise the office of leadership in a human community owes it to the community and to themselves to do a lot of work in non-violent communication, conflict transformation skills building, systems theory, and the humble path of self-examination and repentance. We lead by example. If we walk into a congregation without these skills, then situations like this are our wakeup call. The world desparately needs people who can work with conflict in mature and lifegiving ways and not by scapegoating the scapegoaters.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really puts parish life into perspective. While the examples are Episcopal priests there are a lot of similarities to Roman Catholic parishes.

[Joy Gonnerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

every pastor needs to read this book. It puts a humorous tone on what can make a person question their call to serve in pastoral ministry. I'm still in the work.