Facing Messy Stuff in the Church: Case Studies for Pastors and Congregations

by Kenneth L. Swetland

A collection of fifteen case studies that give church leaders practical and realistic preparation to handle tough issues like sexual harassment, pornography, divorce, and the effects of abortion. The book includes discussion questions, an appendix for facilitating discussions, and a bibliography of additional resources.

Genres: Read For School, Christian, Theology, Counselling, Christianity

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 17, 2005

Reviews

[Emma Schramm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for a class at CCEF. It had some helpful case studies to think through and consider possible counseling approaches.

[Porter Sprigg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hard read but a helpful one. This got me thinking about a lot of potential pastoral challenges that I or people I know will likely face in some way.

[Yoel Ben David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has got to be one of the most difficult books to read ever! You genuinely want to shoot a few people by the end of it. And then you remember that you deserve judgment too...

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am very grateful that Swetland took the time to create 14 case studies of messy stuff in the church because it informs readers of the reality of this sinful world, and how even in the church there are terrible things that happen. I found myself reading this book, filled with emotion (different kinds for different chapters) and with a heightened sense of awareness of what my church might be well off putting up safeguards for.
I recommend this to anyone and everyone in the church: leaders, laypeople, seminary students. My hope is that we can learn from the past, and with reliance on God's truth and leading of his Spirit, apply whatever learnings we have to our communities today.
I read this book for seminary course on Christian ethics.

[Ryan Beneke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many of the case studies should come with trigger warnings—this is heavy, emotional content. Personally I found the chapters on grief most helpful. They made me reflect on how I have responded to those who have miscarried and how I minister to other ministers who are grieving.

Although it is the nature of the book, the lack of resolution for each case was still frustrating. This is a useful resource for small group discussion or to exposure you to a variety of pastoral issues, but not something I would necessarily recommend for personal reading.

[Rob Steinbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brutal read through a bunch of case studies. All true stories of pain and brokenness and pastors attempting to minister in those situations. Good read for anyone considering vocational ministry and a good read for Elder/Staff teams to read through various studies to discuss how to respond to similar things that may happen in a church community.

[Katie Koppin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting case studies to foster discussion on how things were handled. My friend had to read this for a seminary ethics class, so I read it with her so we could discuss since I am training to be a biblical counselor. The writing wasn’t the best, but overall it really gave me a lot to think about. Along with other reviewers, I too, wanted to scream at a lot of people in this book:)

[Dan Absalonson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the hardest book I've ever read, but it is also important and helpful to those looking to go into ministry and those in ministry.

P.S. "Night" by Elie Wiesel is the second hardest. I threw it across the room after finishing it in high school. Evil is a very real thing and these two books are a very sobering reminder of that tragic reality.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Messy case studies for situations pastors/churches might face. Swetland highlighted how many of the problems in churches aren't from only how pastors respond to situations, but from how the congregation acts or neglects to act in a given circumstance.

[Eric Rhodes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A challenging book to read as you look at these case studies and see hard situations handled in various ways. It is helpful to consider how you or your church would approach the issues outlined in the book

[Tyler Timmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many eye opening case studies that remind you that everything can happen in a church good or bad.

[Robby Eckard]

A helpful resource for pastors and elders in thinking about how to respond to difficult ethical situations

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Asks great questions anyone is leadership in a church should think through or ask about

[D. L. Ashenfelder · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great resource for pastors and church leadership.

[Kyle Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of stories… very little solutions or even nuanced answers

[Tess McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful and sobering read- would highly recommend. Read excerpts for a CCEF class.

[Aaron J. Gregas · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Helpful

[Shelby Peck · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a compilation of narrative stories, but I think I highlighted almost every other sentence

[Barry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not used to reading books with no message so this book took me by surprise. I'm also not used to reading workbooks disguised as books so that also caught me unaware. That's the long and the short of why I rated this book, though useful in its own right, at 3 stars.

My biggest beef with this book is that it raises questions and provides no guidelines on how to answer them. Anybody can work through case studies all day long, but walking through certain aspects of case studies is difficult if you don't have some guidelines. For instance, legal matters are hinted at several times in this book, and I can just imagine a group of church leaders (the target audience for this book) sitting around trying to figure out what they would do if they found themselves in a similar circumstance. If that group of leaders doesn't know anything about legal requirements, all their brainstorming and idea-bantering will be in vain. The same can be said for handling psychological disorders or even certain areas of sin entanglement. The case studies deal with complex issues, and I understand that there is not one 'right answer' for every case study, but to leave the readers without any idea of where to begin to tackle the issue seems negligent or even dangerous to me.

I appreciate Mr. Swetland's desire to raise awareness and get people talking, and he certainly does that well, but I think church leaders could come up with a plan that totally misses the mark simply because they've never faced that situation and really don't know where to begin. Because of this, it seems more appropriate to call this a workbook, as that really is what it is. While a good book at raising issues and starting conversations, the book falls short of actually helping readers (church leaders) through dark and turbulent waters.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is as advertised. Each chapter deals with a different case study describing a traumatic, difficult or painful situation that a pastor must navigate in ministry. Some cases looked at the situation through the pastor, others through the eyes of a victim and the church's response (or lack of). The book does a really good job of positing scenarios where the responses are hardly straightforward. It was really helpful for me, someone preparing for full-time pastoral ministry, to put myself in the situation and think through my responses.

I don't know whether the cases were actual events or simply a fictional scenario based on true cases, but each read like a story. It was a very great example of the power narrative can have.

A few general thoughts from the book:
-People can be hurt by the church both in their response and in their lack of a response.
-Pastors have the same needs during crisis and grief as anyone else, but often are overlooked.
-Good theology matters in all situations and can provide comfort when said with pastoral care and timing.
-The church can be a powerful force for healing and redemption.
-Community and transparency are vital for a healthy church.

While this book pulled no punches and painted a sober picture of what ministry entails, it never scared me. I would definitely recommend this book to others considering pastoral ministry.

[Marcus · Rating 2 out of 5]

As part of a seminary course, I was required to read and discuss three cases with a group of fellow students. My group decided to focus on three cases, the “Gambling, Pornography”, the “Miscarriage”, and the “Alcohol Abuse” cases. I appreciate the book’s attempts to give pastors real-world examples of ministerial situations. After finishing the first case, I felt a bit “off” because of how fake the case appeared. I later learned that each case actually conveys a situation that has happened to a pastor before. This helped me read the remaining two required cases much closer.

The cases were exceedingly complex – as real life often is. Swetland does an excellent job communicating big concepts and key details in small spaces. Readers ought not to look over how much he is able to communicate efficiently. Ironically, I think this is the struggle of the nature of the book: it’s difficult to capture real people and situations in a book and then ask readers what they would do pastorally. The book’s heart is there, and I would argue that it does a good job at what it attempts to do. However, as an extremely (for better and worse) empathetic reader, the book inevitably falls short. I’m grateful for the discussions, but unsettled by where the stories leave me at the end of the night.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Swetland is excellent at preparing young men for the pastorate. In this book he gives more case studies about some difficult situations that have arisen for some of his pastoral friends around the country--situations like murder, sexual affairs, child sexual predators, etc. How can/should a pastor deal with such situations? Ken Swetland helps us wrestle with such questions. The only down-side to this book is that it is not very well written.

[Chris McLain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful case studies for theological and ministerial reflection. They are all from the perspective of a minister (usually a pastor), and often the issue addressed is in the minister's life. My only criticism is that some stories would be more helpful if they were addressed from the perspective of a minister offering care to a parishioner or another staff person. Many are treated that way.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Churches are messy. Very messy. Shetland uses case studies to help prepare Astros and congregations to deal with the drama associated with ministry in a local church. He addresses everything from depression to suicide, from abuse to molestation. The book was written in 2005 and could use an updating, but that is the only reason I only gave it 4 out of 5.

[Matt Moran]

For my pastoral ministry class this spring - designed to help pastors think through crisis-type situations in the church.

[Jinny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone should have warned me that this is an emotionally exhausting read! It's a workbook for pastors that is very thought-provoking.

[Daniel Wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

I use this book in my Seminar in Pastoral Studies course at Tyndale University College for students to explore the case studies. Each student writes up one case study and presents it.