Providing Good Trauma Care
by Charles H. Chandler, D. Min., Executive Director
In November 1993, the Federal government mandated state employment commissions to provide a higher level of services to displaced workers whose profiles indicate they need additional assistance in their transition to new employment. The services include workshops that train recipients in fundamentals such as resume writing, search techniques and interviewing skills. While state agencies cannot attempt to meet the emotional needs of displaced workers, they do recognize them. Consequently, the workshops provide a component on networking, or making contacts with friends, colleagues and churches in an effort to heal from the trauma of losing one's job and moving into productive employment.
One segment of our society, however, does not benefit from the above-mentioned workshops or other tangible concerns - pastors or ministers who have been forced out of their ministry position by their congregations. In the secular world, when a person loses his or her job, they normally have a pastor and church family to walk with them and encourage them. When ministers are forced out, they lose not only their source of income but also their support group.
The most recent figures I have read indicate that approximately 1,600 Protestant ministers experience forced termination each month in our nation. A study by Leadership magazine (Winter, 1996) found that 22.8 percent of the responding readers have been forced out of their church ministry positions at least once during their career. That's approximately one out of four.
As a result of the deep wounds inflicted
during forced terminations from ministry positions, only 54 percent of those
forced out continue in a church related ministry position. Some of the
best of God's chosen servants are lost to parish ministry.
MTM was developed in order to (1) try and help prevent the expanding number
of ministers and churches affected by forced terminations, and
(2) to provide good trauma care to ministers and spouses who have been
wounded by such experiences. Most major hospitals have spent millions
of dollars to provide facilities, equipment, and train specialists for the
Trauma Care Unit because they have discovered that with good trauma care,
patients heal faster and more completely, often growing stronger at the
broken places. The same principle is true with emotional and spiritual
trauma. Experience has proven that with good trauma care, ministers
who have experienced forced termination can become healthier than they were
prior to the trauma of forced termination. That's our goal at MTM.
Between May 1995 and June 2002, 38 Healthy Transitions Wellness Retreats for Ministers and Spouses have been held in seven states. A total of 374 ministers and spouses have participated in these retreats. They come from 23 states (Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin). The participants represent 20 denominations.
As ministers and spouses arrive at a Wellness Retreat, their trust level is zero, their self-esteem is dragging the ground, and their self-confidence is eroded. They feel they have failed their family, church, and God. Whether real or imagined, the isolation is overwhelming. They often feel guilty, thinking that perhaps they were not spiritual enough. Some are in a state of denial. Usually there is an enormous amount of anger, often suppressed, because Christians in general and ministers in particular have been conditioned that good people do not feel or express anger. Most have at least a low-grade depression. During the five days of the Wellness Retreat, the participants develop a safe setting that enables them to bond and together work through their areas of need.
I am amazed at the change in the countenance of the participants from the first to the last day of the retreat. I marvel at the trust that develops within the group in such a short time, especially considering their lack of trust upon arrival. I have met some great people through the retreats whose friendship I will cherish for years to come.
MTM will continue to try to help wounded ministers and their families begin the process of healing. With the increase in calls for help, we hope to double the number of retreats in order to provide good trauma care to more people. I invite you to partner with us through prayer and financial support for scholarships.