Resolving and recovering from situations of abuse within the church is always difficult. Before healing on anybody's part can happen, all of the parties involved should recognize a few truths that will help the process. First, senior pastors are at fault for the pain and suffering they perpetuate upon their staff employees, and religious organizations are culpable for allowing these abuses to occur. Perpetrators and complicit individuals must be held accountable. At the very least, this accountability should include repentance and some form of restitution. Make no mistake, God is on the side of wounded associates as they cry out for help. However, it must be kept in mind that the goal is not vengeance, but healing. And for healing to happen the need for perspective cannot be overstated. Perspective requires us to understand that all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. At some time or other all of us have acted unjustly and must accept the responsibility of repenting and begging forgiveness. Also, perspective acknowledges that although God is on the side of the wounded, He loves perpetrator and victim alike. This is a difficult concept, because victims naturally view perpetrators as being bad people who deserve a horrible judgment against them. Although this may be true, the heart of the law is mercy and God's grace to us all is unmerited. Consequently, God's desire is always that love and compassion carry the day. Wounding senior pastors and their victims share in common the need to experience and feel God's unconditional love. Love is the fertile ground from which faith and good works grow. God's love reminds us that His grace and care extends to all concerned. It is in the arms of Jesus that wounding agents and wounded associates alike can find hope and healing. Obviously, the quest for perspective is not for the faint of heart. Wounded staff employees must realize that wounding senior pastors are probably not bad through and through. In fact, more often than not, wounding senior pastors injure associates out of their own woundedness. Many of the wounds senior pastors experience come courtesy of corporate-minded religious systems that wound them in the name of promoting ministerial success or securing organizational survival.

Paul, a young spiritually-minded senior pastor, was serving a small congregation in the Midwest when, during a board meeting, he was informed that his salary was going to be placed on a sliding scale. He found out later that this was done to retaliate against a sermon series he had preached a few weeks earlier. The series on repentance apparently hit too close to home for a few families. They informed the board that they would leave if such sermons were ever preached again. The board, fearing financial loss, put Paul's salary on a sliding scale as a warning that any financial fallout would come out of his pocket. Paul was hurt and angry. Over time he became distrustful and suspicious of people. He began to question the motives of his staff. Without realizing it, he began to look out for his own interests. He was sure no one else would.

Paul's story is not uncommon. Many senior pastors are wounded by powerful congregants or church boards that attempt to manipulate policy through intimidation. The potential for such wounding increases exponentially if finances or attendance begin to decrease. When a church becomes anxious about its survival, groups within the church grasp for power in hopes of protecting their interests. Unholy alliances rise up against the senior pastor in the name of protecting the Lord's work. Voices proclaim that pastors come and go, but "we remain the same." Such a battle cry usually culminates in dismissing the senior pastor and bringing in "fresh blood."

Horror stories such as these in no way excuse the abuses that pressured senior pastors all too often bring to bear upon staff associates. Senior pastors have an obligation to stay true to the spiritual paradigm. When their ministry mindset ceases to be about loving God and serving people, especially staff, all is lost. However, these stories are important, because telling them can provide perspective, which is key to the healing process.