I’ve asked Don Ross to share a series of posts on Church Revitalization (or Turn-Around Churches). Don is an Advanced Coaching Alum, a Renegade Pastor and the Lead Pastor of Creekside Church in the Seattle, Washington Area.

Hope you find this helpful:

Identifying Antagonists
By Dr. Donald E. Ross

Nothing can slow down the progress of a turnaround church like the presence of an antagonist, especially if that antagonist is in the leadership community of the church, and they often are.

Paul warned the church in Jerusalem about antagonists when he said,

“I know that as soon as I’m gone, vicious wolves are going to show up and rip into this flock, men from your very own ranks twisting words so as to seduce disciples into following them instead of Jesus. So stay awake and keep up your guard.”  Acts 20:29 (The Message)

As I led my own church through a turnaround (from 600 to 175, now back up to 500) I faced several antagonists and they are gut-busters.  I was greatly helped by Kenneth Haugk’s book, Antagonists in the Church.  Here is some of what I learned from him:

Antagonism is not mere criticism and it is not the same as healthy conflict.  Those are normal parts of the ministry.

Antagonists are individuals who, on the basis of nonsubstantive evidence do these things:

• Go out of their way to make insatiable demands
• Attack the person or performance of others
• These attacks are selfish in nature
• They tear down rather than build up
• Frequently they pose direct attacks against leadership

The primary goal of the antagonist is to create enough tension to gain power, and then when power of acquired… well you just don’t want to go there.  There are basically three kinds of antagonists.

Moderate Antagonists:

• They will not go out of their way to attack you, but will take advantage of an opportunity that comes in their path.
• They also lack the perseverance of the other two types of antagonist.

Major Antagonists:

• These are individuals with a character or personality disorder, yet they remain in touch with reality.
• They carry hostility coupled with an overwhelming drive for power.  They are unwilling to change and see no need to.

Hard-Core Antagonists:

• These are seriously disturbed individuals who are out of touch with reality, and are unbelievably tenacious and can appear quite normal most of the time.
• They will willingly sacrifice themselves to destroy the focus of their attacks.
• They cannot be reasoned with because they lack the emotional stability to understand.

If you are dealing with an antagonist in your ministry, do not face them alone.

Next month I’ll be back with another post on how you can deal with them.

For a full summary on “Dealing with Antagonists” go to my website below and click on “Articles”.

As always, Jesus knows how to deal with people like this and he will coach you through it.

Remember you are not alone.

For information on the Turn Around Church Coaching Network, see www.turnaroundchurch.org

P.S. Are you ready to take your church to the next level?

Don Ross is an alumni of my Tele-Coaching Network where the average church will experience a 25-35% increase in their attendance and their giving within the first 12 months of joining my coaching network.

Join together with a group of Pastors who are seeing God do great things in their church.

Apply today to reserve your spot in this elite group:

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Hurry – Network begins Thursday, August 30!