When Pastor, Flock Decide to Part Ways : Ministries: Rev. Joan SalmonCampbell moved from stormy tenure in Philadelphia to calm in Cleveland. Causes of clergy-congregation mismatches are under study.

One year ago this month, a prominent African- American clergywoman, the Rev. Joan SalmonCampbell, resigned as pastor of Old Pine Street Presbyterian Church, accusing the mostly white Philadelphia congregation of “racism, sexism and classism.”

Now in her seventh month as pastor of St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Cleveland, the former national moderator of the denomination describes her relationship with the predominantly black congregation as “outstanding.”

“They are a people who love the Lord, love their pastor, and together we are making an effective witness in this community,” she said.

The elation SalmonCampbell is experiencing at St. Mark’s sharply contrasts her tenure at Old Pine, where controversy arose over her preaching style, vision of outreach and administration. During her 21-month tenure there, diverging expectations of SalmonCampbell and many of Old Pine’s longtime members proved to be irreconcilable.

Although most mismatches between clergy and congregations are not as highly publicized as that of SalmonCampbell and Old Pine Street, which made national news, a small but growing percentage of ministers resign their pastorates or are forced out by church members, according to experts in congregational conflicts. In a series of recent telephone interviews, some mediators reflected on the causes and treatment of mismatches between pastors and their congregations.

Speed Leas, a senior consultant with the Washington-based Albans Institute, has negotiated such conflicts for more than 25 years. In a national three-year study of involuntary termination of pastors in the Episcopal, Presbyterian, United Methodist and Evangelical Lutheran churches, Leas discovered that roughly one out of every 100 congregations is likely to experience an involuntary termination of a pastor.

According to the survey, misunderstandings about the pastor’s authority are the leading cause of mismatches, with 70% of the 212 participating churches citing such misunderstandings as a factor contributing to termination.

Liturgical differences, conflicting views on mission and theology, and disputes about normative behavior for church members (such as smoking and premarital sex) were also points of contention.

For those pastors and congregations who do seek help, half may be able to weather the storm. “About 50% of the time the pastor stays in a congregation when working with professional consultants,” said Leas. However, such assistance is expensive and time-consuming. A successful reconciliation may cost $50 an hour for a mediator and take as long as 18 months.

Richard Blackburn, director of the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center in Lombard, Ind., believes that many congregations should be able to afford mediation services, particularly those that are willing to spend huge sums of money on church buildings. Unfortunately, he said, many “don’t see rebuilding the body of Christ as a priority.”

SalmonCampbell said she prays for those at Old Pine Street and wishes them well, but she acknowledges that her appointment there was not an appropriate match. “We were looking for different expressions of faith,” she said. “They were not ready for me as an African-American woman and my particular approach to ministry. I was not ready for their resistance, and that’s OK.”

Some parishioners at the prestigious church disagree with SalmonCampbell’s interpretation of the problem. “It was entirely a question of personality,” said Frances Beckley, secretary for Old Pine’s current pastoral search committee. “I resent the implications she raised that it was an issue of race or sex. From my own experience, that was simply not the case.”

Nancy Good Sider, a national associate at the National Coalition Building Institute in Washington, observes that questions of racism and sexism, or in some cases of homophobia, tend only to be raised when a crisis erupts in a church--and a change in leadership is often a time when such crises occur.

“As church people, it’s hard for us to admit conflict, let alone prejudice or discrimination,” said Sider.

In spite of her difficulties at Old Pine, SalmonCampbell believes she emerged both wiser and stronger. “It taught me important strategies about communication and delegation . . . and insisting that we have clarity about what we are doing,” SalmonCampbell said. “I preach more vigorously than before, study more vigorously and pray more vigorously.”

SalmonCampbell has a more positive assessment of her relationship to her new congregation in Cleveland, a view that was seconded by church member Mary F. Guen.

“She is very dynamic and has a lot of vision. She has been very well received in Cleveland and at the church,” said Guen, who credits SalmonCampbell with helping the church increase its membership and activity in the community.

SalmonCampbell feels an urgent need to leave a mark for the next generation of the church. “We are helping people develop a user-friendly faith,” she said.