Does culture matter in an organization? Contrast the elements of good culture against dysfunctional culture below and ask yourself, which kind of culture do I want to be a part of? Then ask yourself how many elements of healthy culture are true of your organization.

Healthy Culture                                                   Dysfunctional Culture

I am appreciated I feel used

Sometimes the church bully or church boss is a board member of the church. I have dealt with these situations, and the question here is how do you confront someone who has authority in the church but is misusing that authority? In this series, we have cataloged the damage that a church bully can perpetuate so we know that it matters. Generally, a church bully is able, through intimidation and bad...

Bully behaviors in the church, whether from a board member, a pastor, or others in the congregation, are usually narcissistic behaviors. A bully wants to get his/her own way and will use whatever means possible to achieve their goals. This can include manipulation, creating leadership division, gossip, slander, passive-aggressive behaviors, threats, and intimidation. All of these are classic...

Sometimes the church bully is the senior pastor!

Some years ago, I was asked to help a congregation that was in turmoil. It was a large church, and the senior pastor had just fired the two key associate pastors, which had caused an uproar in the church as they were loved and had many relationships. 

The first thing I did was to interview the three pastors involved. The behavior of the senior pastor,...

The carnage of bullies in the church is significant. Yesterday I was in an intense discussion at a coffee shop in Canada with three other individuals regarding my blog, "When Church Boards don't Confront Bullies,"a woman at the table nearby was listening. As she left, she came and introduced herself and told the story of how her large church in Calgary had been destroyed by a church bully and...

Church bullies are toxic to the local church. They create divisions, and unhealthy alliances, spread gossip and rumors, and undermine leaders on a regular basis. They do this to accomplish their ends. They may be angry, they may have an agenda, or they may want to hurt leaders, whether boards or the senior pastor. But the end result of their toxic, unethical, and unbiblical behavior is to hurt...

Newsflash: There are often people in a church who are bullies and get away with it because church leadership is too nice to call them out on their destructive behavior. Often we know something is not right, but how do we know when behavior has crossed a line and is unacceptable? Here are some behavioral signs that you may be dealing with a bully.