I have always heard them called alligators
Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 1:54 pm
I had a professor in seminary warn us about the alligators that exist in each congregation. He told us that it would often be the first person that showed up when you moved to the congregation, because they often had an agenda. In this chapter on wolves, Laniak explains that wolves are driven by "cold and hunger." In a congregation, they are driven by an agenda item...whether that is power, control, or something else. And the truth is that they do exist.
In my own congregation, I have wolves that show up on a weekly basis, but they blend into the flock until they get cold and hungry. And then they show their teeth. For 5 years now I have been dealing with them, but I have learned from other members of the congregation that they have always been around. They have always been lurking around the flock, sometimes serving their own self interest instead of the interest of the flock. This destroys the flock from within.
Being aware of the wolves though can help us to deal with them. We know they are coming. We know they exist, and we can be ready. My congregation had an interim before I was called, and I remember specifically asking him (using the term I knew then) about the alligators. he refused to answer. As I reflect back on this conversation now, I wish that he, as a partner in ministry, had shared with me about this family. It would have made dealing with the wolves much easier.
In my own congregation, I have wolves that show up on a weekly basis, but they blend into the flock until they get cold and hungry. And then they show their teeth. For 5 years now I have been dealing with them, but I have learned from other members of the congregation that they have always been around. They have always been lurking around the flock, sometimes serving their own self interest instead of the interest of the flock. This destroys the flock from within.
Being aware of the wolves though can help us to deal with them. We know they are coming. We know they exist, and we can be ready. My congregation had an interim before I was called, and I remember specifically asking him (using the term I knew then) about the alligators. he refused to answer. As I reflect back on this conversation now, I wish that he, as a partner in ministry, had shared with me about this family. It would have made dealing with the wolves much easier.