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I have always heard them called alligators

 
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ShepherdLeader.com Forum Index -> While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks -> Day 17: Recognizing the Wolves
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JMerrell



Joined: 19 Nov 2017
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 1:54 pm    Post subject: I have always heard them called alligators Reply with quote

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.
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pastordzaster



Joined: 23 Oct 2017
Posts: 8
Location: Kent, WA

PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2018 10:47 am    Post subject: They're Everywhere Reply with quote

I've been at our church for 12 years. The first 10 were pretty brutal and bloody—going from a membership of 700 to our current (relatively happy and healthy) 300.

During that time, I was often asked, "Why don't you leave and go somewhere easier?" I'd always reply, "Wolves are everywhere."
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