Jeanette Gardner Littleton, managing editor of Building Church Leaders Quarterly is this issue's guest columnist.

I was excited when my husband entered the pastorate again. Mark had been a pastor several years before we met. I'd been a lay leader, worked in a denominational headquarters, and, with Mark, served as co-director of Christian education in a good-sized church.

We moved halfway across country and settled in; the small church situation was sweet. For five months. Then a leading family decided to plant a new church. Surprisingly, the announcement started an avalanche of resignations.

Mark investigated to see if he had unwittingly caused the disturbance. But it seemed to go much deeper.

Many people explained, "We just can't stand to see people leave the church again." We suddenly learned that the church had been less than honest about their history. Now we learned about screaming matches in church services as the church had split twice in three years. We learned that Mark's secretary ...