AS A PASTOR, ASIDE FROM occasional criticism, I have faced only one full-blown revolt. Trouble was afoot but everything seemed quite normal—for a while. Then increasingly disconcerting things began to happen. I kept saying to myself, No, that noise in the basement can't be an intruder.Eventually I learned otherwise. When the truth started coming out, it read like the first chapter of a horror story.

In conversations with leaders, I began to hear reports of criticism against me. One individual spoke face-to-face with me on several occasions about shortcomings he saw in the church, adding that he had also discussed these problems with others. In one worship service as we waited quietly before the Lord, this man began to pray so loudly it was unsettling, and judging by the looks on the faces of the congregation, I wasn't the only one who thought so. I didn't want to confront him openly, so I quickly ended the worship portion of the service and moved on. Then a man who was a former pastor stood ...