Being a pastor in New Zealand means that you are not covered by normal employment law, as it is considered that you are not in fact employed at all, but are 'called by God'.
      A total set of different rules apply to pastors, and these vary from denomination to denomination.  There is no recourse under NZ employment law at all, and if things go wrong there are very few options open to the pastor.    The only options that are available are to go to court, but the denominations can hide behind the 'call of God' cop out and to just challenge this would cost $30,000- minimum with an uncertain outcome.  (I was advised that $30k to $100K would probably be a realistic cost to adequately address this situation and since the denomination could afford better lawyers they could go on longer by confounding things).

      The Pastor therefore has very few options if unfairly treated.  Since the 'church' and 'denominations' at large are supposed to be holy, loving and fair places (aren't they supposed to be a shining example to the rest of society and lead the way in being kind and fair?) one would hope that things are dealt with completely fairly.  It is not denied that in many cases this may be the case and that there are situations where complete fairness is practised.

      Sadly this is far from reality in other cases.  Because there is no safety net under law, and no place to go to get fair treatment, many pastors are treated in an appalling way.  Just because the church and denomination can get away with just about anybehaviour, they do!   There are many (and I have heard accounts from pastors who have been 'got rid of' and 'forced to resign' going back three decades, so this is nothing new).  When the pressure is on many very dirty tricks are pulled out of the bag to pressurise pastors to resign, and there is little or no serious forum for addressing issues in a loving open manner.  There is regular manipulation, highly pressurised bombarding with high 'power words' and raised voices.  This bullying is nothing less than abusiveness.  There is no negotiation, no possibility of changing the direction of the way things are going.  This is because of two things, 1) the ******* (in this case) policy and 2) their minds are fully made up and there is no return possible.  The powers have grouped together and made the decision and that is it.
      There are financial pressures applied, like cutting off wages and affecting families.  Promises of termination packages are not presented in written form (for obvious reasons) so they can not be substantiated by the pastor when they are not forthcoming.  In some cases such severe psychological manipulation is used and this causes the pastor into a nervous breakdown, unless he is aware what is happening.
      Many pastors are completely denied knowledge of what the complaints are and who exactly is making complaints.  It impossible to actually address the issues, and this is quite simply spiritual abuse...
      Pastors regularly end up with depression, anger and frustration

and family breakdown as few can stand the pressure exerted upon them.  Other families manage to stay together, but the whole family is usually deeply affected emotionally, financially and physically.  Often they have to move 'out of town' to alleviate the pressure.  Some pastors and families are permanently damaged and never fully recover.    The effect on their lives is devastating.
      At a time when you are most vulnerable, this is the time when you most need loving and caring support from your 'brothers' and 'sisters' in your denomination.  It is likely that at this will become a living nightmare that will last many months or years, and when you find out just who your brothers and sisters really are.

      We were falsely accused, in public preached down and in public slandered by rumours put on the street by the denominational leaders - and all done so they could gain their end - Get the pastor our and hold the congregation together.

      How nice it would have been to have someone say "We understand how things must be, how can we help you"?

      The denomination are only concerned with one thing, and that is keeping the church together and this is why the pastor is got rid of as fast and efficiently as possible.  It is seen that the longer the pastor stays the deeper the problems grow and the more at danger the 'church body' is at risk of splitting up.  What happens of course is that the issues just sit there until a future pastor gets into the same mess!  Sin perpetuates and is re-enforced as the 'winners' pat themselves on the back for the successful conclusion to the matter!
      The problem with this is that in many cases the pastor has done nothing wrong, or what has happened has been so very minor in nature and could have and should have been sorted out.

      Any other employee in New Zealand has rights under law.  They have to be treated in a fair manner and this includes complete openness to what the issues are, having an opportunity to address the issues and to perform differently if this is the problem.  Issues have to be discussed and if the employee is the one at fault then if they want to continue being employed they have to address the issues.  The process has to be correctly documented.  By law the employee has to be given the opportunity to address any issues.  If the issues are not due to themselves, then it is unfair that they are stuck with them.

      I have had these things happen to me and my family and the church in question behaved badly, but to some extent I believe in their ignorance.  However bad the behaviour of the church (And some of the people involved are employers and fully aware of the law on employment), there is no comparison to the "disgraceful conduct" of the denomination.  Their advise to the church and behaviour was far worse, and had nothing in common with Christianity.  The 'church' leaders probably just followed advise.  It was not Biblical, nice, kind, gentle, loving or Godly.  I have worked for many companies, and in management positions over 30+ years of my working life, and while I have seen some situations badly dealt with in secular life, nothing surpassed this.  Since that time I have been contacted by other pastors who were dealt with in a similar fashion, all of which have a (scarily!) similar story.  Some have dealt with the past better than others, many however have not, and are still hurting badly after 25 years...

      I am trying to address this situation, if the denomination(s) will listen.  I want to do it from a right heart and before God, and not in bitterness or malice.  This is hard and I have to constantly check myself and ask close friends to correct me.

      My reason is this, that:

      This practice of hurting pastors is nothing new, and in fact this practice is continuing now.

      Denomination, will you listen to this appeal and address this yourselves?  Or will you ignore this call to deal with pastors in their time of need with loving kindness and fairness, and under law?

      Manipulation, power, control,  extreme spirial abuse, psychological destruction of people are well documented in books and on the internet.  Some counsellors in New Zealand have been helping pastors and their families pick up the pieces for many decades and have observed a pattern and know well what is going on.  There really will be a judgement, a dividing of the ways, and the unrepentant who have hurt people will not make it, however much they call themselves 'Christian'.

      Human rights are all about the right to be treated in a humane manner.  The question here is this:  'Have ******* pastors been treated in a humane manner?"  Before the reader shoots into self denial mode and says 'yes', think carefully.  This is a big question to answer, and needs to be done honestly and before God.  'Are the practices that are used Godly?", Would Jesus have used them, or approved of them?" is a good test I believe.  If the answer is no, then the denomination has fallen short and need to address their practice.

      The final question is this. 'Who should be resigning here, the innocent (but in trouble) pastor who needed kindness and assistance, or the people in the denomination who have resorted to the worst form of spiritual abuse and positively fuel nervous breakdowns, end pastors careers, and destroy families emotional well-being???

      What has and still angers me is this.  They are still doing it--chewing up and hurting people.  They are still in employment.  They are getting paid each month, preaching their messages - and unrepentant about what they have and are still doing and presumably will do again and again.  They are still in positions of power, but have grossly misused this power to harm and punish those pastors that will not conform to their control.

      I am not hopeful that those in these positions of trust will respond to this in a positive manner, so it is hoped that the righteous will do the right thing…  Pastors, stand up to your denomination.  They should be serving you, not the other way round.
      Remember, you might be next.  Time for you could be ticking away like a time bomb, the time when trouble comes to your church.  It does not matter how long you have been in ministry, five, ten, twenty years or more.  Your reputation will not help much.  You will be out.