Antioch Affection, a sister ministry to ShepherdCare, is committed to walking with ministers and their families who are facing the crisis resulting in prospective forced termination for moral and non-moral accusations.

If you are facing potential forced termination, contact us immediately. We are here to encourage, counsel, and walk with you through this time of crisis. The earlier your involvement with us, the more effective our ministry will be to both you and your place of ministry.

Our team of intervention experts can assist you in remaining or exiting your present place of ministry. You may contact us confidentially, assured that Antioch Affection will respond that same day (contact Rev. Brad Hoffmann today at (281) 427-1725 ext. 207 or brad@practicingshepherdcare.org). There is no charge or obligation for the consultation. Intervention services are provided on a donation basis, which allows us to continue providing such services to other hurting ministers in the future.

Whether we provide an initial consult free of charge or work with you throughout your crisis, we are here for you. Antioch Affection has been in the ministry of intervention and restoration for over 25 years.

The Rest of the Story
Consider This...

• 350,000 pastors in the United States at any one time – 7% of them – are burned out
  
• One in eight (1 in 8) pastors are thinking about resigning
  
• 80% of pastors believing that pastoral ministry affect their families negatively
  
• 40% of all pastors having a serious conflict with a church member at least once a month, the chief cause of pastoral exodus
  
• Pastors have an attrition rate of 20 to 30 percent
  
• 52% of pastors are seriously unhappy with the opportunities they have to talk with others about their personal needs
  
• There are many pastors who are trained, innovative, personable, fearless, called – yet they are out of active service in the church as leaders
  
• The Church suffers from the awful reputation that it “shoots its wounded”
  
• Ministers who are out of active service feel depressingly lonely and frequently abandoned by their former colleagues

Each month, over 125 ministers in Southern Baptist Churches alone are terminated. Across denominational lines, the estimation is over a thousand. The emotional, spiritual, financial, and relational devastation is inestimable. The life-shattering ripples of torturous, debilitating misery continues to devastate the priceless God-given potential of churches, ministers, staff and families.

Such massive loss, producing desperate desolation and human debris, affects us all. Ministers are marred and potentially paralyzed. Visions vanish, decimating vibrant hope into an unfocused haziness. Fellowships fragment. Dedication diminishes. Commitment crumbles. Enthusiasm ends. Bitterness takes root. Cynicism creeps in. Marriages are destroyed. Children are displaced and confused. Depression deepens. Suicides occur... Satan sneers... souls are squandered.... God weeps.... we lose.

The “wagon of need” is obviously overloaded. It’s time to construct a more efficient wheel of support. The Christian community must strategize to assume responsibility for their wounded lying helplessly abandoned on our modern-day Jericho roads. This is both our privilege and our obligation.

Mission, Methodology & Basic Operating Principles
Antioch Affection is a comprehensive, evolving Christian community of Embracers dedicated to designing and implementing positive, profound strategies of intervention and extended care to the broad spectrum of hurting ministers, their families and congregations during times of crisis.

Maximized effectiveness of Antioch Affection restoration is accomplished through the mutually supportive and cooperative efforts of multiple churches, including the Refuge Church. This is accomplished through the following operating principles:

1. Identification of the problem.
   When the initial contact is made to Antioch Affection, primary issue(s) are identified. In a crisis situation, there are several personalities involved: the minister and his family, the church leadership and the church family at large. Any additional parties are also identified.
   
2. Investigation into the problem.
   Steps one and two are designed to immediately identify a crisis situation. Initial efforts will be targeted at intervention and damage control for individuals and congregation alike. Antioch not only seeks to help the minister and his family, but also works to intervene with the congregation and leadership of the church. This process is not to assign blame but to understand the situation and make suitable suggestions for reconciliation. If the exit of the minister seems the best option, we will seek to make the parting amicable. During this stage, a severance package is negotiated. The preferred package will include six months, benefits and moving expenses. The severance package will help to meet ongoing expenses the family will incur for their normal cost of living. A generous severance package is in everyone’s best interest. Findings show that no matter what the circumstances, every minister has a core group of followers in every congregation. Forced termination or resignation without generous benefits causes unnecessary exodus of resources and people from the church. Those leaving justify their departure on lack of support for their minister. A proper severance package is always a “win–win” for all sides of the controversy.
   
3. Invitation to a Refuge Church.
   Step three focuses on extracting the disaffected staff personnel from the crisis situation and placing them into a supportive fellowship, initiating the restoration process. The minister is placed on the church staff of the Refuge Church. The reasoning behind this is to keep the termination off the permanent record of the minister. It’s important for the minister and his family to preview the refuge church prior to relocation. As God’s call is very much part of a move to a particular church, so should the call of God be in choosing the place to serve as the Refuge.
   
4. Integration into the Refuge Church.
   Step four is facilitated through trained, supportive “friends”. Specific families in the Refuge church are assigned to help serve as host families. These families help integrate the relocated family to the area as well as into the fellowship of the church. These families serve to ensure the minister’s family is loved and cared for. They also serve as an initial social outlet for the relocated family. These developed friendships help foster the restoration process.
   
5. Information and Introspection.
   Step five involves a 12-Step Spiritual Program designed to assist individuals and families to move toward healing and wholeness. This 12-Step approach is in addition to professional counseling. A member of the Refuge Church’s ministerial staff or a retired minister in the congregation provides mentoring for this step. This mentoring relationship is key: an intentional contractual relationship with established parameters. In this part of the program, we seek to have someone “walk alongside” the hurting minister to provide encouragement, wisdom, knowledge and insight. In addition to a mentoring relationship with the minister, the same type of relationship is established for the spouse. This is accomplished through the spouse of a professional ministerial staff member and/or retired minister. Men are paired with men, ladies with ladies.
   
6. Initiation and Investigation.
   Step six involves the minister in active ministry at the Refuge Church. The minister and his family are given the opportunity to be involved in ministry early in the restoration process. Typically, the minister will be encouraged to serve in his or her area of giftedness and specialization. In addition, the minister will be responsible for starting a Sunday school or small group class. However, all of this ministry will be under the direct supervision of the professional ministerial staff of the Refuge Church.
   
7. Intensification and Inspiration.
   Step seven focuses on supporting the disaffected individual in his or her recovery and, if appropriate, the re-establishment of their ministry. There is always the possibility that as an individual moves through these restorative steps, he or she will discover that a return to a professional ministry is not in God’s will for his or her life.

Again, if you are facing potential forced termination, please contact us immediately. We are here to encourage, counsel, and walk with you through this time of crisis.

Rev. Brad Hoffmann
(281) 427-1725 ext. 207
brad@practicingshepherdcare.org

Remember: there is no charge or obligation for the consultation and intervention services are provided on a donation basis.