Healing a Troubled Church

... or Driving Out Demons

by

Practicing Faith

Special to United Methodist Insight | July 16, 2026 

There was once a deeply troubled church that could not keep any pastor for more than a year or two. Eight pastors had come and gone in eleven years, all of them at the request of the congregation after controversy with one of the longtime leaders. The church blamed the bishop for sending them inept pastors.

The pastors blamed the congregation, saying that ministry was impossible with a people so intent on self-destruction. Many members left, and in time, no pastor could be found who was willing to serve what everyone was calling "that difficult church."

Finally, in exasperation, the bishop called a special meeting which included several key leaders from the troubled congregation and forty lay and clergy members of her annual conference, chosen randomly. She invited the leaders of the congregation to describe the difficulties they had experienced over the past several years.

Then the district superintendent was given an opportunity to tell the story from his point of view. Many questions were asked of the superintendent and the congregational leaders. When everyone had had a say, the bishop addressed the whole gathering in her best preacher's voice, saying, "Brothers and sisters, what are we going to do? Whom shall we send to this tormented congregation to share with them the healing power of Jesus the Christ?"

The bishop invited everyone to pray silently with her. The silence lasted for a long time, and continued even after the bishop concluded the prayer with a resolute "amen."

At last, one of the older pastors spoke out from the back of the room. "I'll go," she said. There was a collective gasp, and then a sustained buzzing of voices that started out low and grew until it filled the room. Everyone knew that she had been on leave of absence for several years and that she had left her last church in the wake of a scandalous divorce. She had become an alcoholic, been twice convicted of drunk driving, had spent six months in prison and a month in a chemical dependency treatment center.

There had been some talk of removing her orders, but since she was so near retirement she had been allowed to keep her credentials in consideration of her many years of faithful service and the progress she had made in her rehabilitation program. The bishop and the superintendents had hoped to place her with some small, quiet, caring congregation where she could serve her remaining years without stress.

"Are you sure, Deborah?" the bishop asked. "This is a very difficult assignment."

"This is a congregation in pain," Deborah said. "I know something about pain. I think I should be the one to go." Heads could be seen nodding all around the room. Everyone knew in that moment that the Spirit had moved among them.

 "There is one condition to my going, however," Deborah said to the bishop. "You must give me a free hand to do whatever is necessary to bring about healing. I must know that I have your full support to do what is needed." The bishop looked back at Deborah, and without blinking an eye, said, "You have my full support to do whatever is needed."

Deborah and the district superintendent met with the leaders of the troubled congregation after the meeting. They agreed to accept her as their pastor, although they expressed some surprise that a woman her age would want to take on such a difficult task.

Near the end of the meeting, Deborah asked for the same unconditional support she had requested from the bishop. They agreed to give her free rein to do whatever was needed to help heal the congregation, and at Deborah's insistence, they solemnly promised to pray for her every day.

Then she told them what she planned to do to begin the healing process. She said, "It is my intention to visit with every member of this congregation before I perform any other pastoral duties, including preaching. I will not lead worship or attend any meetings until that task is finished. I suggest that you arrange for someone else to lead the worship services over the next few weeks. I'll let you know when I am ready to preach." The chair of the committee looked at the superintendent. The superintendent nodded and the chairperson said, "I'll make the arrangements."

Deborah began her visitation the following day. She went from house to house, apartment to apartment, hospital bed to nursing home bed, introducing herself as the new pastor and asking each one, as she went, to respond to two questions: How did you come to love Jesus, and why have you chosen to serve him in this congregation?

Pastor Deborah visited morning, afternoon, and evening for four-and-a-half weeks and was warmly received by every member of the congregation but one. Then she went home, called the lay leader, and told him she would be prepared to preach the following Sunday.

The sanctuary was packed that day. Almost every able member was present. They waited eagerly for the sermon to hear what Deborah would have to say. Her text was Mark 1:16-20, the calling of the disciples. She said, "I want to share two things with you today: How I came to love Jesus, and why I believe God has called me to serve him with you in this congregation."

It was a stirring sermon. Many in the congregation were moved to tears. Then, just as Deborah was about to ask them to join with her in prayer, a man stood up in the back of the sanctuary and shouted out at her. It was Harry Wiersem, the man who had refused to see her when she called at his home. He was the longtime leader who had bedeviled so many pastors before her. Some had told Deborah that he had never recovered from the death of his wife many years before.

"Who do you think you are, sister?" he yelled. "We know all about you. You couldn't keep your husband and you are a drunk. You're the last thing we need in this church. We've got enough problems as it is!"

He stood glaring at her, his face red and his knuckles bulging white as his hands gripped the pew in front of him. Deborah looked back at him with sad eyes. She didn't speak for several seconds. It seemed like an eternity to the congregation. It was absolutely silent in the sanctuary. No one moved or seemed to breathe.

"I am a sinner, Harry," Deborah said in a soft, firm voice, still looking into his angry, red face. "A forgiven sinner. And I've come to serve with sinners: forgiven sinners." Then she stepped down from the pulpit and walked up the long center aisle to where Harry was still hanging on to the back of his pew. She put her arm around his shoulder, looked him in the eye and said, "I am sorry about Mildred. She must have been very dear to you."

Harry let go of the pew, fell into her arms, and began to sob like a baby. When he was finished, Deborah bid everyone to gather round. They joined hands and she led them in prayer. When she said "amen," Deborah was aware of something around her that felt like a collective sigh of relief. The demons were gone. The congregation would be whole again.

Deborah served with them for twelve years, retiring at last at the age of 74. Harry Wiersem became her most outspoken supporter, and just before he died, told her that she had been an answer to prayer.

Author’s Note: This is a true story in that it happens all the time. My experience is that churches have fleeting years of vitality and health when Spirit filled people are leading, followed by times of “demon possession” in the sense that we understand “unclean spirits” today.  Building and maintaining a strong immune system in the body of Christ must be worked at consciously and constantly. When the immune system is weak troubled souls will take power. An intervention like the one described in this story is a miracle that is needed in many of our churches. You have my permission to re-write parts of the story to make it fit your denominational structure.

The Rev. John Sumwalt is a retired United Methodist pastor and old farm kid. He is the author of “Shining Moments: Visions of the Holy in Ordinary Lives.”  Email.