| The prevailing methods of dealing with destructive behavior in Christian congregations are largely based on disease models that identify "toxic" behaviors within individuals. These approaches often evoke resistance and more unproductive behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine how humanistic Rogerian approaches might be used to identify and address problem behaviors within mainline Protestant churches.;In-person, one-on-one, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 ordained mainline Protestant ministers who have served as pastor of a local community church (with at least 50 active members) for at least 3 years. Participants were drawn from the researcher's personal and professional network. Content analysis was used to draw meaning from the data to answer the research questions.;The pastor participants saw themselves as chief leaders or servants in the church and these views influenced their approach to problem behaviors. They identified two types of individuals that exhibited problem behaviors: controlling individuals and contentious bullies. The pastors primarily used competing, avoiding, collaborating, accommodating, and compromising approaches to dealing with these individuals. They also involved others in the process, took responsibility for their actions, and addressed the whole church system. The pastors believed that listening and transparency would be valuable in dealing with problem behaviors; however, they speculated that the Rogerian approach as a whole would not work, would be inappropriate for the church or their role, would result in harm, or was not possible for them to do.;More pastoral education on conflict styles, ways of dealing with problematic behaviors, and the Rogerian approach is needed. Suggestions for future research include repeating the study using a larger and more diverse population, conducting the study on wide range of churches stratified by size, and conducting the study with people who have been considered to exhibit problem behaviors in churches. |
