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.Eight years later, when he was killed in a tragic automobile accident, he left behind (1) a congregation of591 members that had just moved into a big new addition to the original brickbuilding, (2) a thirty-eight-year-old widow who was the part-time choir director,and (3) a large cadre of grateful leaders who felt a tremendous obligation to thisminister and his widow.One consequence was the unanimous decision of the congregation to name thenew addition, "Hamilton Hall." A second was to offer the widowed Mrs.Hamiltona permanent part-time position as choir director.A quarter of a century and seven ministers brought several changes.One wasthe recent marriage of Mrs.Hamilton to John Morris, the president of the localbank who had been widowed fourteen months earlier.Mrs.Hamilton and Mrs.Morris had become very close friends, and Mrs.Hamilton spent literally hundredsof hours with her dying friend during Mrs.Morris's terminal illness.This furtherendeared Mrs.Hamilton to many of the older members.The next-to-the-last of this series of seven ministers had departed three yearsearlier when he told the pastoral relations committee, "I am interested in servinga church that has a future.This congregation faces a dim future as long as Mrs.Hamilton continues as the choir director.As many of you know, she underminedthe ministry of my predecessor, and she has been busy undermining my ministryever since the first day I arrived.Either she goes or I go."After an hour's discussion of this unexpected ultimatum, the members thankedthe minister for his candor and told him they had agreed by a 6-to-1 vote toaccept his resignation.His successor arrived just in time to officiate at the marriage of Mrs.Hamilton andMr.Morris.Out of that shared experience the three quickly became close friends.Within a year or so, this new minister had concluded that he was confronted witha severe problem.Personally he and the new Mrs.Morris were good friends, butprofessionally they disagreed on almost every issue that arose.During his second year the new minister talked with at least two dozen peopleabout his problem.These included several former choir members, five of whomwere now members of other churches in that community, with three of theprevious organists, with the one person on the pastoral relations committee whohad voted against accepting his predecessor's resignation, and with tworespected and influential older women who had served in various leadershippositions.One of the two now chairs the pastoral relations committee.He askedeach of them several questions.One was, "Is it her or is it me?" They all assuredhim that (a) Mrs.Morris enjoyed great personal sympathy and popularity with thevast majority of the members and (b) he was far from the first to experiencesevere problems with her on the subject of church music. One of the old-timers declared she had been responsible for the departure of fiveof the six predecessors."That's why people call the music department the wardepartment," he explained.Another explained, "If you want to survive here, you will have to get along withher, and that means you'll have to do 100 percent of the getting along."By this time the membership had dropped by one-fourth and worship attendancewas down by one-third from that peak back in 1968.One day Martha Williams, the sixty-three-year-old respected leader who nowchaired the pastoral relations committee came to see the pastor."I just camefrom talking with our choir director.I suggested the time had come for her to stepdown and let someone else take over.She wouldn't hear of it.She hauled out theminutes of a board meeting from 1968 which reported she was to be named thepermanent choir director, and she feels that means forever.What do we donext?""How do the other members of your committee feel about this?" asked thepastor."One is on her side, three, and that includes me, feel she must be replaced, andthree lean toward replacing her, but they don't want a big battle over this," repliedMrs.Williams."Well, you folks picked her, I didn't," declared the pastor, "but it's now myproblem as much as anyone's.I do not believe it is realistic to expect a standingcommittee like yours to resolve this.That is both unfair and unrealistic.ThereforeI suggest you appoint a three person ad hoc committee that will be instructed todefine the issue and prepare a recommended course of action.Ask that specialcommittee to bring their report and recommendations to your committee and youwill make a recommendation to the board."Twenty minutes later the two had identified the three people who would be askedto constitute this ad hoc committee.One was a longtime friend of the choirdirector who also was one of the three members of the pastoral relationscommittee who believed the time had come for a change.One was a newmember who had joined the choir eighteen months earlier and was perceived tobe neutral.The third was a close friend of the pastor.When Mrs.Williams brought the proposal to her committee, they were delightedto be able to pass the buck.All three nominees had agreed to serve and wereappointed. At their first meeting they spent a half hour with the pastor and Mrs.Morris, a halfhour with the pastor, a half hour with Mrs.Morris, and a half hour reflecting onwhat they had heard.A week later they met and spent two hours reflecting together and concluded thetime had come for a change in choir directors.Two weeks later they met with Mrs.Morris and explained to her, "We haveagreed the time has come for a change.We appreciate your long and faithfulservice, but the time has come to write a new chapter with a new ministry ofmusic and a new choir director.This evening we want to focus on threequestions.First, the date of your retirement.Second, the terms of thetermination.Third, the announcement of your departure.Do you prefer this beannounced as your resignation or as your retirement?"After several minutes, more than a few tears, but no harsh words, Mrs.Morrisdeclared she wanted to retire, not resign.Two days later Mrs.Williams received a telephone call filled with gratitude fromMr.Morris who thanked her and added, "For two years I've been trying topersuade her to retire, but she wouldn't listen to me.You may have saved ourmarriage."A month later the best attended celebration in that congregation's history washeld to honor, thank, and praise the retiring choir director.Why Did It Work?Why was that change made so smoothly?1.The pastor refused to allow this to be perceived as a personal conflict betweenthe new minister and the long-tenured and popular choir director.2.The predecessor of the current minister had made at least a few people awareof the problem.Unfortunately for him, he stated the issue in terms of "win-lose" and thus made it easy for him to become the victim.3.While his strategy was less than perfect, this predecessor's experienceillustrates the point that sometimes change is possible only after it has beenrejected at least once.4.Nothing was done until after substantial discontent had surfaced. 5.The minister and the respected leader chairing the pastoral relationscommittee acted as an ad hoc initiating group of two to devise a response tothe discontent.6.The support group included respected and influential leaders--one of whomturned out to be Mr.Morris, but no one knew that in advance.7.Sufficient time elapsed for some of the more reluctant members to talkthemselves into the need for a change.8
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