The first two years of Pastor Nate's ministry at Historic Downtown were, as he put it, "Awesome!" Attendance and giving reversed their 30-year slide, and younger families and singles began to reappear in the pews. Most members attributed the turnaround to Pastor Nate's compelling sermons and charismatic personality. One long-term member enthused, "This is the first time I've wished a minister would keep preaching after 20 minutes!"

By the third year, troubling anecdotes about Pastor Nate began to emerge, primarily from those connected with congregational staff members. One story concerned a young female staff member who resigned because she felt "demeaned" by Pastor Nate. Another involved a male associate minister whom Pastor Nate had berated in deeply personal and humiliating ways in front of the entire 10-person staff, allegedly because the associate had forgotten to give Pastor Nate proper credit for the idea of initiating a new program for young adults in the congregation.

Despite the congregational growth and the development of new programs, some members of Historic Downtown began to question Pastor Nate's leadership. Why was he constantly calling attention to himself while diminishing others? Was it appropriate for him to demand "loyalty" to himself rather than the congregation or to God? Were rumors about his demeaning of staff members true? What did all this mean for the congregation?

Others rushed to defend Pastor Nate: "Sure, he can be brusque on occasion, but look how the congregation is growing!" The members of the search committee that recommended calling Pastor Nate were particularly vigorous in defending their decision. After decades of decline, Historic Downtown needed a "strong leader" to turn things around. It was time for folks to either get on board or get out of the way, as Pastor Nate was the one now setting the direction for the congregation.

For most members, however, the hubbub over Pastor Nate's leadership seemed like a lot of background noise. They liked the worship service and their church friends and were not sure which rumors to believe.

This fictionalized story illustrates the four roles that tend to emerge in a congregation when there is a bully in the pulpit-or the pews-the Bully, the Victims, the Enablers, the Bystanders, and the System.