TY - BOOK AU - Moessner,Jeanne Stevenson AU - Dell,Mary Lynn TI - The elephant in the church: what you don't see can kill your ministry SN - 9781426753213 (book pbk. / trade pbk. : alk. paper) AV - BV4011.3 .M63 2013 U1 - 250 23 PY - 2013///] CY - Nashville PB - Abingdon Press KW - Pastoral theology KW - Psychology, Religious KW - Church work KW - Christian leadership KW - Church management N1 - Includes bibliographical references; Elephants -- A herd of elephants -- Stampede (or, "You have destroyed our sweet little church") -- The elephant that crushes your spirit : depression -- Wild elephants that trample and crush : a.k.a. "Dealing with problematic parishioners") -- And the elephant in the room is ... the preacher! N2 - A church can be a dangerous place. The perils may be so obvious, they become "elephants" standing in the fellowship hall, lurking in the sanctuary, ready to spring into the pastor's study, and tromp out of the choir room. The word "elephant" stands for an obvious truth or issue that is ignored or unnamed -- a blind spot. Yet we allow elephants to occupy a large amount of space in the minds and hearts of those that tiptoe around them. Discussing common blind-spots of congregations and church leaders, the authors provide examples and illustrations for how to stop these "elephants" from ruining a ministry ER -