SUICIDE: THE PASTOR’S DILEMMA ?

Suicide is a very heinous death. To inflict pain on one’s self with the intent of ending your own existence raises many questions –especially if there is no note explaining why.

The problem with suicide, especially for Senior Pastors of local congregations, is that it is not a real choice but a decision made based on factors that are normally rooted in pride and/or sense of feeling overwhelmed. Oftentimes these factors can lead to depression and without proper help or counsel can leave a Pastor feeling as if suicide is the only viable option.

Media has helped us understand that clergy are not exempt from suicide attempts and in fact are very prone to it; especially on Monday’s. A complex that looms in many Senior Pastors is called a “Messiah complex”. The Messiah Complex – is the insatiable desire to meet the needs of a congregation without fail. It is evidenced by a desire to gain recognition from the membership that a Pastor is “anointed” with super human abilities; ones that only God could have.

But what happens when those same individuals who once elevated their pastor to the status of messiah suddenly becomes keenly aware of his inefficiencies and/or personal transgressions? What happens when the man who was once celebrated for his oratory skills is now locked in a room or a vehicle overwhelmed by active sin made manifest publicly?

Pride and the sense of being overwhelmed are also key factors. Pride, because the Pastor believes he does not need help beyond personal prayer and overwhelmed because the active sin gnawing at his character is leaking out and people are beginning to voice their concerns. It can be likened to Superman fighting a villain without wearing his cape.

CONSIDER SOME RECENT SUICIDE CASES AMONG PASTORS

In 2009 Rev. Eldon Earl Johnson and his wife, Linda Kay, of Ringgold Baptist Church of Texas committed suicide together. The two stood on train tracks, hugging, and waited for the train to strike them.

Rev. Johnson was 69 years old and his wife 61. According to sources, Rev. Johnson had recently been laid off his job and Linda Johnson worked at a fast food restaurant. Rev. Johnson also served as Pastor of Ringgold Baptist Church for 25 years and left no note of explanation.

Within the last year, Africa also had a noted suicide case. Sources in Ghana reported the suicide of Pastor Nicholas Opoku-Agyeman in 2010. Pastor Nicholas, the leader of Calvary Baptist Church, went into the bathroom and witnesses reported hearing a gun shot. His wife, Charity Opoku-Agyeman, immediately yelled out “Pastor!” She found him face up with a gunshot wound to the chest and covered with blood. Reports showed he was getting sick and had previously missed a Sunday worship service due to illness. He, like the others, did not provide a note, leaving much speculation and confusion for parishioners and family members left behind.

2011 HAS BEEN A VERY SUICIDAL YEAR

In February, Pastor Daniel Gay (38 years old), Pastor of The Friendship Primitive Baptist Church in Tallahassee, Florida committed suicide by inflicting himself with a gunshot wound to the chest in the driveway of his home in Crawford Hills.

It could be argued that Pastor Gay must have been overwhelmed by some stressor. But why? Neither his family nor his congregation will ever truly know his reason because he did not leave a note. However, he did leave devastating images for them to replay in their minds every time they drive up Martin Luther King Blvd and enter the driveway of their home.

In April, Pastor Nicholas William Minerva (52 years old), married with four children and Pastor of the Trinity Baptist Fellowship Church in Phoenix, Arizona committed suicide by gunshot wound. Pastor Minerva was under investigation for inappropriate communication with a teen. Minerva had been chatting online with a 14 year old girl, even exposing his genitalia via a web cam. When the police department made contact with him on church grounds with a search warrant – he retreated back inside the church and later was found dead. He left behind no note and not purpose for his actions.

In April, Pastor Jerry Hanoum (61 years old) was facing fraud charges and elderly abuse; he was the Pastor of the Mountain View Christian Center in Oakley, California. Instead of facing the charges of a $1.2 million civil suit, he chose suicide. In May, he was found dead inside his white truck with a single, self-inflicted, gunshot wound to the head.

It could be argued that Pastor Hanoum like Minerva became overwhelmed with life’s issues and chose to end his life. Hanoum did provide a note of explanation. Contents of his suicide note have not been published.

In May, Pastor Matthew Jarrell (41 years old), married with four children and Pastor of the Open Door Baptist Church in Texas committed suicide by hanging himself with a bed sheet in a West Virginia Jail. Pastor Matthew, thought to be at a Baptist convention in Pennsylvania, was actually in a bar in West Virginia where he met a woman who needed a ride. He offered her a ride and the later sexually assaulted her on a West Virginia road. She escaped and told police. Having faced previous sex charges in San Antonio from 2007, unknown to his congregants at the Open Door, Pastor Matthew ended his life rather than openly facing the charges.

It could be argued that Pastor Matthew became overwhelmed. Was it because he’d created an image of himself that was not true? Was it that he needed help but did not get it? He, like many others, left no note only the lingering question of why.

Notice that many of these Pastors are members of the Baptist Denomination – a Christian denomination that ascribes to local church autonomy. On the surface, autonomy sounds appealing, freeing its leaders from a system of hierarchy that can often become abusive. However, autonomy in itself has an Achilles heal – unaccountability can be the fuel that empowers messiah complexes, pride and a sense of being overwhelmed.

WHAT CONGREGATIONS MUST DO

Regardless of a congregation’s denominational structure or affiliation – every church needs a licensed psychiatrist and/or counselor, exclusively designated for their pastoral leader. Many congregations are guilty of believing the church check is the only provision necessary for their pastor.

Pastors must be protected and sometimes even protected from themselves. If a church is unwilling to ensure their pastor receives the counsel needed when in crises they may too one day find themselves encountering police tape wrapped around their church property, news cameras surrounding their parking lot and coroners wheeling out their leader - who lead them to Christ, baptized their children, performed their weddings and counseled them in crisis.