Monday, March 24, 2008

Too Critical or Expecting Accountability?

Some folks have accused me of being too critical. I apologize for giving that appearance. So let me ask you a question. If someone asks you to be accountable, to be honest, to do the job right the first time, why is that being critical?

Our intentions are not to be critical, but to expect Christian Morality and Integrity when dealing with thousands of dollars given by the congregation.

I quote the church web page which says:
"It is the responsibility of each believer to endeavor to live in fellowship with
each member of the congregation."


If only that were true. If only that were true for the staff as well as each believer. When the staff purposely ignores church members, that is not a good sign. And it is happening.

Again, I quote from the church web page:
"It is further the responsibility of each member to bring all gossiping and
backbiting to an end."

Gossiping and backbiting? Yes, that should not be happening in a congregation. Healthy discourse and challenging of hidden agendas by church leadership? Sir, that is not gossip. That is not backbiting. That is exposure. And some things should be exposed to the congregation. When facts and other things are hidden from church members who seek information, that is not gossip, nor is it backbiting. It is shining a light.

I know basically our church leaders are probably good folks, overall. But honesty has taken a back-seat to personal agendas over the past six years or so. Long-time church members have been insulted pushed aside while others attempt to "have their day" and override common sense. Things have grown to a slow crawl.

It is amazing how, at this point, it seems "God" must have changed his mind, or at least postponed his plans. It is amazing how we as Christians can spin a financial crunch into spiritual words by putting a "God Overlay" on top of common financial (or otherwise) setbacks and making it look like we know what God is allegedly doing with the situation we screwed up. So we spin it a few times, then talk the deacons into buying our spiel, then we present it and try to sell it to the congregation.

Me, too critical? Is it too critical to expect honesty? Is it too critical to expect serious accountability and integrity? Is it being too critical to expect Christians to actually be like Jesus instead of just talking about him?
------------------------------------------------

No comments: