An
astonishing and horrible thing has been committed in the land:
The prophets prophesy falsely, and the
priests rule by their own
power; and My people love to have it
so. But what will you do in the end? (Jeremiah 5: 30, 31)
The more I serve in
Christian ministry, the farther I travel for the work of the church, the more
diverse my exposure to people and systems and ideas at work in the Kingdom of
God, the more I hear the same thing: COMPLAINTS. The same complaints.
“All they talk about is money.”
“All they do is argue about nothing.”
“They’re not reaching our youth.”
“They’re not doing enough for the community.”
“They don’t listen (to me).”
And either, “There’s not enough spirit in worship,” or “They’ve turned church
into a show.”
These issues don’t
apply to every single church or tradition nor to every single congregation and
fellowship, but in general they are the hashtags of the institutional church. Across denominations and demographics the common
element in these common complaints is “they,” meaning LEADERS.
WE are mad about how
THEY lead us. I was, too.
At the General Conference, the gathering of
delegates from every region of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, I heard
myself repeating the common liturgy of church complaints. And I was upset….. No, I was angry…..
No. I was pissed off at the leaders of
my church for doing exactly what we complain about them doing.
(At one point in the
Conference I realized that we were actually arguing about whether to appoint a
commission to argue over whether to submit a document for us to argue about.)
Halfway through the
weeklong Conference I kinda snapped a little.
I took to the floor and (very politely) asked them to bring Jesus back.
And then I realized
that “they” are not the problem. WE
are.
It’s like what God said
to Jeremiah. “Oh, no doubt, your leaders are wrong, and
their wrongness is their fault. They
prophesy falsely, and they rule
by their own power. But, the fact that they’re still in leadership is YOUR
FAULT. Ya’ll let them do it, and you love to have it so.”
Through Jeremiah,
God looks out across the assembly of general church folks, nods to our complaints and then looks each of us in the eyes to ask, “But what will you do
in the end?”
But what will I do
in the end?
I’m going to do what the Bible says.
Jesus said: The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do
according to their works; for they say, and do not do.(Matthew 23: 2, 3)
I’m going to listen
well, and when I hear a hypocrital leader give good advice they will never
themselves follow, I’m going to absorb and follow the good counsel. I’m going to work hard for the cause of
Christ. I’m going to study and prepare
to serve even better. I’m going to remember
that my individual work is part of something much bigger. I’m going to hold myself to the high ethical
standard we profess and leaders sign off on.
But I’m not going to
become the very things we all complain about.
But what will you do in the end?
I’m going to do
Galatians 6: 1.
Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any
trespass, you who are spiritual
restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you
also be tempted.
The real problems in
church leadership aren’t problems of administration. They are problems of sin. Reconsider the complaints.
“All they talk about is money.”
The money obsession isn’t really about accounting practices. It’s about greed, and theft. It’s about sin.
“They argue about nothing.”
The bickering and back-biting isn’t about parliamentary procedure. It’s about pride and hatefulness. It’s about sin.
“They’re not reaching our youth.”
The neglect of youth isn’t about technology and culture shift. It’s about ego and the coveting of
power. It’s about sin.
“They’re not doing enough for the community.”
Weak outreach isn’t about funding or training or facilities. It’s about selfishness and stinginess. It’s about a lack of humility and a lack of
love for anyone other than ourselves. That's sin.
“They don’t listen (to me).”
Unresponsiveness or perceived unresponsiveness isn’t about communications
systems or understanding bureaucratic protocols. It’s about the idolatry
of I’m-it-and-you’re-nothing. Both the object of the complaint AND the
complainer are equally susceptible to that self-worship. Sin.
“There’s not
enough spirit in worship,” or “They’ve turned church into a show.”
Worship is not about style or cross-generational musical preferences.
It's about submission---to
God. Whether loud or quiet, liturgical
or charismatic, traditional or contemporary---- when a group of Christians genuinely surrender fully to the experience of God in worship, what happens will not
be a show, and it will be Holy Spirit-filled.
Anything else, regardless of the rhythm, is something akin to blasphemy.
Soooo, since the
problem is sin among my brothers and sisters in leadership then what I have to
do in the end is restore such a one in a
spirit of gentleness, considering myself
lest I also be tempted (Galatians
6: 1)
So I’m not gonna be
quiet about what’s really wrong in my church.
I’m going to fight for us to be the reflections of Christ we are made to
be. But I will fight most aggressively
with myself. I’ll check myself harder
that I rebuke anyone else, lest I also be tempted to become the person I
complain about.
Now what about you?
You’ve reached the
end of my post, and in the end you still have all those complaints about the
leadership in your church. Cool.
But what will YOU do in the end?
---Anderson T. Graves
II is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry,
and rural leadership development.
Rev.
Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall
Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama,
executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for
the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
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