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Making Progress
I had spent the morning preaching in a local church at the invitation of their pastor. This church had been under attack by a group of disgruntled members who were meeting in secret and plotting first to remove the pastor, while laying the groundwork later for the church to leave the denomination. Key leaders had been assembled in order to speak openly and frankly about what was happening in their church, and what was at stake. In response to that, UCC leaders were asked to come and preach throughout this fall season on themes that would build stronger covenantal bonds with their wider church partners. I was the second such preacher invited for this special purpose, and it was a responsibility I accepted gladly. While in the fellowship hall following the service, I was approached by two women who asked me about something or other I had written in a letter about their church or their pastor. Not sure what they were referring to, I probed a little and guessed that they might be referring to one of the blogs I had written here. That was in fact the case, and they were reporting that a member of the church was very upset about that. I described what I had written, and they found it hard to believe that anyone would be upset over that. As has often been the case, they had not themselves seen the article, and what they had been told about it was not in fact accurate. At about this time, another gentleman approached, and the women pointed out that he was the man who was upset. He confronted me, and we talked about what I had written and why. It became clear that he was not supportive of my efforts to name the ways in which our churches are being attacked, and he denied any culpability in the sustained attack on his own church. It was at this time that a few more people gathered and engaged in the conversation. One of the women who first approached me began to describe the secret meetings that were taking place, even going so far as to share her own knowledge about where and when the next one would be held. The gentleman who was there to challenge our assumptions declared he knew nothing about any of that, and shortly after asking me who had written the bulletin insert (which was for one of the UCC's four annual, special offerings) and hearing my answer, he walked away saying he was happy that now he knew to whom he should write his letter. The group that was left remained for some time and spoke with much animation and passion about their own discomfort at what was happening in their church, and wanting to know what else they could do to stop it. It was clear that the leaders with whom we had met had done a good job telling the story of their church's vulnerability, and preparing the members to stand up in defense of their church. I left that church with mixed emotions. On the one hand, the confrontation with the angry gentleman left me feeling that there was still present an unhappy faction who wanted to continue to fight and struggle with the church's relationship to the wider church. Because of that, the good work of the leaders in this church will need to continue with diligence for some time yet. On the other hand, I saw first hand what good leadership will produce when faithful members are equipped with clear information about what is going on; are invited to come to the defense of their own congregation; and display the kind of outspoken courage that I saw that day. Left in the hands of the good folk I met, churches like this one will survive the onslaught and will soon return to the purpose and mission for which they were always intended.
Making Progress | 12 comments (12 topical, 0 hidden)
Making Progress | 12 comments (12 topical, 0 hidden)
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