Regardless of what branch of Christianity you are a part of, be aware of the tremendous challenge posed by the very visible scandal in the Catholic Church at this time. What is happening there will affect all of us in ways that we cannot begin to understand. It is particularly challenging for those who seek to be leaders in this uncertain time. As the media focus on this scandal has developed, the attention has definitely shifted from the specific priests who engaged in sexual abuse to the church leaders to whom they were accountable. While there is frequently a code of silence in most professions, I think it is particularly damaging to see it so graphically displayed in the church. All church leaders are going to be living in a cloud of suspicion.
The effect that this will have is to tarnish the concept of leadership precisely at a time when we are in need of strong leadership. We are living in a society that increasingly rebels against belonging to any community that seeks to have rules and expectations. The church is not the only institution that is experiencing this but it is certainly one of them. There are an increasing number of people who claim to be Christian that are not interested in being part of a church and many of the churches feel the pressure to disassociate with denominational connections. It could be said of us as it was said in Judges 17:06. “In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.”
So how do you offer leadership at a time when everyone is suspicious of anyone who steps out and offers to lead? That is the challenge that all church leaders face this Easter. Easter reminds us of how we should live when the best are under suspicion and the worst are willing to play on people’s fears to achieve their own ends. Their are times when we seem to have lost all options and have to relearn how to trust God to provide better options than we can imagine.
