YOUR LIST OF HYPOCRISIES (continued from previous blog)
In my previous blog, I explored what I call the hypocritic oath for pastors. I suggested that it is important to be aware of the hypocrisies that you have in your life. I shared ten of my own and suggested that you make your own private list. Now, let’s take that another step forward.
The purpose of naming your hypocrisy is not for guilt sake but to enable you to break free of their power. Once I was able to acknowledge that, despite the mandate of the Gospel, I was a racist, I opened myself to the power of God to use an imperfect servant to break down some racial barriers. Once I am free to acknowledge that I am very imperfect and that God loves me anyway, I am free to be less self-righteous of others. The more I can identify both my own failings and the failings of the church, the more I stand in awe at God’s ability to work through the church for the sake of God’s world.
value of being a hypocrite
I had a minister friend who had messed up his marriage and was going through a divorce. He told me that Sunday after Sunday he would feel overwhelmed by his unworthiness to say anything about God, Christ, and faith. Yet, each Sunday, he had to rise and preach. As we talked about it over time, he discovered that his very pain of unworthiness deepened his sermons. It was not from a perspective of purity that he addressed his congregation but as a sinner who was wrestling with the Gospel. That didn’t justify what had happened in his marriage, but it did allow him to experience personally how God’s power is made perfect in our weakness.
Take the list that you create of the situations and attitudes that make you feel like a hypocrite and try to identify specific possibilities of how God might work through each of them for a greater good either in your personal life or your ministry.
churches confessing hypocrisy
This can also apply to a congregation as a whole. A church that confesses its own hypocrisies is open to redeeming grace. In February, I will publish my latest novel, Shock and Awe: A church Recognizes Its Racism and Is Awed by God’s Invitation. It offers in story form how Christian churches might move beyond both denial and guilt about the racism that distorts the Gospel and open themselves to how God can enable them to proclaim Good News for a society that is deeply enmeshed in our racist history.
It might be a good resource to help a church explore their own ministry in our society. I will also be preparing a step by step guide for how churches can engage in a positive strategy that addresses racism from a faith perspective in our society. Feel free to contact me about securing a copy or look at my website, www.smccutchan.com
