A SOCIETY OF DISTRUST
From the beginning, humans have created organizations and institutions to help them manage their interests and desires. We have banks and investment companies to help us with our money. We ask schools to bring together teachers to advance our knowledge. We have charities, corporations, sports teams, medical facilities, churches, governments, and the list continues.
What happens when you can no longer trust an institution to fulfill its intended purpose. Yet try to think of one major institution in our society that has not been plagued with scandal and corruption in the last decade. Is it any wonder that our society is filled with cynicism and our behavior often erupts in bizarre behavior and our political actions are either apathy or extreme. People often feel helpless to make a positive difference. They have lost the ability to trust anyone except a few individuals near to them.
I believe in the thesis that
Healthy Clergy Make Healthy Congregations.
I am fully aware that churches are among the institutions that have been plagued with scandals by both their members and their leaders. However, building Paul’s quotation from God in 1 Corinthians 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness,” I believe that we can nurture healthy spiritual leadership that can enable healthy congregations to provide renewed hope and courage in our society.
FEEL EMPOWERED
Imagine that you could take steps that would enable the church to become a healthy influence on a society that has grown to distrust almost all institutions and most people who are beyond arm’s length. Picture a church providing a healthy model of how to respond to conflict creatively in the midst of a fractured society. How can you build healthy teamwork between the church governing body and the clergy who work together for a healthy church? Can the regional body implement a program that nurtures both clergy and congregation in a healthy manner?
