I want to build on yesterday’s discussion about how a church behaves when expectations of leaders are not met.
First, a reality check. We have this illusion that for a church to be faithful, everybody must be nice and there would be no conflict. That does not fit with either our current experience of church life nor that church reflected in the Bible and history. Read 1 Corinthians as one example of the early church’s experience of conflict. So the first stage of our discussion would be to recognize the reality of conflict within the church.
The second stage would be to explore the meaning of the fact that the church began with the experience of denial (Peter) abandonment (all disciples) and betrayal (Judas.) Reflect together on what it means that this was the experience in which the church began. Reflect also on how Jesus responded to those circumstances and what that means for our current church. You might note that Jesus acted to restore all but Judas to the church.
Next, consider how the church covenants together to “speak the truth in love” about their differing expectations and how to respond to them. What does it mean to speak in that way and how can that be built into the relationship between the Session and those that are employed by the church? What is the role of the pastor in that situation? Where is mutual prayer an appropriate part of that discussion? How do we recognize our mutual failings and the steps to improve? How do we recognize when the relationship must be ended? Can that be a mutual decision?
Conflict is not an easy experience in or out of the church but perhaps our own theology can give us some guidance in how to proceed.
