I confess, I’ve been walking my walk in a bit of a daze recently and certain things have suddenly hit home and made me realise what I’ve been doing. Or more accurately, not doing.
One thing I do need to do is be more accountable. Accountable for my day to day walk with God. Accountable for what I write here. Accountable to my family, for my health, my finances, in fact everything I do, think and say.
This is also something that we the Church need to work on. Especially our leaders. Maybe I’m getting a little old in the tooth and even a bit cynical, but I’ve come to the conclusion that Church leadership is not an easy job (hey genius) but equally most of them all eventually lose touch with reality unless they find some way to remain grounded.
I was batting this thought around just the other day and it came to me. Keep leaders real by requiring them to give up their leadership role and all its trappings (travel, conference speaker, sermons, day to day nitty gritty of the church, etc, etc) once every five or so years. Then for the next year they work in a 9 to 5 job in what we quaintly call the real world – we don’t want them or their family to suffer, so the Church happily makes up any difference in salary.
However, they get to be back in the real world. They get to interact daily with unsavoury characters who curse, gossip, slander and blaspheme as naturally as they go to the toilet. They get to do a real job that isn’t always full of drama and intrigue along the lines of a soap opera. Lets face it, the pastors and leaders only get the tough nuts to crack which would make something like Dynasty or 90210 pale into insignificance. They get to remember what it was like to try and find time for the family, for praying, for secluding oneself away for a 40 day fast. They can forget what it’s like to have every phone call intercepted and if necessary diverted.
Then they can try, if they desire, to try and live on the ordinary man’s salary and not the blessing of a one they get for being in service. Don’t get me wrong, I think they deserve every penny we pay them and probably more again and you won’t catch me trying to be head honcho. The point I’m trying to make in my own odd way, is that we need to appreciate them for what they do, but equally they need to remember what it’s like out in the wilds.
I have no idea how one would go about this, especially when working for a non-denominational Church but it’s an intriguing idea that I’ve been tossing around and just had to share it with you guys. What has this to do with Church Tech – nothing other than I need to remember that I am responsible for what I do and say and that I need to be as accountable as my pastor is or should be.
It doesn’t hurt to remind oneself every now and then that we are all human, all fail, all hurt and all need to be loved and forgiven from time to time.
