tsukimaster wrote:Jon wrote:
What I find tragic are when people make their faith dependent on the behaviour of others, such as a minister. In my pastoral work I met so many who have left a Chuch because for example the minister did not say hello or did not take up an invitation. This MAY speak for an incoherence on the part of that minister, but it also MAY spaek for the incoherence in faith on the part of a member.
Very often we make assumptions about others without knowing that persons inner condition. In the case mentioned above, the \"job\" description does not match up with an experience with real life. What we shouldn`t forget is that we are dealing with human beings: with weaknesses, dependencies, emotions, desires, hopes, problems, experiences.... . Instead of of questioning the coherency of another maybe we should have a good look at our expectations (and where they are coming from).
No doubt there are times where even the very best \"leader\" slips up, forgets, or or is lost in thought when really their attention is expected elsewhere. What I refer to is regular lapses of judgement, when the rank and status of one is worn on the sleeve instead of fastened to the heart. When one takes their position and uses it for their benefit, this is the most detestable. And to be quite honest, if I ever found a leader who NEVER made a mistake, who never fell a bit behind, I would seriously re-consider my trust in them. If things seem to good to be true, they probablly are. That or I was just too ignorant to notice. In that case it would be I who needed a little counsel.
Rick,
tsukimaster
When I wrote this I had my experiences of a Church in mind. Very true, the hypocracy of say a clergy is a matter for closer scrutiny. As the dwindling numbers in congregations prove there is a great deal of disappointment, resentment, loss in faith, loneliness, trauma... . The message remains the same, however, it is a condition we do not expect and one which is met with little understanding. Maybe I am mistaken but there is in my experience no institution whether religious or secular which is free from even the most serious hypocracy. The reality though, is that each one of us at the end of the day is faced with a choice: accept how things are or reject it; leave or stay; resign or fight; hope for the best or suffer... . There is still a reason why the \"hypocrites\" are the way they are, there is a reason why others react the way they do, but the Truth or message which calls a group together remains the same. The sooner that we realise that any institution is human, that any interpretation does not alter the substance of Truth and that we always have an option the better.
