Saturday, March 03, 2007

Confessions...

I know it's odd, but I'm as shocked as everyone else. I just finished a book that I started reading yesterday called "Confessions of a Pastor". I'll admit that a few of Groeschel's admissions stuck out to me which is why I wanted to read it. That and I think someone somewhere along the line might have suggested it.

It's a simple read and I would imagine that most pastors would probably resonate and agree with most of the honest confessions. I think it raised an overall question of what churches are doing in order to not only encourage their shepherd to be accountable, but what are they doing in order to promote honesty and transparency with their leaders.

Let's be honest, most pastoral confessions are usually followed by "asked to step down".
I'll admit that while there is a level of honesty that is a little refreshing, there is also an element of too many simple cliches. Comments like "what's happening to you is not as important as what God's doing in you" and "as our faith expands, worry shrinks" tend to make me a little nauseous at times. Yeah, yeah...I get that there's an element of truth in them.
Should I recommend this? Sure...why not. It's not written about your typical topic. Maybe it would be useful if this could pave the way for more pulpit transparency. I don't think it will...is that normal?

No comments: