Cynicism Rebutted
This is going to be a shock to most of you out there (please read sarcasm), but I tend to be pretty cynical about people as whole. Unless you prove to me otherwise, or are really loyal, I tend not to expect much.
But today, someone at church sent us (staff & leadership) a letter that went a little something like this:
An Open Letter to the Members of First Christian Church
The Holy Spirit has been doing an incredible work at First Christian Church as He brings about restoration and healing. Starting with our leaders, we are discovering the blessings of repentance, confession and forgiveness. But it has been an uneasy process – even shocking for some in our congregation.
The truth is, we don’t want to hear about the sins of our leaders for at least two reasons:
1) We want to believe they are better than they are. We like our leaders clean, good-looking and firmly standing on a pedestal. They represent us. We count on their shadow to fall on us. When they fall, we are exposed. 2) We want to believe they are better than we are. Part of the job description for leaders is to inspire others by their example. But the truth is, we cannot rely on other humans for perfection. Our hope of perfection lies solely in the example of Jesus Christ, whose record is forever intact.
Another truth is that we are not comfortable with the idea of public confession. Our society values reputation (what others see and believe about us) over character (who we are when no one but God sees). Our leaders risk their reputations when they confess publicly, but in doing so they restore and protect their character and the integrity of the Church.
We must remember that God is the author of both humility and grace. Humility requires us to not think more of ourselves than God thinks of us; grace requires us not to think less of ourselves than God thinks of us. It takes spiritual maturity to confess publicly, accept God’s grace, get up and allow God to use us again. It also takes maturity to hate sin, but love the sinner; we must not confuse the two, or we risk creating an environment where none of us will be free to repent and seek forgiveness. Without humility and grace, we are not just useless; we are not The Church.
Our leaders have shown us that, when they fall, they land on their knees. We must thank God for such men and women! They are the targets of a powerful enemy who knows that, if he can destroy them, he can destroy us. We must hold them close in prayer, and never forget that they need us as much as we need them. Together in Christ, we will stand.
Fellow members of First Christian Church
Wow. An amazing couple just summed up everything we all needed to hear/remember.
It’s always easier to criticize than encourage, and that’s just part of life, but it’s good to know that there are people willing to stand in the gap for us, even when we fall.
Deep down you know those people are there somewhere, but hearing it every now and again doesn’t hurt.
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