Transparency

Our church has recently completed a lengthy process of seeking counsel from a firm that specializes in church health and growth potential. This past Sunday, we (the congregation) were able to pick up copies of the summary of the report presented to the pastors for our own personal review.

What I read in the summary wasn't all that surprising, but some of it certainly was.

This got Matt and I talking about what we think is going on in the church and with the inevitable politics that come with most organizations, religious or otherwise.

One thing we kept coming back to was transparency.

From what we have read and seen, our generation (late Gen-X) places a lot of value on being real, authentic and genuine in our encounters with other people, and we expect the same. Otherwise, we feel disenchanted and disconnected. We crave meaningful relationships that enrich our lives. From that research, Matt and I totally fit into that categorization.

And one thing we feel like is somewhat of an issue with our church leadership is lack of transparency/authenticity/etc. That we can only go so far in getting to know our leaders before we hit an invisible wall. This can be a tad frustrating, especially if you carry it over to Sunday mornings and whomever is in the pulpit.

Don't get me wrong; we love our church, we love our pastors and we have felt very strongly that it is where God wants us to be (serving, worshiping, etc.), it is a very Biblically-based and central church, which is of the utmost importance to us, but sometimes we feel a disconnect between what's being preached and what we see.

I, for one, would appreciate our pastors coming before the congregation and openly saying, "You know, this is where I'm at, this is where I'm struggling and I would covet and appreciate your prayers for me in this." For them to show their "weaknesses" and their passion a little more than what we usually see on a Sunday. To be honest about where the church is currently heading and what they see God's will is (we have a pretty unclear vision right now, which is contributing to some of these sentiments, but they are aware of it and I believe are taking steps to change that).

I don't see that happening any time soon, and it saddens me. I believe that a lot of the congregation would be receptive to stark honesty from our pastors and leaders, and while certainly there are details and struggles that are not pertinent for us to know, a little more transparency would go a long way with reconnecting a bit with the body.

Bottom line, we're not leaving our church any time soon. We feel very much that we need to stay and help (if that's what God wants us to do) the church through this transition and we're praying about going to our pastor to discuss some of the things we've been feeling. Again, we love our church, the friends we've made through it, the truth is being preached and it is where we know God is asking us to go.

But all of this has made me start thinking about the level of transparency in my own life. How transparent am I with those around me? How many times to do I feel the need to put on my "perfect; everything's fine" face instead of being real and genuine with what is going on? If I'm asking my pastors to do that, shouldn't I be doing the same?

I keep thinking about Jesus and the woman at the well. He knew exactly who she was, how she was living, what she craved most and what she needed. There is no hiding behind walls with Him. Oh, I can certainly try, but He still sees right through me. Instead of waiting and expecting Him to look through me, I want to start living my life with complete transparency; without fear of what's expected of me or what others may think, and really live according to God's word.

I wonder how my life would change if I did so.

Blessings and love,
Erin

ps. forgive the rambly-ness of this post...it's pretty much all off the top of my head, and it's getting late for me, so we all know what that means. ;)