(Note:
Although I believe in politically correct speech, it sometimes makes writing
difficult. So please read clergyman and clergymen as referring to the ordained
religious of both genders.)
In yesterday's
blog I listed four titles and descriptions for duties of the clergy—pastor,
priest, teacher, and administrator. There are yet two more: Conscience of the
Community and Keeper of the Peace. It is incumbent upon the clergy to identify
the wrongs of omission and commission committed by individuals or groups
against the populace and suggest/encourage workable (sensible) solutions.
Because this cannot be done anonymously, it often exposes the clergy to both
kudos and condemnation. Many times the clergy find themselves at odds with
their membership for a position they take on a public—often-political—issue.
This is a sword of Damocles because to avoid taking issue may bring as much or
more condemnation upon the clergy than to act. (To do nothing is to do
something.)
To
take a public stand on an issue of substance is probably one of the most
agonizing decisions to face any member of the clergy. (I do not consider the clergyman who
organized a group of pickets in front of the Neiman-Marcus store to protest the
first bikini clad mannequin in a US store window an issue of substance. It did
however earn this man a lot of short-lived notoriety.) Taking a public stand
against an injustice is best exemplified by the work of Dr. Martin Luther King.
Yet
another 'office', often also a very difficult one requiring a great deal of
skill and tact is that of Keeper-of-the-Peace. What every clergyperson fears
most is the development of a schism within the congregation. However the
history of Christianity reveals that if nothing else, schisms are inevitable.
The Roman Catholics fought bloody battles to keep the Eastern Orthodox Church
from splitting off from them. They repeated this action to try to prevent
Protestantism from spreading. Methodists spit from Lutherans, as did
Presbyterians. Baptists and Amish originated from schisms. Baptists have
fractionalized over the years because of intra congregational conflicts. It is not
uncommon to find four churches (buildings included) of the same denomination
within a short drive of one another in a given locale.
The clergy are almost
always the scapegoats when a schism occurs. The clergyman may have been the
focus of a division between those who want to keep him and those who want him
to leave, but often this is only the symptom of a deeply personal conflict
between two powers within the congregation. A change of clergy often delays a
split but it does not prevent it from eventually happening. Unfortunately the
parsonage family is the real victim of a move that results from a schism
because it must adjust to all of the ramifications of relocation, new house,
new schools, new relationships to form. Parsonage children often grow up feeling
alienated and rootless. It is a fortunate clergyman who moves out and upward
leaving behind the good will of the majority of his flock not because of a
knife at his back.
No comments:
Post a Comment