Truth Tellers

In any sort of ministry, there are going to be tough conversations. It’s interesting – many people who step into ministry for the first time are shocked by the level of conflict in the church. They expect church to be a place where everything is harmonious, full of prayer and togetherness. That’s kind of like expecting that everyone in a hospital is going to be healthy because that’s where the medicine is…Truth is, church is the place where broken people go to be made whole [or as whole as we can be in this life]. They’re not whole yet, so broken interactions, attitudes and behavior abound. As church staff, we need to address those things. It might be dealing with diva behavior, or modesty in style of dress, on online postings/interactions. Those conversations need to happen. Some leaders have these kind of conversations too often. Many times, though, we don’t. In the name of compassion, unity, etc…, we avoid confrontation. We rationalize to ourselves that that we’re not having the hard conversations because we’re too nice – the reality is that we are not having them because we are too cowardly. We don’t want someone to be mad at us – i.e. we don’t want to suffer the potential consequences of relational tension. You know what, though? That’s our job. Each of us needs to approach things with compassion and kindness, but we also need to have the courage to  straightforwardly address issues – that may be the only way to help people to break through the stuff that they are ensnared in.