One of the reasons why I love my wife is because we have conversations that can lead to blog entries.
There are other reasons – she is beautiful after all – but this is a good reason for the purposes of this entry.
We spoke of a hypothetical situation. Here is the situation.
Ron and his wife had been a part of the church for a few years. They had seen them come and had been under the leadership of Elder Green for a while and the church they were a part of were a tight knit group. Ron and his wife in particular had good relations with Elder Green. That closeness gave them insight into some of the frailties that marked Elder Green’s life.
In the wider church Green had a glowing reputation. His charismatic personality attracted a lot of people to the causes he promoted and his earnest passion for witnessing and the things of God made him popular.
What Ron knew, however, is that behind the scenes, Green struggled in some areas. Sometimes he would succumb to these struggles and look to pass this off as a minor slip that didn’t detract from his service for the Lord.
As a Christian, taught to forgive and bear the burdens of others, Ron didn’t share these shortcomings with others. After all Green was doing good things for God and he appeared almost blameless in the eyes of some. Yet the discrepancies began to become more persistent. Green started to show signs that he was holding onto double standards expecting others to conform to moral behaviour, while he himself would carry on with some unpleasant activities.
Whilst he pushed on with what he viewed as important progress for the church, a rift grew between the two brothers in Christ. Finally an opportunity came for Ron and his family to relocate and they did so, moving on from the fellowship. Yet they knew they were leaving behind a man who was not all he appeared and could potentially hurt those he was meant to lead.
5 years later news emerges that Green had indeed conducted a number of abusive relationships and been involved in some financial dealings that were extremely dodgy. The news tore apart the local gathering and brought about much hurt. When Ron heard the news and the devastation it caused he was stricken with guilt.
Should he have raised the alarm earlier? Although Green left that congregation, it transpired that he was able to set up another. Should Ron now raise the alarm here too? Won’t it seem like sour grapes? Is it his responsibility anymore?
When should you blow the whistle? Like certain other institutions, there can be a fear factor that keeps people keeping a code of silence. Some things are allowed to continue, because they don’t want to disrupt things. Yet if people’s lives are at stake, especially as far as their understanding of who Jesus is in the context of the faith community, can we really afford to keep certain dealings quiet?
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
dmcd
Life With CD 