Monday, August 04, 2008
Being Accountable
Mark Roberts wrote, in the wake of the Jeremiah Wright controversy, about pulpit pride. As all things Mark does, it was a series and my favorite was on accountability.
Most pastors I know pay some service to this concept - the problem is in the details. Generally either they do it "on the clock" or they are a bit too selective in who they listen to. Let me explain what I mean a bit. When they do it "on the clock" they have a set amount of time they devote to "feedback" (it generally appears on their to-do list that way) most of it in the greeting after the service, and a few emails. The time devoted is severely limited and consists of "vote counting" - 23 liked it, 17 didn't. That is poll taking, not accountability. There is no feedback as to what was good and bad - there is no shaping of the ideas to improve them. The biggest problem is it is arrogant - it assumes that they know what they are doing and just seeking their rating this week.
The second issue about being too selective can get downright ridiculous. I know pastors that have held focus group kind of discussions on their sermons every week, but the group consisted of a bunch of sycophants that would praise what the guy said if he stood in the pulpit and cursed for 20 minutes. This pastor is interested in the form, but not the function of accountability.
But there is a flip side to this coin. As congregants, as the people that are to hold the preacher accountable, we carry a heavy, heavy burden. We must first of all educate ourselves in a fashion that enables us to exercise that function with wisdom. We must become mature enough people to exercise the function with grace. We must be willing to set aside our personal agendas and ask questions not about what we need from the pulpit, but what the congregation needs. This is a tall order.
It puts me in mind of Christ's discussion of planks and specks. If you seek to exercise your role to hold the preacher accountable, do so with even greater humility than you demand of him/her. Take the plank from your own eye, and monitor carefully that it not return, before you start helping your preacher with his speck.
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In general, sinful pride disappears when we look truly at who we are and who God is. When we see ourselves as sinners saved by grace, when we regard our abilities and opportunities as gifts from God, when we own our personal limitations, and when we glimpse the wonder and majesty of God, it’s hard to be prideful. Humility before the Lord leads to humility before people, including ourselves. Any preacher too puffed up by pride needs, in my opinion, to come humbly before God.Mark then goes on to explore the practicalities of such things. There are two important points I want to make out this.
But there’s more that can help a preacher whose pride leads to irresponsible sermonizing. I’m thinking of accountability.
[...]
Ultimately, we preachers won’t know how we measure up until we stand before the Lord. But, it the meanwhile, God has given the Christian community the responsibility for discerning the truthfulness and goodness of what Christians, including preachers, say. In one of Paul’s letters in the New Testament we read:Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil. (1 Thes 5:19-22, NLT, 2nd ed)Though this passage doesn’t mention preaching per se, it does speak of prophesying, which is fairly close to preaching. Both have to do with speaking God’s word to people. When one claims to speak on behalf of God, the congregation of gathered Christians is not expected merely to listen submissively. On the contrary, they are to “test everything that is said” (v. 21). If it’s good, they should hang onto it. If it’s evil, they should avoid it.
Most pastors I know pay some service to this concept - the problem is in the details. Generally either they do it "on the clock" or they are a bit too selective in who they listen to. Let me explain what I mean a bit. When they do it "on the clock" they have a set amount of time they devote to "feedback" (it generally appears on their to-do list that way) most of it in the greeting after the service, and a few emails. The time devoted is severely limited and consists of "vote counting" - 23 liked it, 17 didn't. That is poll taking, not accountability. There is no feedback as to what was good and bad - there is no shaping of the ideas to improve them. The biggest problem is it is arrogant - it assumes that they know what they are doing and just seeking their rating this week.
The second issue about being too selective can get downright ridiculous. I know pastors that have held focus group kind of discussions on their sermons every week, but the group consisted of a bunch of sycophants that would praise what the guy said if he stood in the pulpit and cursed for 20 minutes. This pastor is interested in the form, but not the function of accountability.
But there is a flip side to this coin. As congregants, as the people that are to hold the preacher accountable, we carry a heavy, heavy burden. We must first of all educate ourselves in a fashion that enables us to exercise that function with wisdom. We must become mature enough people to exercise the function with grace. We must be willing to set aside our personal agendas and ask questions not about what we need from the pulpit, but what the congregation needs. This is a tall order.
It puts me in mind of Christ's discussion of planks and specks. If you seek to exercise your role to hold the preacher accountable, do so with even greater humility than you demand of him/her. Take the plank from your own eye, and monitor carefully that it not return, before you start helping your preacher with his speck.
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