For the past month and a half, I've been serving as the Interim Minister for my church, a task that has made me question everything I thought I knew about church--and those of us who claim to be a part of it.
Over the course of my 15 years of ministry, I've worked as Associate Minister in several congregations, and for the past five years, as an Associate Minister to Children and Youth for my current congregation; however, when you're not the minister in charge, there are certain things you are shielded from. Being an Associate Minister allows you to minister at a distance thru lenses that have not been discolored with the reality of human nature. For instance, I never knew how double-minded those who are looked upon to be spiritual heads in the church--Officers, Deacons, Trustees and even Auxiliary leaders--could be.
Growing up as a PK, I called these people my Daddy's "Amen Corner". I believed them to be the spiritual heroes of the congregation because they seemed to agree with everything the Preacher was preaching. They were always in meetings with my father, and he often spent many hours talking with them on the phone. Little did I know that most of those meetings and subsequent phone conversations consisted of him putting out fires, assuaging egos and dealing with offended church folk. As an adult I find it ironic that those who "Amen" the sermons the loudest are usually the ones who walk out its message the weakest.
When my Pastor went out on Sabbatical at the beginning of the year, true to my pachyderm nature, I asked for the opportunity to lead the ministry and help keep things moving in his absence, especially as we prepare for our 210 year church anniversary this upcoming summer. I know that God has a calling on my life to lead a ministry in a pastoral capacity, and so, I wanted some experience in serving in that role, if only for a short time. My Pastor trusted me enough to allow me this opportunity, and so I began meeting with the leadership of the church find out where we were spiritually and financially as a body. The findings were astounding--not only were we spiritually immature, we were financially fractured, and much of that had to do with the leadership. Looking back, I don't know why I was astounded at the spiritual/financial correlation; finances are the number one indicator of where a ministry is spiritually because our wallets are usually the last bastion that the Holy Spirit has to conquer in our hearts and minds. Finances follow faith.
Perhaps I expect too much from people--I always look for the best in people and want to see that potential realized. I expect people to exhibit SOME indication that they actually know this Jesus that we claim to worship and to reflect his character in their lives--especially in HIS house. So, it befuddled my mind when I began to see members of leadership catching attitudes with one another, sending mean-spirited texts and emails and bickering with one another to the point where their spouses and children wanted to intervene. My phone began ringing off the hook with people claiming some type of offense. I even got offended!! Then I realized that we have all fallen for Satan's bait--that of offense.
Some issues in the body you cannot shout away, no matter how good your good praise and worship may be. You cannot sing hymns and make them disappear. You cannot even pray them away. Some issues you must call out, cast down, root out and destroy through the power of the Holy Spirit. Offense is one of those issues. And that is where the elephant meets religion.
As good Baptist church folk, we want to tip toe around issues so that no one is "offended"; however, Jesus' very presence was an offense to many. His truth offended the religious leaders to the point that they killed him. He was the elephant in the room that called a spade a spade and spared no ones feelings in the process.
Too many times we allow emotions to rule and guide us; however, emotions were not designed to be the compass we should follow for our lives. Our emotions are indicators that sound the alarm that something is not right. The problem is that, most often we are looking to fix the external situation rather than our own internal state. We want everyone else around us to change to accommodate our feelings rather than align our feelings to the truth. This causes us to fall into offense. However, God's Word tells us to let God be true and every man a liar (Roman 3:4).
So what is to be done about offense?
First, realize that the truth is often offensive because it challenges our status quo. It may even challenge our rearing and some of our core beliefs. Even if we have done something a certain way all of our lives, that doesn't make it right or Bible-based. Many things we do because that's the only way we've known or been taught--even though it is wrong. So, when the truth is introduced, we become offended that our status quo has been called on the table. Embracing the truth can be difficult because it requires that we relinquish the relics of religious tradition in favor of faith. Faith is scary because it is inherently risky, but trust me, it's a risk worth taking.
Secondly, we must separate the truth from the truth-teller. We may reject an essential truth in our lives because of our view of the one that is telling it. As my grandmother would say, "The truth is the truth, no matter who tell it." Whether it comes from the pulpit or the pew, a trusted friend or a known enemy, if it is true, accept it and move on. There are two people who will always tell you the truth--your true friends and your enemies. True friends will tell the truth because they want what is best for us. Enemies will tell the truth because they see every flaw and imperfection about us, and they are quick on the draw to reveal it. Either way, when truth is revealed, we must learn to embrace it, unpack it and deal with this new reality.
Finally, there is no such thing as "your truth" or "my truth"--just "the truth". If God's Word says it, then the issue is settled--there are no extenuating circumstances that would excuse or justify our behavior if it opposed to God's Word. Now, we may differ on the interpretation of the Word, and that is where we must rely on and submit to the Holy Spirit to reveal it to us. All too often, however, we tend to excuse our choices and behavior by claiming that we are "living our truth". How is your truth different from mine when we worship the same God? There is but one Lord, one faith, one baptism. (Ephesians 4:4) Our truths must align.
This past First Sunday, I preached an offensive sermon. It offended everyone in the sanctuary, including me. It confronted my behavior and my attitude and forced me to look at myself in the mirror of truth and realize that I come up short. At that point, I knew that I had a decision to make--either remain in my emotions of offense or embrace the truth and change. It meant I needed to apologize to some folk and forgive some others. It meant that this elephant had to meet religion and allow my relationship with Jesus to flow outward from my faith. May God grant me the grace to do just that.
Until the Divas meet again,
Jabaria Jenkins
The Divine Diva
