Understanding Lear
I've managed to meet with my pastor about the incident, and I feel I should follow up on my comments from a few weeks ago.
Running a church is not simple. Nor is it fun. Neither is it something that always makes sense.
I'm not sure exactly how much I can/should say, but I will say this much: the senior pastor isn't any more comfortable with the decision to fire our worship pastor than any of the rest of us are. He needed to make a change, though, and that's what he did, with the prayer and support of the board. Now that his decision is in effect, the staff and the majority of the worship team support the decision, and we can move forward.
Moving forward is not an easy thing to do. Hopefully, (God willing,) we can move forward in unison. That's what this change was about: unifying the body. Moving forward, together, in prayer and humility.
In retrospect, was my comparison to King Lear a fair one?
Perhaps. Perhaps it still is. Lear's dismissal of his daughter was in a totally different situation than that of my church, but it seems to me there was something of an inversion of that spiritual situation at work here. That is, Lear was given certain responsibilities, and he fulfilled them, but with a spirit of entitlement. (I know I'm treading on thin ice with regard to confidentiality here, but I feel this needs to be said.) The king of a nation—or the leader of a team—is not someone who has an unlimited right to power: the power is given, in trust, by people in need of leadership. To neglect that responsibility of leadership is an abuse of power, and something that needs to be called to account. Forgiveness and reconciliation are tricky when you're paying someone for a job they aren't willing to do.
In other news, the Church is going to begin running Thursday evening services this summer, beginning in July. From where I sit, that means we need to revitalize the sound/video team, which is already stretched thin by the Sunday morning schedule.
A good opportunity for recruiting and training, if I've ever seen one...
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3 comments:
...umm...good luck with that...
i would just like to commend you for actually going to discuss your concerns and confusion with the pastor. ultimately, they are the ones accountable to G-d for their actions, ut we are accountable to G-d forour [heart] attitudes towards those who lead (and those who don't). good on ya.
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Hey it's been a while since I've read your blog, I hadn't heard anything about the music pastor until I saw your notes today. Scary. I'm glad you were able to talk to P. Rick. I still miss being part of that church, although being there so many years I feel I am still a part of it in some way. It is painful to hear when there are divisions in the church. Is Barry Brown or Randy Kozak still on the board? If so I would think they would be good people to talk to. Keep fighting the good fight.
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