When I saw this cartoon by David Hayward, it struck me as a poignant depiction of the dishonesty that pervades a great many religious congregations. The pastor has presumably been going through some challenging times. When he finally admits where he is at for the first time, the congregation finally feels that they can tell him that they got there before him. We need more congregations where there is no illusion that the pastor is necessarily ahead of everyone else in their spiritual journey, especially if the pastor is younger than many members of the congregation, nor that the pastor is the one who has it all together. One of the things I love about Crooked Creek Baptist Church, where I am a member, is the willingness of all to be honest, to be different, and to be a community not in spite of this but because that is the only way of genuinely being a faith community.
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