Annual church meeting can be a battleground
At the end of the year and before income-tax season, we all must face the dreaded annual church meeting. Two major characters lie in wait for many Protestant congregations when the meetings curtain goes up.
First, we have The Pastor, a fine fellow with goodness and light in his heart, but a man in need of guidance. Let this character run free without supervision from key members of the congregation and he becomes a wild animal who actually believes he should be running to the hospitals, visiting grieving members of the congregation and working with troubled youth down at the boys' club.
Enter our second group of characters, The Watchdogs. Someone long ago developed these characters and decided they in the form of key members of the congregation should be on The Pastor's heels at all times.
Which brings us to the plot: After several painful contacts with The Watchdogs, The Pastor gets a distant look in his eyes, signaling his lapse into daydreams of becoming a prophet. There's the conflict, because you can't give much attention to details, such as the church records, if your head is in the clouds or at Bible studies for the women's group or early morning prayer seminars with the male key leaders.
And certainly there will be no more gentle, encouraging sermons because The Pastor under proper guidance from the Watchdogs will spend his time balancing the church books, not ministering to his flock.
Every once in a while, the wayward Pastor tries to sneak down to the boys' club to watch his favorite youth, those teens who seem to find trouble without a search. There, he will actually try to take time for himself to release a bit of tension, perhaps with a game of half-court basketball. Or maybe he'll just ride a bike through the neighborhood, where he will make new acquaintances and minister to old, troubled friends.
But then one of The Watchdogs will find him, asking for an immediate meeting on a so-called important issue.
Our plot thickens: A conflict is brewing, and the annual meeting is the battleground. The Pastor must remember his calling as the spiritual head of the congregation. The worst that could be said about a pastor is that he or she doesn't honor scripture and doesn't pray. The other small criticisms are inconsequential in the overall scheme of things.
And The Watchdogs, or key members, must remember they are not the only characters in this play, that the congregation does not belong to them alone. They are simply a few of the many members. And the issues they have may be of little concern to other members.
Everyone must remember the past is history. The key to a successful annual meeting producing a triumph, not tragedy is looking to the future where all promise waits to be claimed.
The other thing troubling me today is the latest trend in evangelical Christian adornment. Christian Century reports this week that evangelical youth are moving rapidly into the world of tattoos most of the Christian variety: crosses, symbols of the Trinity and angels.
This is happening despite the admonition in Leviticus 19:28: You shall not make any gashes in your flesh for the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord.
But of course, there are dozens of admonitions in Leviticus, and we are serious about only a few. So, how can we judge the tattooing of young evangelical bodies? One young woman allegedly has a sacred heart on her back, with banners flanking that read, grace and mercy. On one hip she has an angel. On her lower back is a Jerusalem cross with the words, Approved unto God. And finally, one ankle is tattooed with the symbol of the Trinity.
My concern in this is a projection into the future. What will we do when a fine Christian family enters our congregation not only with tattoos but also with face rings hanging from the nose, the ears, the cheeks and the tongue? The rings may have various Christian symbols hanging from them, but, my goodness, what a mess some congregations will become. Are we able to tolerate this change in church fashion?
I will have a little trouble with this one. I was cool when young people started showing up in church wearing baggy shorts and T-shirts. And I was not alarmed when parents began following the young peoples example. But tattoos and face rings? I wonder how Jesus feels about this latest trend? Do you think he might be applauding?
Clark D. Morphew
1-9-99
