POMPOUS CLERGY SPELL DOOM

In the history of clergy, one of the biggest reasons for utter failure has been the history of pomposity.

What I mean is, (pom-pos-i-te, 1 the quality of being pompous;) which causes clergy to walk around with their noses in the air - as if they were better than normal mortals.

By mortal, (mor-tal, to die, be worn out) I mean, people like you and me who have to scramble for a living 10 to 12 hours a day and don't have time to study the holy books and develop a pious countenance. Also mortals are the people who don't have time to brush and buff ourselves, so we always look slightly ajar when we leave for work in the morning. Clergy, on the other hand, have the luxury of skipping into their church offices at midmorning and knocking off for a nap shortly after lunch. They visit the hospitals looking for sickly people, then return home for more reading of the sacred manuscripts. In the evening they make appearances and go to meetings. And always they look darn good and pious. This, I believe, is causing a great erosion of members from the religions of the world.

At a recent Muslim gathering, I noticed that the fellow leading the prayers was dressed exactly like the people praying with him. He had scooted away from his daily job to lead prayers at the mosque. When prayers ended, he rushed back to his work without even combing his hair. His followers seemed comfortable with him. There was a little joking, some talk about repairing the mosque and a little concern about a meeting coming up on the weekend. Obviously, what we had in this instance was a partnership. All the piety was not concentrated in one individual.

But in some Christian churches, it's like God swoops down first thing in the morning and spray paints the pastor with pompous tones. Then all day long the lofty parson can rule the constituents with gentle splendor.

I wonder, for instance, why preachers have to dress differently from the rest of us poor souls. Most of us wear a pair of pants or skirt and a shirt. I've noticed that preachers often appear in public with those ridiculous clerical collars that make them look like executioners. The result is that some preachers are so set apart that regular people don't want to be in their company. It's too bad, because many of these clergy are wonderful people.

I'm also concerned about some clergy who pose as the font of all true wisdom. When it comes down to a real crisis in a little church body, if the clergy can't find the answers, the people will blame them for failure. In essence, they've blown their own cover. If they fail to solve all the problems, the jig is up and they are going to get the left foot of fellowship. In other words, they'll get kicked out of the pulpit.

The ultimate truth is, churches and clergy are facing a significant crisis. There is no special piety in being called to oversee a dying institution. When it comes to the push of life, today's clergy are working stiffs like all of us.

Clark D. Morphew

Posted 1-30-02