Monday, October 27, 2008

Secrets

A certain sign of problems in a church is the frequent use of confidentiality.

A congregation is not a secret society, and there is very rarely any reason for a meeting, discussion, or set of facts to be confidential. The only common valid reason for invoking privacy is a situation of personal pastoral counseling related to a sensitive issue; even in these situations, pastors will often advise the care receiver to disclose as much as possible to friends and family as part of the path back to peace of mind.

Meetings of various types (“elders” or “church council”) should be open; anyone can attend and listen, although not anyone can speak. Leaders will understand that this is a way to generate trust and goodwill. When leaders require that meetings be secret or confidential, this breeds mistrust.

Any correspondence - letters and emails - should be open and available to members. What could there possibly be to hide, if the leaders are giving a good-faith effort to operate in the best interests of their members?

The more openness, the better. Everything done in public. There is nothing to fear.