Bridge Builders

The South Carolina Baptist Convention sponsors a great day of equipping and encouraging pastors and lay leaders in the church every year called Impact.  One of the things I love best about this time is being able to see fellow pastors I love, respect, and admire from around our state. 

It is a great time of encouragement and catching up with what is going on with them in their churches and in their families. However, I discovered a disturbing trend in several of my pastor friends that has me concerned.

I know the pastor and his family are in a fishbowl and everything that is said, posted on social media, and even everything their kids do is under heavy scrutiny.  1 Timothy 3:2 declares that, “…an overseer (pastor) must be above reproach…” but what does that mean?  “Above reproach does not mean without sin. No Christian lives an entirely sinless life, nor will we until we reach the glorified state in heaven. Above reproach means that the overseer’s life is free from sinful habits or behaviors that would impede his setting the highest Christian standard and model for the church to emulate.” However, this does not give license to others to assume the absolute worst in their pastors based on gossip, hearsay, or even a simple picture posted online.

One pastor friend told me last week that he knew of a fellow pastor who made some of his congregants upset when he posted a picture of himself playing golf. A few responded that he should be “saving souls” instead of playing golf. My friend said this pastor does not get to golf often, and he often plays golfs with people whom he is trying to share his faith with.  But obviously those who were criticizing him did not know that because he said none of those criticizing him ever attempted to talk to him about their concerns.  

Even our own Southern Baptist Convention President, J.D. Greear, has had outlandish accusations made about him just because he wants to have a dialogue about racism. There have been unfounded and false “rumors that he had received funding from progressive philanthropist George Soros and that he flew around the country in a private plane paid for with Southern Baptist donations.”

Matthew 18:15 states, “If your brother sins against you, go tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother.” Although this passage doesn’t apply perfectly to the unfounded and false accusations of the examples I mentioned above, loving someone enough to talk directly to them regarding questions you may have about them is still the best policy.  However, having these uncomfortable conversations are not easy. But thinking the worst about people and not having a dialogue with them is a far more damaging approach. I remember a song from my childhood that sums up my thoughts perfectly.  It was a simple song but had very profound lyrics. The song was simply, “You can build a wall, or you can build a bridge, it all depends upon the love YOU give. If you build a wall, then your world is very small, but a bridge of love will conquer all.”  Church, lets be bridge builders.