Sacred Digital: Chuckk Gerwig

Last week I was hanging out with a friend of mine on the porch of a tattoo studio in San Jose, we were talking about church and some of the reasons he finds it "not too engaging".  My friend is a Christian, he grew up in a great youth group, he loves Jesus but doesn't really love church gatherings and finds it a burden to attend them.  As we talked he shared that he and so many of the people he knows feel like when they do attend church the leaders aren't real.  My friend shared that so many times the pastors he hears don't share their own struggles and failures as they remind us weekly of all the things we need to do to be better Christians.  The term  authentic is the word that was spoken several times on that porch that afternoon.  In other conversations that very day two other Christians I know mentioned their desire for Christian  leaders to be more authentic and vulnerable, more real when they preach.

Today I was in a sushi bar on a date with my super-hot girlfriend (and wife) Andrea.  It was one of those sushi bars with a revolving sushi exhibition; you know, those little boats that go round and round filled with edible art tempting you to eat more and more...  NOTE:  overeating sushi is ill advised, flee the Tempter.  As the little boats sailed past I spied one of my least favorite items floating by; artificial crab meat rolled up in rice and nori. 

I have a particular disdain for fake crab meat; artificial, unappetizing, un-authentic. it's not something I desire to let into my person.  It pretends to be luscious rich crab but turns out to be falsely colored folded, spindled and mutilated fish by-products.  It 's the fish-equivalent of BsPastoralLeadership.

Authentic pastoral leadership is vital these days.  The importance of being leaders who share the reality of their struggles, weaknesses and slip ups is immeasurable in these postmodern times.  Pretending to be better than we are, covering our faults and sharing only our victories leaves a greasy artificial-crab flavor in the mouths of many churched, un-churched and de-churched people these days.  BTW: It goes beyond preaching and pastors to the whole Body of Jesus, we all  need to be real people if we hope to see others know Jesus and grow healthy. 

More to come on this subject in The Importance Of Authenticity Part 2

Disclaimer: The writer of this blog is still in the development phase of the fullness of his own transparency and claims no invulnerability in his vulnerability.

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