Apr
21
2011

Theology of Life: Transparency in Leadership

An article by Doug Comments

In a recent discussion/debate about presidential candidates, two political pundits advocated for total transparency in the vetting of potential nominees. My first response to this was, “That would be a good idea”. Then I realized that regardless of whether it may or may not be a good idea, it sure seems like a present reality.

With the amount of information being stored and disseminated on the internet about us, I wonder if it is possible to keep secrets any more. The once “local reach” or sphere of influence has now expanded to global reach. I find it somewhat ironic that the community awareness factor from the early days of American life, what I call the “Little House on the Prairie” days, has now come full circle. In the show, there is reciprocity in knowing everyone else’s strengths and failures. Anyone who lives in small town USA understands this well.

There was a time when you could “oops” as a leader and move on to a new location without too much personal impact, start off fresh. I think those days are over. Here is what I know: the need to understand and apply grace, redemption and forgiveness will be paramount if we are to survive as a people. Otherwise, we will simply tear one another apart with the transparency.

Are we ready for this new reality?

Doug White was born and raised in the New York City metro area, now residing in rural northeast Georgia he has spent years losing his Jersey accent. A very informal guy with lots of very formal education, Doug loves to ride his Honda VTX 1300 C when the weather is good and work on construction projects when possible. He loves the church, having spent 20 years serving in ministry and currently invests in the church serving as a university professor. He lives with his wife Christina; 3 children: Ian, Seth and Nissa; 4 dogs: Gizmo, Max, Luci and Q; 3 cats: Tigger, Lily, and Midnight; Parrot BJ; with two ponds (full of fish) and a wild bird feeder to torment the cats.

http://www.churchthought.com Matt Steen

I agree that there needs to be grace in order to fully handle a transparent life but at what point to we draw the line?

I have been thinking a great deal about sex offenders in the church lately… in fact I want to do a series of posts on the topic in the months to come. In this specific area how do we be graceful, loving, redemptive, and restorative while at the same time be wise and protective? What if there has been a radical transformation in the life of a registered sex offender… do we allow them into church leadership?

I know that this is an extreme case, but how do we handle the tension well?