After I posted my 1 star YELP review of Liberty Bible Church, one of the pastors, Greg Carter,…read morecalled me and we talked. Three areas of concern were addressed.
1 - BE AN EXAMPLE OF JESUS: LIVE FOR OTHERS, NOT YOURSELF. Pastor Greg is an example of this principle in action and an anomaly in the Liberty community. Greg observed that his full time position wasn't as important to the ministry as that of Ben, who was part-time.. Greg negotiated a reduction in his position to part-time to allow Ben to become full-time. That's an example of Christ in action.
As an examples of this principle NOT in action, the choir made a CD. There were people in the congregation who would sponsor it. If the production were funded with sponsorships, then the production benefit a mission. The mission could use it as a benefit for contributors or it could be sold to generate funds for the orphanage. The choir would be using their talent to BENEFIT someone else, not just showcase their vocal talent.
2 - SPIRITUALITY OF IMPERFECTION VS SPIRITUALITY OF PERFECTION. The Sr. Pastor who left was not one of my favorite pastors but his dismissal reflected something I find incongruous with the church. The church as the hands and feet of Jesus is to bring "healing" to the broken and we are all broken. If Liberty doesn't demonstrate Jesus in action in healing in brokenness, what does it say? The church should be a place where people are accepted and celebrated for who they are - children of God - not what they are: Democrat, Republican, black, white, straight, gay, married, divorced, addicted, broken because we're all broken. There is, unfortunately, a degree of brokenness up with which Liberty will not put.
3 - COMMITMENT TO DOWNWARD MOBILITY Whether it's a Christmas concert, which at $ 30/ticket meant that poor congregants could not attend, or ministering in LaPorte (per capita income $35,024) versus Gary (per capita income is $15,764), a commitment to downward mobility is a commitment of emulating Jesus.
When I realized that the grocery cart in the narthex wasn't very successful, I suggested maybe the choir could adopt the cart. The choir director agreed and every Wednesday I wheeled the cart down to the choir room. It was only marginally successful. I often wondered if the choir director had set the example of bringing a box of cereal or jar of peanut butter or can of tuna in every week, if the choir would have followed his lead. Downward mobility leadership emulating Jesus, I believe, is crucial in every Christian church.
There's nothing Liberty can do about its size: it is what it is. And while it may be more difficult to accomplish, much like it's harder to change the direction of an ocean liner than a canoe, my hope and prayer is that possibly the next Sr. Pastor leader will have a perspective that does emphasize Christlike character in action as demonstrated by Pastor Greg, not just words, an appreciation of the spirituality of imperfection and a commitment to downward mobility.
Greg's actions in regard to his position and the needs of the community and Ben are a template of orthopraxy that Paul teaches in I Corinthians 13. I would pray a new Sr. Pastor is savvy and sensitive enough to recognize and espouse that as well as an appreciation of the spirituality of imperfection and the ministry of the church for healing the broken and a commitment to downward mobility.
I thanked Greg for his concern and reaching out. And I thanked him for being an archetype of what Christ among us could look like. His presence and the model of his action in the Liberty community is the reason I upgraded the YELP evaluation from 1 Star to 3 Stars. May his tribe increase.
