godgirl's blog

There always is a sticky side to transparency

I sat in an amazing session last week led by Alex Hamilton (The Redeemer Church) at the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit. He told us he would be talking about one of the most important issues facing the church – when leaders fall and how you handle it. Well, being a crisis communication executive, my ears certainly perked up.   Kudos to Pastor Hamilton – he did lead one of the most important seminars of the conference and what he had to say about how to handle it was spot on – he took a risk and was transparent with his congregation when his church was faced with such a problem.

Pastor Hamilton had to deal with two of his pastors who were in an affair together.  He wanted to tell his church about it and trust them to not gossip nor stone the victims. So he sent a letter to congregation stating the fact that two pastors have professed to the affair and that they were now going through a process and may or may not return.  He told the congregation that he would talk about it further on Sunday. That next Sunday, the church was packed to hear about how Pastor Hamilton was going to address the sin.

How did he handle it?  He hit it head on and asked his congregation to drop it and let the guilty parties go through the steps of healing. He said that he received numerous letters from people who thought he handled this brilliantly while others said he should have hid it from its members. Transparency is always the best way to deal with crisis.  It nips any further speculation, gossip, lies or rumors from spreading. It’s also the fastest way for a situation to blow over.  This was handled beautifully. Very impressive.

The old ways of cover-ups never really work. Eventually, as more and more lies are told to cover up the initial sin, the truth will come out. Leaks do happen.  Just read the papers every day.  Also, in this day in age of social media, it’s harder than ever to keep things under the wraps. Every one with a smart phone now has a recording device with them.

Transparency is key in every situation as a Christian, not just for church leaders.  God calls us to be transparent with Him. No matter how much we try and hide our sins and try and cover them up – He’s all knowing.  The best way out is the honest way out.  Tell God everything that hurts you and where you need forgiveness and grace.  The burdens will immediately fall off your shoulders and the baggage will be left behind.   Transparency is the key to the other “t” transformation.  Always remember the importance of crossing your “t’s” in prayer.

Thank you Pastor Hamilton for being so transparent with us.

Also, as a sidebar to this discussion, Pastor Hamilton left us with some practical steps on how to avoid temptation.

5 R’s of Resisting Temptation

• Remember who you are – a follower of Jesus Christ – A child of the king!
• Recognize the consequences of your actions – will I feel better or worse after I’ve done this. Will I be proud or ashamed? Who will be hurt by it?
• Rededicate yourself to God – stop, drop and pray
• Reveal your struggle to a trusted friend.
• Remove yourself from the situation.