In the broader evangelical culture, the matter of transparency has been on the front burner for a little while. I’m for it. I don’t think churches should be shady or do things under the table. As a church leader, I don’t hide behind the verses about not touching the LORD’s anointed. I welcome accountability and questions. The church at large is taking a beating in the court of public opinion because of leaders who don’t have an adequate accountability structure. They end up having moral failures, or they have the secret sins of their past uncovered very publicly. I am far from perfect, and I let people know it all the time. I will disappoint you at some point in our relationship. That’s not because I’m unreliable or lack integrity, but it’s because I’m a recovering sinner. I want enough transparency in my life that at least that much will be clear. Yes, I’m a pastor. Yes, I have gladly submitted my life to a calling that constantly keeps me under a microscope. So, this isn’t a complaint against the very things I have welcomed into my life.
In fact, this isn’t a complaint at all. I’m not calling for reform or any great changes. I’m just ruminating on some obvious things out loud, hopefully for your edification. If anything, all I’m drawing attention to is what should be obvious to everyone.
Transparency is needed. Pastors, deacons, Sunday School teachers, and every other believer in your local church could use more of it. What do we mean by that word? Honestly, as a pastor, it can feel like an incredibly one-sided matter. Everyone calls for pastors to be transparent, and rightfully so. They are invested with authority by their congregations, and healthy leadership demands such things. But when pastors call for the same transparency to exist between all believers, suddenly the walls go up.
For something to be transparent, in a literal sense, means you can easily see through it, like glass. When it comes to leadership structures and the internal workings of a church or any organization, it means the structure is obvious, the decision-making processes are easily understood, and information is accessible. If someone wanted to know what’s happening, there would be a clear path to obtaining that information. Within the leadership structure, there is a clear understanding of roles, who is responsible for what, even when there is some significant overlap of responsibilities between the men and women who fill the roles. Transparency begins within the leadership structure. If things aren’t clear within, they certainly won’t be clear without.
Honestly, er, transparently, this has been a big thing on our plates this year. We’ve long recognized that our church structure can stand to be more transparent. We’ve been working on that, but I had no idea how complex it would turn out to be to do something so simple. Transparency, conceptually, is great. But as it turns out, finding the sweet spot is challenging.
For example, in our yearly budget, we don’t itemize the salaries of every person on staff. Instead, we present staff salaries in a lump sum. There are no secrets about dollars and cents and how much of the money given goes to paying our staff, but we respect the privacy of each staff member to not publish how much they make. It’s inappropriate in almost all other spheres of employment to know the wages and salaries of people, but in the church, some people just feel like they need to know that information.
I understand what fuels that. When pastors live better than the people they shepherd, it becomes a fair question. Sometimes, that happens simply because the pastor is wise with his finances. But we’re not talking about a wise manager. We’re talking about the pastor who has amassed millions. They are the ones who get the press and really stoke the fires of financial transparency in churches.
Here’s some more personal transparency. I don’t participate in the financials of the church. Every year, I submit a budget for my ministry area to the financial team. I don’t even know the combination to our safe. As a paid elder, I want to keep my distance from those decisions. I never want an accusation to be raised against me that I’m being dishonest with the church’s money. In fact, if you asked me today what my salary is, I’m not even sure I could give you an accurate number. I’d have to do some math and get back to you. I’ve never asked for raises, I’ve never asked for bonuses, and I never will. What the financial team decides for me is good enough for me, and that will be my position on this until the LORD moves me on from here.
So, that brings me to the only negative in all these thoughts. Transparency is good and necessary. Transparency can also be weaponized. Admittedly, what I’m about to say has been formed from being on the receiving end of the demands. I don’t think that makes them inadmissible in this conversation. Are they biased? Everyone has a bias. I’d rather say that they are informed thoughts. Informed by my time as an elder.
There are times when transparency must be delayed. Sometimes it’s obvious that things are happening, but not much is being said. The silence is often for the sake of protecting confidence, or because things are changing quickly, and it’s not wise to say anything until everything is settled. There are multitudes of good reasons that leaders may be opaque for a short time. It’s not helpful in those situations when people on the outside, who can sense the rumblings, constantly demand transparency. Transparency is weaponized to force something open that shouldn’t be open yet. I stress the word yet. There will be a day for explanations, but not until it is appropriate for everyone involved. In those temporary situations, trust will be more valuable than transparency.
What do I mean by weaponized? When you use a good quality, like transparency, against someone to produce guilt so that you’ll get what you want, you’ve weaponized that good thing. Good pastors know they should be transparent. When a pastor is in a situation where he must remain silent on something while it is being resolved, to demand transparency is to employ guilt.
Don’t do that. Trust and wait patiently. Truth will prevail, and things will come to light if your pastor values transparency. Does being transparent mean that every small detail of every issue should be laid bare? I don’t think so. The relevant matters should be brought to light, not every mood swing, every change of mind, and neither should every personal flaw with the involved people be aired for public view. You can be transparent and protect people from unhelpful scrutiny at the same time.
Honestly, I feel uncomfortable saying what I just said. It’s the same personal discomfort I get when I preach or teach on giving or from Hebrews 13, where the author commanded us to obey our leaders. It feels like a conflict of interest to speak on those topics. So, please take this in the best possible spirit. I only want us to consider the need for transparency in contrast with what it means to bring things into the light when the time is right.
So, that’s all. This was therapeutic for me. I needed to work out some feelings and thoughts about this issue, and you came along for that ride. I appreciate it, and I hope it helped you along the way.
