Caught on the Ethical Horns of A Moral Dilemma September 7, 2009
Posted by Dan R. Dick in Church Leadership, Communication in the Church, Core Values, Pastoral Ministry.Tags: Church Leadership, hypocrisy, Trust
36 comments
What’s the difference between “ethics” and “morals” and what does the distinction have to do with the modern-day church of Jesus Christ? Both have to do with “right” conduct — how should we live, think, act, and behave in community? Interestingly, moralizing is often viewed as a negative, while being ethical is almost universally viewed as being positive. Both come from a root meaning of judging “customs,” the right way people should act in civilized society. So, how should we live together as Christians? This was the main question explored at a seminar I taught at Vanderbilt University almost twelve years ago, but it is a question that I especially believe is critically relevant to leadership in The United Methodist Church as we live more deeply into the 21st century and a planet-wide community. It came to mind recently when I was having a discussion with a table of pastors, and the question was raised, “When is it necessary for pastors to lie to people?” I immediately commented that it is never “necessary” to lie to people, and the entire table with one voice disagreed with me.
You can’t tell people in the church the truth. They can’t handle it. We are there to protect them.
Yeah, the church I serve has some really dark skeletons in its closet. There is nothing good that would come of letting people know what really happened.
And you know for a fact that we can’t tell people in our churches a lot of what we learn at seminary. They don’t want to hear it, so we tell the same old stories the same old ways to keep everyone happy.
Mostly it isn’t lying; it’s just not telling the truth.
I find such comments troubling, yet the other pastors at the table (mostly male, mostly 45 or older) defended the need to lie as a function of their leadership. Many felt they had to protect people from the truth. Others believe that it is impossible to maintain confidentiality without lying. Still others say they are ” forced to lie” due to circumstances beyond their control. A few say it is simply easier to lie than deal with the fallout over controversial issues.
