In a seminar I did yesterday, one of those in attendance said, “It was brought up in our leadership council meeting that I as pastor should have access to all donor information in our church. At first it seemed to be supported, but then one man stood and was adamant that doing so would be a great invasion of privacy and I should be denied any knowledge of donor information. His argument won the debate. What do I do?”
I continue to be astounded that this issue is so controversial. Do people not care about their souls? I am a patient at a family practice clinic. I have a doctor assigned to me to help insure I am physically healthy. When I go to the clinic, I am asked to give them some of my blood … privacy invasion! I am asked to remove my clothing so I can be checked for skin cancers … privacy invasion! He looks down my throat and inside my ears and up my nose … privacy invasion! Then he puts on a glove and … privacy invasion!!! He even asks me questions about my sex life and whether I am having any financial stresses … privacy invasion!
Of course it is all an invasion into my private space and I can refuse every bit of it, but doing so would put my physical health at risk. Why would I want to do that? I want to be healthy and live a long life playing with my grandchildren. I would be a FOOL to not want my doctor to know everything he wants to know. Others would be foolish and reckless to forbid him to do his exam as he feels is best for their health.
Are our souls not worth at least as much as our bodies? Are our pastors not called to be our spiritual advisors and help us safeguard our souls and improve our spiritual health? Should they not sound warnings to us when our souls are in jeopardy? Pastors know that how people give can be a serious indicator of spiritual well-being. Along with other factors, they MUST constantly be evaluating how those under their care are progressing spiritually. To not do so would be risky to those who rely upon their pastor to help them guard their souls.
If you do not want a doctor to do a thorough exam and just allow you to guess about your health, you are free to pick a doctor who practices like that. If you want a pastor who will just guess on how you are doing spiritually, then you can surely find one. Just do not impose your poor health practice on me by setting up some rule that prevents MY pastor from truly being MY pastor. That would be an invasion on MY privacy!
Now, let’s say that the physician is going to put together a support group of patients who have a particular disease. That would be a very good, and potentially healing, idea. However, as she goes to choose the person to lead the group, she realizes she has been denied access to who actually has the disease and their prognosis. So she just guesses as to who the best leaders should be and ends up picking someone whose daily practices are actually exacerbating the disease. Not smart, not healthy, not good. What happened was that people got sicker!! But, no one’s privacy was invaded. Do I need to go further? I want a doctor who knows all she can know to help me be all I can be. Why would I want less in my pastor?
CLIF CHRISTOPHER, a United Methodist minister, is founder and president of Horizons Stewardship and the author of “Not Your Parents’ Offering Plate: A New Vision for Financial Stewardship” and the recently released “Rich Church, Poor Church: Keys to Effective Financial Ministry.” He will present a Presbyterian Outlook webinar on stewardship on August 27, 2013.
