When did anonymity get sanctified? I met with a pastor who was told recently that "a number of people" in the church had concerns about his ministry. When he tried to discern who these individuals are with the hopes of communicating with them, He was dealt with the evangelical trump card: "These matters were shared in confidence." Once again, I found myself asking the question. : When did anonymity get sanctified?
Confidences (code for secret and often destructive communication) are appropriate when they involve destructive personal matters of the heart, or when the leadership is wrestling through tough matters that are not to be disclosed to the congregation. But the rule of thumb in the Scriptures is this: I must own my conversation. Further, I am called to "speak the truth in love " for in doing so I am contributing to the health of the Body (Ephesians 4:15). Yet, I find that many of our churches have spiritualized a very destructive pattern of communication, that is, it is okay to speak negatively of one another without owning it, and without going straight to the source of the communication. those who write about systemic health believe anonymity to be one of the most counterproductive practices to healthy church life.
As a pastor, how have you proactively handled this kind of destructive behavior in your church?
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I have a policy that if there is no name attached to the comment then the comment becomes useless and not worthy of response. I also encourage second hand comments to become first hand comments even if the source is known. Signed, Annonymous
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