There are people from my past petitioning to reinstate the employment of a man who no doubt touched their lives. Their comments are sweet and tender and made of cardboard, and they are mad because they are young and apparrently incapable of trusting that the Lord may have different plans for this man’s career. I will not disregard their sense of self-righteous defense of this person; however, I would like to point out how skewed this sense of injustice is.
The length of this man’s employment at the church is absurd. One of the reasons he got fired is because this particular church is dwindling in numbers and choking to death, financially speaking. The other, more significant reason for his being let go is due to his extremely high turnover. That is to say, the kids he was discipling in the youth group loved him dearly, saw him as a father, felt like they could trust him, looked to him for guidance, treasured his input; but they never heard “No,” which was something most of them really needed. Of the names I recognized, only one of the people who has signed the petition still attends church regularly and has a bona fide relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.
While the commentary is endearing, it shocks and amuses me that the people making the comments do not appear to realize that they are one of the many symptoms leading up to the termination of this man’s employment. It has really been fascinating to watch the list grow, inspiring some amazingly ignorant protests. Are some of the signatures resulting from guilt? Obligation? Or is it just something to whine about?
A few of the man’s children have signed it. That really concerns me because this silly petition is dividing the church. Granted, this is a church I have not attended in years and have no intention of attending in the future, but I do not want to see any church divided for any reason. All this abrupt change in the former youth pastor’s life, and now this petition has created a proverbial uproar that is serving only to further perpetuate the man’s pain, not to mention the negative image some may have of him. To put it bluntly, the well-meaning individual responsible for said petition has ended up hurting the man she set out to help.
The man is being blamed for the petition; every time a new person signs it, his image is damaged a little further. Though there are forces at work to prevent this man’s being associated with the petition, the damage is done. He will not be welcomed back to his former position, and now a part of the congregation may not be willing to welcome him back at all.
I guess my point is that people should really be careful when sticking their respective fingers where they don’t belong. I have no idea whether the people responsible for this drama will ever read this, but I hope they realize what they have initiated.
Being a veteran of that youth group, I cannot say I disagree with the board’s decision to let him go. I would not consider myself a fan of the way things were handled, but this event was, in the end, long overdue. I am sorry for the way things worked out, but I feel that prayer, God’s guidance, and time will heal the hurting of all these different people.
With all due respect to the author and supporters of this particular petition, I hope the fallout from this event will help them to reconsider the next time they feel the need to declare their pointed opposition.
