Blemished and Vulnerable

“who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself…”

Philippians 2:6-7a

What does a Wall Street Journal article on celebrities posting pictures without makeup on Instagram have to do with leadership in the church? New York psychiatrist Samantha Boardman thinks we need to pay more attention to how made-up images of women negatively affect other women who see them. The same is true of leaders in the church. As the article points out, there are few candid shots anymore. Too many leaders in the church are held up to unblemished standards. Because of this, leaders in the church rarely feel they can be authentic or comfortable being vulnerable. We don't know them for who they are. I heard a story a few weeks ago from a fellow pastor who was shopping at a grocery store when a younger boy from church saw him. He was surprised to see him at the grocery store and wondered why he was there. Pastors don't belong in the grocery store. For far too long, we have held our pastors on a pedestal and imagined them to be but something other than human.

Jesus' ministry is so meaningful because he became like us. He gave up his holy place to live with us in our more finite existence. God was vulnerable in Jesus Christ, and he became our sibling. The trouble with celebrities is that they live in a different world, and it's hard for us to relate to them. This made-up image sets them apart from us. To save us, Jesus comes to be one of us. Only when pastors are taken off the pedestal will they be able to relate to us. As sinners, finite, imperfect, vulnerable, and saved by grace, our leaders will inspire us to receive the gift of grace, too.

So let's dump the makeup and no longer try to hide the blemishes. Let's get up close and personal. Pastors are human too, and our lives are a testimony to God's grace to the extent that we are molded by Christ and fashioned by grace, just like everyone else. Only then will we be an example of what God can do in the lives of others as well.