Words of Wisdom You Won’t Find SEPA Quoting

Seth Godin speaks words of wisdom regarding possession and power.

Will SEPA publish these in their next newsletter?

It is very interesting that the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod has discovered the blog of Seth Godin. 2×2 has long been a follower of Seth’s.

Seth thinks and Seth acts on his thoughts. He’s a good model for Christian leaders to emulate. He’s responsible for spurring a lot of change in the business world. It is not hard to apply his thinking to the world of church.

Let’s look at Seth’s blog today.

Possession aggression

It’s actually not that easy to give something substantial away. That’s because accepting it means a change (in lifestyle, responsibility or worldview) of the person receiving it. It’s stressful.

Far more stressful, though, is taking something away. Once a person or an organization comes to believe that, “this is mine,” they erect a worldview around their possession of it. Taking it away instantly becomes personal, an act far greater than living without a privilege or object in the first place would be.

We care more about the change than the object or privilege itself.

This describes the conflict between Redeemer and East Falls to a T. SEPA took something that was not theirs and has ever since been protecting their newfound right. In the corporate world, it is likely the courts would have stopped them. They are not following their own governing rules. But they are protected from court scrutiny by the First Amendment. They can’t be touched except from within the church. Not likely when the strongest church leaders are busy protecting their status. This undefined chain of responsibility—protecting the clergy at the expense of the most vulnerable laity—is causing the ruin of the Roman Catholic clergy system. Lutherans aren’t far behind.

SEPA has adopted their worldview around “rights” not found in their founding documents—treating congregational properties as their own. Early on, they will attempt congregational votes but if the congregation does not vote the right way, they will declare synodical administration and do as they please. This very scenario happened twice in East Falls. Once with Bishop Almquist, who to his credit gave up the ruse a year later. Bishop Burkat picked up where he left off and made the SEPA worldview a personal vendetta.

Seth is one smart cookie.

SEPA, don’t pick and choose from Seth. If you are his disciple, present more of his advice.

By the way, a lot of good advice is in the Bible, too.