Authenticity keeps pastors from hiding too well. Authenticity cannot be contrived or it ceases to be authenticity. But we can strive to be more honest about who we are, and in so doing give permission to others to do the same. James Emery White is pastor of Mecklenberg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. If you have trouble believing a certain piece of Scripture, tell them.
Authenticity is a great virtue.
The phony, stained-glass voice and the insincere ministerial demeanor are a true turnoff for many. The congregation rightly expects us not to talk the talk unless we walk the walk. And perhaps there was a time when we preachers needed to demonstrate to the congregation that, despite the M.Div., the backward collar, or the red rose on the lapel, we were, after all, just poor struggling sinners like them. I wonder, though, if that day has passed. Show me a lay person who needs us to expend time in Sunday worship convincing folks that we preachers are, after all, only human, and I'll show you a lay person who has been neglecting the gossip section of the local newspaper.