THE IMPORTANCE OF HOLY TRANSPARENCY IN MINISTRY AND IN LIFE AS BORN-AGAIN-SAVED PASTORS, PASTORS’ WIVES, AND PARISHIONERS
Daniel Whyte III says God Used Dr. Raymond Hancock, Who Preached Regularly in Chapel Services at the Baptist University of America in Atlanta, Georgia, when he was a Student There Over 40 years Ago, That Taught Him the Life-Changing Power of Being Transparent in the Preaching Ministry; however, it was the Lord who Showed Whyte Many Years Later That the Mark of Growing, Mature Christians is COMPLETE HOLY TRANSPARENCY and Honesty Regarding Their Sins, Their Faults, Their Failures, and Even Their Family Life. He believes that many Pastors, Pastors’ Wives, so-called Church Leaders, and Parishioners in the Evangelical-Charismatic Church are either not born-again-saved or, due to pride, hypocrisy, and Pharisaism, they have intentionally refused to go along with the supernatural normal growth process of dying to self to the point of complete Holy Transparency where your life is truly an open book. You do not care what people think about you, your sins, faults, failures, and family life because you know the secret from God that by your telling the Holy Transparent Truth, you are helping them even though they will not admit it and will act like they are shocked at your sins and failures when these hypocrites are doing worse and when in reality, you’re helping them by letting them know, as the Bible does, we are all going through the same things and fighting the same battles–You’re not alone. Holy Transparency is important because not having it is why we are seeing so many pastors and evangelical people blowing up their lives with adultery, swinging, homosexuality, divorce, divorce and remarriage, lies, and cover-ups. The Church Leaders Online publication normally does not deal with many of the real issues plaguing the Evangelical Church, but Jen Thorn with the Church Leaders went deep and pulled off the scab and pulled back the curtain on phony, lying, hypocritical Christians who will act like they are being transparent about a “gnat” while hiding a “camel.” Thank you, Jen and Church Leaders, for going deep into this spiritually complicated subject and telling Evangelicals to stop the lies and hypocrisy.
By the way, Dr. Raymond Hancock is preaching his famous message, the message he preached one day at the Baptist University of America chapel service titled “I THINK I’LL GO ON ANYWAY,” while Whyte was in the audience in 1983 as a young preacher. Whyte’s strong encouragement to all God-called preachers, is to Preach, Preacher, Preach! Preach hard and often because you will never know until you get to Heaven how your preaching impacted the lives of people you don’t even know. Dr. Raymond Hancock is in Heaven now, and Whyte is still talking about a message he preached 40 years ago in a chapel service. He is preaching it in the article next door in this publication, along with a tribute from Dr. Johnny Pope.
There is a lot of talk about transparency these days and about being transparent in ministry. The need to “be real” and “do life together.” So we sit around and share about how we don’t clean our house the way we should and are always behind on the laundry. We get coffee and chat about how we have been unkind with our kids and impatient with our spouse or dissatisfied with our jobs. Maybe we share that we spend too much money or fail at reading our Bibles on a regular basis.
We laugh and hug and say it’s OK. We may share a few Bible verses and some helpful practical tips, but this is not real transparency. It’s a spiritual opaqueness that lets only a little light through. This is superficial at best and deceptive at worst. It can be deceptive because we are pretending to be open and honest when really we are sharing what is easy while leaving out the very things we are supposed to lay before each other.
Transparent in Ministry Might Be Painful
Real transparency between fellow sisters (and brothers) in Christ is much deeper and much more difficult than what we commonly practice. Transparency is difficult both for the teller and the hearer because we are uncovering our deepest desires and disobedience. James tell us in no uncertain terms that we are to confess our sins to each other (James 5:16). While being impatient or snarky is a part of it, that is only the tip of the iceberg. We need to go deeper and get to the root. Being transparent in ministry is painful, embarrassing, humbling work, for the teller as well as for the hearer.
But Transparent in Ministry Is Profitable
But being transparent in ministry is also profitable, because through it we obey God, mortify sin, seek accountability and bear one another’s burdens.
Obedience
The best and most important reason we have to be real with each other is that we are obeying our Redeemer by confessing our sins. This is often the beginning of repentance and freedom. As believers, this should be enough, but there is more.
Mortification of Sin
Knowing my mother is coming to visit is all the motivation I need to get some projects done around the house that otherwise would lay unfinished for years. I find that in a similar way, I delay dealing with my sin when no one else can see the mess. We are called to put to death the sins that lurk in our lives, both the big and the small. But it’s easy to get lazy in this area until we share them with others.
Often that is the push we need to start dealing with and killing those dear sins that we have been indulging. Maybe your sins are not yet affecting anyone but yourself. Maybe they are ripping apart your marriage. Both are deadly and coming clean with them before your friends is the first step in putting them to death.
Accountability
Accountability is so very important. Having someone who loves us, checks on us, who knows where to press in on us, will help us overcome sin and grow in holiness. We don’t need sisters who merely listen to us, but who will speak as well.
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Bearing Burdens
Accountability is not about morbid introspection but helpful assistance in believing the gospel and following Jesus Christ.
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2
Your sin must be taken to the cross daily for freedom from guilt and condemning thoughts. But in confessing them to others is another way of finding relief. By no longer pretending to be what we are not, we give our friends permission to see who and what we really are. True friends will gladly bear our burdens with us as we continue to seek God’s grace.
Source: Jen Thorn, Church Leader
