Just because you are sincere doesn’t mean that you are not terrible.

I was recently consulting with a church about their stagnation.  They had a leadership problem.  Other leaders in the church were aware that there was a problem. To cut to the chase of it all they had a problem person in a key leadership position.  Everyone knew he was the key factor that was keeping the church from making progress.  But when his behaviors became the subject of the conversation there was a unanimous chorus of what a “great guy” he was, how nice, hard working and willing to help, he was gifted, capable, and the first one to show up for work-in a word-he was sincere. My professional and personal experience tends to cause me to doubt the purity of his character and motives, but for this essay we will assume he was as sincere as the wind-driven snow is pure.  In all honesty, there are some cases where sincerity doesn’t mean jack!

Doña Cecilia Giménez is an 80-year-old amateur artist who is very sincere and devoted.  She was distressed that a picture of Christ in a local church was beginning to flake and fade.  So, she took it upon herself to restore the fresco to its former glory.  The result was less than she hoped.  In fact, when her work was first discovered it was believed to be an act of vandalism.   The picture has been described as a “crayon sketch of a very hairy monkey in an ill-fitting tunic"; prompting the name “Ecce Mono” -Behold the Monkey- a pun based on “Ecce Homo” the work’s original title.  All the sincerity in the world could never compensate for a genuine lack of skill, talent and training.  Compared to Ms. Giménez, Adolf Hitler was an artistic genius.  Somehow we must find the balance between a good heart while at the same time insisting on competence and not allowing sincerity to be an excuse for poor quality.

If we do not find that sweet spot, we will end up with poorly led churches that will never fulfill the great commission.  Thankfully, we are all capable of change.  The evil heart can be converted and the unskilled hand can be trained.  But until that happens we must never allow great skill to over shadow an evil heart nor allow sincerity to set loose a clumsy hand.