The Holy House of Cards

The church Jim is a member at (and I attend sometimes) is having problems... problems that are being spurred by some older members of the church who seem to be bypassing Jim's position and the authority that comes with his position. I've never seen adults act this way before... and, although I've only been an adult for a few years now, I guess I will be seeing more of this as time goes on. This same group of people are being lead by a couple of individuals who also seem to bring up issues repeatedly... like beating a dead horse. Jim has a procedure that he follows, like a map, so that he carefully and thoroughly covers all the angles. Lately, the disrespect he has been getting toward his position and the way he is carrying things out has been getting to him... and me. It's become quite a personal matter for many different people within the church... which makes any type of political matter more difficult to manage and resolve. One of the things that bothers me the most is how some of these older people seem to be using their age (my opinion) as leverage in what has been looking like a witch hunt for our pastor. People have rudely (and appropriately) been calling Jim at his home and prying into information that is not necessarily theirs to have at the moment. People are also leaving the church and others have thought about quitting their jobs there. Jim has so much of his heart invested in the church and I think it's taking a beating right now seeing the church sway back and forth like a house of cards about to tumble down. I wish there was something I could do for him. Not only does he care about the church's well being but whenever he commits to an undertaking such as the position he is in now, he gives it everything he's got to make sure it is done right, appropriately, and in a manner that will not hurt anyone--including himself. I guess all that I can possibly do is to be there for him if he ever needs it.