Among the dismaying realizations of midlife, I have had to face the fact that I enjoy church gossip. I try to be responsible, to turn away from the truly petty stuff about individual behavior. But I find the stories about institutions and leadership dynamics that circulate on social media hard to resist.
I might plead that the channels have narrowed—you are currently reading one of the few outlets for proper church news—and that official statements from seminaries and denominations are all but hidden in ugly PDFs in the bowels of websites overdue for an update. But I know that this is at best a minor mitigation and at worst an excuse. Why on earth did I pay attention to the commentary on the candidates for the presidency of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod? The plausible answers are all unflattering.
And as I manage my own administrative end of the church world, this looks less like a foible and more like a double life. When I’m not online, I am the pastor of a congregation, the head of a staff, the nominal supervisor of a preschool, and a member of my synod’s committee for ordination candidates. I occasionally speak to and informally consult with denominational and parachurch bodies. From the most routine council meeting to the decisive moments in a person’s ministry process, I am obligated to a high standard of confidentiality, which I have upheld reasonably well.
