There is a saying in the Congregational Church, that the most humble person in the Church is the treasurer. This is because the treasurer potentially has great influence, even power, but uses none of it. In fact traditionally, the treasurer steps back, to be the only person in the Church who wields no influence at all -- precisely because of the risk that he or she does. Among older Congregational ministers anyway, there is shock where a treasurer seeks any influence. OBSERVATION: In fact the minister has much the same role. There is just one situation which has always been a perplexity to me. When someone threatens the Congregational ethos by rising too high in his or her estimation, the minister seems duty-bound to restore equality. Yet how does he, or she, do that without wielding significant influence?
No comments:
Post a Comment