Transparency

As I have spent the past several weeks with new leaders in our ministry, one of the recurring questions I hear is "how much of my past should I share with the students I am influencing or how transparent should I be?" I hope this helps to answer those questions:

1.) Self-exposure must have a purpose. Transparency is not just about saying everything we feel or think. The front of a student ministry is no place for a leader to work out his or her issues. We do not speak just to get something "off our chest." The goal should always be edification and not self-expression.

2.) Make sure that every confession of failure is joined with a clear intention to do better. The glory of the gospel is that by the death of Jesus for us we are saved "just as we are." But at least as glorious is the fact that by the life of Jesus in us we are not bound to stay as we are (Romans 5:9-10, 8:8-17).

3.) Our transparency must point students to Christ. We do not share our problems so people will notice how much we have given up, how wild we were, how humble we are, how honest we are willing to be. The nature of real transparency is that it allows students to see through us so that they can more clearly see Christ.

4.) Some confessions simply are not suited for public consumption. Talk it out with an accountability partner, a pastor, a counselor. Do not dump on a student ministry a load they shouldn't be asked to bear.