Let me tell a story first ...to help illustrate my point, before I really drive home my point of the even bigger problem. Okay, I'll make my point first ...then tell the story. The biggest of these leadership problems is not that leaders often make mistakes, it is that they don't often care that they do ...and we sadly, too often don't care either. We can't solve a problem if we are more concerned that we preserve the benefit that we may temporarily gain from the problem. Or that we can more readily trust that our problem will remain hidden if the consensus is that we don't view it as a problem.

Okay, here's my story ...and let me make it clear, that this story is an example of an unintended result from well-meaning people.  Point being, that good intentions also can go astray if knowledge is lacking in an area, or if better intentions are somehow put aside while good intentions are experimenting with what is good.

It is not a common thing for a pirate to confess ...as there is so much to confess, and in confessing, it leaves one at a disadvantage.  Honestly, or dishonestly ---one must keep up one's image ---or might as well give up one's occupation as a pirate.

Pirates don't usually have honest friends ...only partially loyal ones.  But, most everyone, pirates included, do usually know of at least one person who is honest.  And if that is the case, it is best not to associate with that person ...as one can never guarantee that someone else is not observing that association.

A pirate may feel it is safe to see a priest ...only if a light is taken to the confessional booth, to make sure no one is there waiting for you.  And if you are seen coming out, you can always say you followed a rich lady there ...and heard her say she lost a jewel.

Yes, that would mean that you'd have to risk seeing the priest again soon ...to confess that additional lie.

But, here I go again ...tellin' me pirate stories.  

This next story is a based on a true story, but not about a priest. It involves a pastor.  Yes, I often laugh myself when I hear 'based on a true story', as we never know what percent of the story is true and how much is just storytelling.

I am not claiming this to be all accurate, but I will do the best I can do, and of course we always have to fill in with our best guesses where we fill in the blanks of what we don't precisely know.

Okay, here goes:

A friend of mine was struggling with some things ...and it is not important what those things were, yet what is important is what took place and was shared with me.

I said it involves a pastor, but really it has more to do with a very busy pastor who was grateful that he didn't have to get so involved.  He was happy to have a counselor join him on staff, to share some of the load ...and minimize his long hours. Working too much is something that is not good, especially for longevity of service.

The pastor's involvement was mostly with encouraging the congregation ...and telling them that most of today's ministries fall way short of the intensity of the lives the apostles lived, during and immediately following Jesus' time. He didn't say much more than that.

Other pastors I've heard of claim to have tapped into the power that was available to the apostles, and is still available today. But, this was not the high claim in this case ...it began, as many things do, with sincere searching.

My friend went for counseling one evening ...and he was told they wouldn't be able to have a personal session with him that evening, but he was welcome to stay, and he could participate in something really big.  They were going to attempt to cast out demons from a very troubled lady.

This lady had many years ago attended a local church ...and felt led to go into the mission field.  She went to Central America, and worked with children ...for many years.  I believe she was in her thirties, when suddenly things began happening very quickly.

While she was working with the children, they noticed that when the children finished with play time, she continued to play ...with no children around.  It did not seem that when they talked to her that she was the same woman in her thirties, but now a young child.  They were alarmed, and sent her back to the United States ...somehow getting unwise counsel, because fearing they did not know how to handle her, they seemed ready to listen to anyone.

That anyone, was a hypnotist in California.

Of course, the problem seemed to get worse, and someone hearing that they'd tried hypnotism ...cautioned them to stop it immediately.  They felt it best that they return her to familiar surroundings ...around family, friends, and her home church.

They wondered what had gone on ...what was the cause of this sudden onset of behavior.  And while talking with her, one of the counselors felt he was making progress when she began opening up and finally sharing some things.

The things she began to share ...were of very delicate information, but seemingly providing insight into many of the questions they had. 

They felt  they were beginning to understand what had led to her sudden breakdown.  It seemed for years she had retreated and escaped into her missionary work.  What she shared with the counselor came as a shock ...as she shared how she had been sexually abused during her youth. She had apparently been unable to deal with it ...and had shoved it into her subconscious. It wasn't until years later, with her safely being out of the country and away from these people, that she began retreating, as a child, safely reliving the years that had been too difficult for her to face ...and replacing the memories with ones she would have liked to have.

When it came to the point of asking who the people were who had done these horrific things to her ...she said it was church people.  

This alarming news drew cause for discussions of a very awkward nature.  And it led to the counselor leaving the church, and other church members with him.  They did not leave the church because they were asked to (they were not the accused) ...rather, they left because they didn't want to be among people who they felt could be guilty of such a thing. 

So, what was at one time, two very close-knit churches, became two very divided churches.  This one discovery was quite instrumental in putting strain on many friendships, including those of the pastors.

So, in the new church, where the counselor then decided to attend, they continued to give this woman counseling.  The counselor felt the seriousness of this situation required intense action.  And he felt he was able to draw on power that had seldom been used since the time of Jesus' apostles.  

They were going to cast out the demons from this poor woman ...and my friend was invited to participate.  He had come for counseling himself, but in their excitement, they somehow felt he was stable enough to participate.  Everything else at this point seemed secondary to the grand feat they were about to partake in.

It was after midnight when my friend came to my door.  I was about to call it a night, when I was about to soon call it a much later night ...or early morning.  My friend's eyes were filled with urgency ...not wanting to wait til the next day to tell me of the happenings. His eyes were wide ...and filled with a story to tell.  And I admit, I was a bit curious to hear it.

As they verbally called for the spirit to leave her ...my friend said he had to physically help restrain her, as she was resisting quite violently.  He said she was talking in a voice that seemed not like her own ...and they were calling out for that spirit to leave her.  At one point she started to relax and talk more normal ...and they felt they were successful in casting out the demon.  At this point, she calmly began to reveal more things, and incriminate more people from the other church ...by name.

With the demon gone, they felt she would be free from the torment ...and be able to move on from her horrible past.

They continued session after session ...bringing a great divide with each new revelation ...and with the impressions they'd held with some of the people they had at one time called friends, from their previous church.

But, as ugly as these new revelations were, they felt they had accomplished something that had seldom been accomplished since witnessed by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit working through the apostles.

No one would really argue that this was an example of the ends justifying the means ...as few Christians would feel that something like this sort of abuse could be ignored, and the fact that it affected other Christian lives was not an issue because no Christian should behave like this, nor certainly expect to get away with it.  The ugliness had to be revealed, and the people confronted.