Giving an illusion of safety by having a Church Safety Policy when in reality you do little to follow through on the particulars of it should be seen as a lack of integrity. To say you are going to provide for the security of your people and then not do it is dishonest and not very Christ-like. Jesus was clear that when we make promises, we should follow through (Matt. 5:33-37) with what we vowed to do.
To do the best job of keeping people safe, we must be consistent and reliable. We need to follow through on established policies. Good intentions aren’t good enough. Leader qualities matter, even in church safety efforts and issues.
Examples of Integrity Breaks in Church Safety Efforts:
We undermine our integrity by …
failing to train teachers and other ministry workers in safety.
failing to provide resources needed for the safety team to effectively do their job.
failing to hold people accountable when they violate a safety policy.
failing to follow through when someone reports an incidence.
failing to wait until a background check is completed to allow someone to serve.
failing to hold everyone to the same standards.
failing to update the policy on regular basis to keep up with current needs.
How can people rely on you to keep them safe if you fail to consistently follow through? If you break their trust in this, can they depend on you in other areas? Even when it comes to tending to church safety issues, let’s join Paul in saying,
Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace. (2 Cor. 1:12)
You’ll find this list in the Steering the Church Toward Christ-like Character Leadership Guide along with a challenging question to reflect on for each failure.
For More on These Topics:
All Posts about Safety Issues:
- Safety Because Love Always Protects
- Safety Coordinated by a Church Security Team
- Safety Takes Everybody Doing Their Part
- Safety Because of the Great Commission
- Church Safety: WWJD?
- Integrity Breaks in Church Safety
- Focus of Church Safety
- Perspective in Church Safety
- Dangerous Gospel?
- Scripture Useful for Church Safety?
- Biblical Principles for Dealing with Safety Issues
- Power of Grace in Church Safety
- Power of Grace for Preventing Problems
- Power of Grace for Coping
- Power of Grace Enables Godly Responses
- Safety in the Name of the Lord?
- Don’t Underestimate the Power of Prayer in Safety
- The Spirit in the Midst of Church Safety?
- Church Safety as a Ministry Using Spiritual Gifts?
- The Real Enemy of Church Safety
- God Has a Bigger Picture When Bad Things Happen
- Leaders’ Roles Dictate How They Handle Church Safety
- Qualities Leaders Need in Church Safety Efforts