Father Tim Jones, an Anglican priest at St. Lawrence and Hilda Church in York UK, preached to his congregation saying that he did not believe it was right for people to shoplift but maintained it was the \u201cleast worst option\u201d for people in desperate situations. I can see an individual at the end of his or her rope making such a decision for personal application, but for the spiritual leader to add the church’s official endorsement for shoplifting as a solution, well that’s a different kettle of fish!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There’s nothing like a good real-world example to test how theoretical leadership principles really work. This story made me think about how we apply our faith to our leadership practices. This is something we all want to do and here we have an excellent case study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to a news report, <\/a>Father Tim:<\/p>\n\n\n\n …gave the example of prisoners being released from prison without benefits or other financial assistance, saying it was far better for people in such circumstances to turn to shoplifting from large retailers rather than prostitution, mugging or burglary.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n “My advice does not contradict the Bible\u2019s eighth commandment because God\u2019s love for the poor and despised outweighs the property rights of the rich,\u201d he said in a sermon Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n A spokesman for supermarket chain Asda, in response, argued that shoplifting affected hardworking store staff more than the rich.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n “Maybe Father Tim Jones could repeat his sermon at our York store and see what reaction he gets?” he was quoted as saying by the York Press. “He\u2019s one psalm short of a sermon!”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Now there’s a spokesman who knows how to turn a phrase!!! To be fair to Father Tim, I’d like to include some more of what he had to say, which was reported in the Daily Mail<\/a>. (This paper also reported that his congregation includes “a wide mix of social conditions.”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I do not offer such advice because I think that stealing is a good thing, or because I think it is harmless, for it is neither. I would ask that they do not steal from small family businesses, but from large national businesses, knowing that the costs are ultimately passed on to the rest of us in the form of higher prices. I would ask them not to take any more than they need. I offer the advice with a heavy heart. Let my words not be misrepresented as a simplistic call for people to shoplift.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n “The observation that shoplifting is the best option that some people are left with is a grim indictment of who we are. This is a call for our society no longer to treat its most vulnerable people with indifference and contempt. We create a situation which leaves some people little option but crime. The strong temptation is to burgle or rob people – family, friends, neighbours, strangers. Others are tempted towards prostitution, a nightmare world of degradation and abuse for all concerned. Others are tempted towards suicide. Instead, I would rather that they shoplift.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Okay, so that is what Father Tim thinks, and I agree with his indictment of society. I also might possibly accept his argument of the lesser of two evils, if in fact evil was the only option available. But it isn’t. There is another option that would be a demonstration of grace and redemption and unconditional love. I say respectfully (and without knowing what his church is doing to alleviate poverty), that Father Tim has not considered all the options. I don’t think his leadership reflects what we expect of a Christian leader in this situation. Please be assured, I am not condemning him as a leader. I am just saying that on this one point there is a better response to the crisis of poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s how I applied my faith to the answer. I started with some basic principles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I then thought of an excellent application of these principles that comes to us in Acts 4:34-35 and that applies directly to Father Tim’s church, which has a wide range of social conditions in it. “For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as they had need.” Here was the community of believers looking after their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And when a dispute arose? What happened then? Acts 6:1-5 says that when a complaint arose from the Hellenistic Jews that they were being overlooked in the distribution of food by the Hebrew Jews, the apostles “summoned the congregation and said, ‘…Select from among you seven men…whom we may put in charge of this task…’ The statement found approval with the whole congregation.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, I think the priest missed the mark on this issue. Instead of advising his congregation to steal, he should have taken this opportunity to call his congregation to be faithful to the purpose to which God has called them and challenged them to come together in mutual support to provide for the needy among them. Their generosity should spur other churches to do similar good deeds, encourage the public to be charitable and invite the government to step in and do its part. If the people of his own church were all poor and needy, then Paul’s example with the Jerusalem church would be for other churches to lend their support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Father Tim could also have offered to connect the needy with the social agencies and charities that could help them. He could even lay out some ideas for how the government could solve the poverty problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are, of course, a lot of other issues related to the reporter’s question that I couldn’t get into without making my answer too complex to use, such as civil disobedience, dealing with the Nazis sending Jews and others to death camps, and so on. In the context of this priest’s sermon, the issue is shoplifting and to that I say, “No, it is not okay to tell your congregation to shoplift.” That avoids our Christian duty to take care of each other.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was forced into a quick assessment of whether a pastor can tell his congregation to shoplift when in desperate need because I got an interview request from Canwest News Services to answer the question, “Is it ever right for a spiritual leader to advise his congregation to steal?” The reporter’s deadline was looming. Is it or isn’t it? More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ts_fic_featured_image_caption":"A roadside sign listing five of the ten commandments (regarding adultery, killing, stealing, bearing false witness, and coveting). Photo by Sean Foster<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/span>","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[542,90,543],"tags":[81,565,67],"series":[],"class_list":["post-1500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-ministry","category-leadership-theology","category-christian-faith","tag-ethics-and-integrity","tag-theological-reflection","tag-values"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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Can a Spiritual Leader Endorse Illegal Activities?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Principles for Thinking Theologically about Leadership<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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An Invitation for Churches to Be Authentically Present<\/h2>\n\n\n\n