The Episcopal Church: what's the opposite of "Best Practices"?

Where to start? How about an agonized message from a friend in another state:

"...the bishop made a number of graceless and crass comments, not to mention outright hostile attempts to chide and belittle a number of his churches, mine included... He chided the handful of churches that were actually doing something real and commended those who were perpetuating palliative care to dying parishes... I looked around at the delegations - we looked like an old folks' home... The insanity is mind numbing, heart breaking, and soul stealing - and with all we were going to try to do here in the parish in the next couple of years, I am very much wondering why bother wasting my life."

The Episcopal Church continues to reward fruitless ideologues, mainly LGBT activists, and marginalize any ministries that show vitality in the Gospel of Christ.

In recent weeks, analysis of TEC's budget exposed extravagant spending on political lobbyists.

Even some loyal TEC progressives are pointedly critical of dysfunctional denominational leadership.

The multimillion dollar lawsuit vendetta by the Presiding Bishop in unconscionable but goes unquestioned by mis- (or un-)informed followers and bootlicking insiders.

Now comes a stark, simple graphic of the Presiding Bishop's prior work as Bishop of Nevada. Quite simply, that Diocese was growing on par with the state's population trend - until Katharine Jefferts Schori became bishop there.



TEC chose a proven momentum wrecker and membership shrinker to lead in a time of conflict and challenge. And the clergy with intent and passive pew-sitters by default have allowed this Presiding Bishop and pals to assume imagined powers and spend money without oversight.

That the "Peter Principle" might play out in an organization is one thing - but when people are warned, and the foolishness is exposed, and nobody cares? That's something else entirely as God sees it. And it ain't a "best practice."

h/t Sarah Hey for the graph