Boundaries

     Boundaries… what are they anyway? According the what I've been reading about relationships within our church family, boundaries are the limits that allow for safe connection between the pastor and the parishioner, and are always based on the parishioner's needs. 
     A violation of those boundaries can happen when the pastor puts his needs above those of the person he's trying to help.

     The pastor is responsible for monitoring the boundaries, and must be watching for early danger signs that those limits are being tested in some way. But spotting the boundary violation is hard, because it is usually proceeded by many small, subtle infractions rather than suddenly happening as one unexpected event of misconduct.

     

     Now that's a lot of words from the experts. But basically it boils down to this… there is a line within me which should not be crossed. And in relationships of unequal status or power, the responsibility of maintaining that boundary falls to the more powerful person.

     

     
My "more powerful person" did nothing to stop from crossing the line.