Narcissism And Entitlement Are The Big Fat U*U Sins Of Unitarian Universalists In General And "Less Than Humble" Big Fat U*U Clergy In Particular. . .
Butt don't take *my* word for it U*Us, take the Big Fat U*U Word of Rev. Dr. Victoria Weinstein, as posted to the 'Public and Pastoral Ministry: Honest, Passionate and Theologically Informed Leadership' post of her resurrected Peacebang blog, with some additional input from U*U clergy misconduct authority Rev. Deborah Pope-Lance. . .
"Do we not believe that souls are at stake here? Do we not feel that the question of how one orders their spiritual life is of utmost urgency to the individual and to humanity? Do we not know by now that narcissism and entitlement are the besetting sins of middle class American culture (the locus of most Unitarian Universalist and United Church of Christ pastoral ministries), and that we are called to challenge them?"
Interestingly enough U*Us, to say nothing of ironically enough. . .
U*U clergy misconduct expert Rev. Deborah Pope-Lance is of the opinion that capital 'N' Narcissism, if not Big Fat U*U Entitlement, is the root of all evil Unitarian Universalist clergy misconduct, U*U clergy sexual misconduct and otherwise. . . at least that would seem to be the main thrust of the 191st Berry Street Essay that Rev. Pope-Lance delivered during the 2011 UUA GA Ministerial Conference of June 22, 2011, at Charlotte North Carolina.
Allow me to quote a few paragraphs from her Berry Street Essay verbatim -
"From my work with afterpastors I can tell you that these attitudes (i.e. humility, integrity, respectability and appreciation for another’s needs) are in sharp contrast to the attitudes of those who engage in misconduct. Regardless of the type of misconduct, whether sexual or financial or emotional or other, woven into the fabric of all misconduct is a common thread: a narcissistic attitude. A self-attentive and self referential attitude. An obliviousness to others’ needs. A lack of empathy.
We see narcissism in politicians, in those who wield the power of their office to have what they want and to get what they need, without regard to others. Arrogant, entitled, and grandiose, narcissism clouds judgment, leads to poor choices, and makes for bad behavior. Narcissism deludes some into thinking they won’t get caught. Others to imagining the rules don’t apply to them. Narcissism is expressed in behaviors that intrude, control, manipulate, and exploit; in interactions that are self serving, duplicitous, and secretive.
Narcissism may be no more common a clinical diagnosis among ministers than the general population. Still, among those engaged in ministerial practice, a narcissistic attitude is evident in interactive ways---as an expression and experience of the self in relation to others, as a self-ideation in ministerial relationships. At the extreme, self-ideation makes everything in relation to another person, everything that in reality is part of that other and not of the self, be experienced as all about me."
Funny how so-o-o-o much of the above applies to the (thankfully) inimitable Rev. Dr. Victoria Weinstein herself. . .
No U*Us?
"Do we not believe that souls are at stake here? Do we not feel that the question of how one orders their spiritual life is of utmost urgency to the individual and to humanity? Do we not know by now that narcissism and entitlement are the besetting sins of middle class American culture (the locus of most Unitarian Universalist and United Church of Christ pastoral ministries), and that we are called to challenge them?"
Interestingly enough U*Us, to say nothing of ironically enough. . .
U*U clergy misconduct expert Rev. Deborah Pope-Lance is of the opinion that capital 'N' Narcissism, if not Big Fat U*U Entitlement, is the root of all evil Unitarian Universalist clergy misconduct, U*U clergy sexual misconduct and otherwise. . . at least that would seem to be the main thrust of the 191st Berry Street Essay that Rev. Pope-Lance delivered during the 2011 UUA GA Ministerial Conference of June 22, 2011, at Charlotte North Carolina.
Allow me to quote a few paragraphs from her Berry Street Essay verbatim -
"From my work with afterpastors I can tell you that these attitudes (i.e. humility, integrity, respectability and appreciation for another’s needs) are in sharp contrast to the attitudes of those who engage in misconduct. Regardless of the type of misconduct, whether sexual or financial or emotional or other, woven into the fabric of all misconduct is a common thread: a narcissistic attitude. A self-attentive and self referential attitude. An obliviousness to others’ needs. A lack of empathy.
We see narcissism in politicians, in those who wield the power of their office to have what they want and to get what they need, without regard to others. Arrogant, entitled, and grandiose, narcissism clouds judgment, leads to poor choices, and makes for bad behavior. Narcissism deludes some into thinking they won’t get caught. Others to imagining the rules don’t apply to them. Narcissism is expressed in behaviors that intrude, control, manipulate, and exploit; in interactions that are self serving, duplicitous, and secretive.
Narcissism may be no more common a clinical diagnosis among ministers than the general population. Still, among those engaged in ministerial practice, a narcissistic attitude is evident in interactive ways---as an expression and experience of the self in relation to others, as a self-ideation in ministerial relationships. At the extreme, self-ideation makes everything in relation to another person, everything that in reality is part of that other and not of the self, be experienced as all about me."
Funny how so-o-o-o much of the above applies to the (thankfully) inimitable Rev. Dr. Victoria Weinstein herself. . .
No U*Us?
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