My father-in-law was a no-nonsense businessman who worked a 600 acre farm. Fiercely independent, he liked to play by his own rules. When he bought a new piece of machinery, he would remove all of the pesky shields and other safety devices that slowed him down or got in the way during maintenance or repair. It was a family farm, so it was unlikely that OSHA would have investigated or intervened -- at least until there was an "incident."

In some ways, our UUA board, staff and professional organizations (UUMA, LREDA etc.) operate like OSHA: We are Congregational Safety and Health advisors.

• We recommend best practices for governance, finance, growth and leadership development.
• We offer leadership schools and other trainings to help our leaders foster healthy systems and behaviors in their congregations.
• We advise on how you might implement safety policies to keep your children safe from predators and your community safe from disruptive behavior.
• We do our best to make sure our religious professionals are equipped to serve and are held accountable to professional guidelines and actionable codes of conduct.
• We provide a process where ministers and congregations have the opportunity to learn deeply about one another before a call or a hire.

And yet, we still have congregations who--in the name of congregational polity--circumvent the safety and health recommendations. Then, when conflict or other trouble erupts, the "Congregational Safety and Health advisors" are called in. How do these patterns happen?

My father-in-law felt that the farm was always in danger of going under, so he did everything he could to avoid losing money or productivity. The danger might have been real in the early years, but the habits remained when the farm was consistently profitable.

The story behind a congregational habit of stubbornly rejecting "best practices" is a bit more complex. Part of rejecting solid advice is a pervasive allergy to authority that still lurks in some of our liberal religious communities.

Being suspicious of authority is part of our congregational birthright and is reflected in our polity. We rejected the authority of bishops and presbyteries because of they held power and power tends to corrupt. We kept the power and authority in the gathered body community -- not to be a "majority rules" democracy but a covenantal community. We choose our own leaders to teach and guide us and we discern together to test our assumptions and beliefs. We organize as an association of congregations, and hire staff (like me) to help share knowledge, experiences and resources. Holding ourselves accountable to one another in service of our transcendent values is also a part of our congregational birthright.

When it is done well, the sense of purpose in the community is joyful and palpable to the visitor. This accountability is our ultimate safety shield.  Without it, a liberal faith community is in peril. A article on Occupy.com pointed out five dysfunctional liberal tendencies that plagued the Occupy movement. These tendencies also show up in our troubled congregations. The one that resonated the most for me was the tendency of Liberal Libertarianism:

"The Liberal Libertarian would rather see our collective efforts grind to a screeching halt than see one person “silenced” for any reason under any context. The Liberal Libertarian doesn’t actually care about collective power; they simply seek individual self-realization."

In our congregations, the Liberal Libertarian is not interested in what it means to be "free" in a faith community. They do not want any kind of accountability for their behavior. The article recommends:

"We need to be vigilant against the attempts of isolated people to impose their priorities on everyone else in the name of their individuality (after all, the beauty of free association implies the option of free disassociation) and use organizing structures that are durable and designed to withstand interference."

In other words, we need to trust the leaders that we choose to hold the boundaries that will keep the congregation healthy. This will enable the congregation to put its energy into building the beloved community rather than dealing with disruptions.

Congregational Resources:

• Disruptive Behavior Policies (includes samples)
• Policies for Handling Disruptive People (Interconnections Article)
• Never Call Them Jerks: Healthy Responses to Difficult Behavior by Arthur Paul Boers