Near the beginning of the Disney animated film Aladdin, Princess Jasmine, recently run away from the palace and trying to make her way through the local market, gets herself in a wee bit of trouble. Her only escape is offered by a street urchin, named Aladdin. She seems initially dubious about an escape with this stranger and his helpful monkey friend, Abu. Aladdin then stretches out his arm and asks her, “Do you trust me?” The two animated characters look soulfully into each other’s huge eyes and Jasmine responds that she does trust him and off they jump into what Aladdin clearly thinks is a path to freedom. Unfortunately, Aladdin is quickly captured by the palace guard, and that sets up the rest of the story. His question, though, comes back later, reminding the Princess of the magical connection the two of them felt at that first meeting.

If only trust were so simple.

Over the past several blog posts, I’ve outlined the various parts of the transformation of Old South from small church that tried to act like a big church to small church that acts like a small church. We have, essentially, “right-sized” ourselves into a community that is manageable, while also promoting paths of service and the exploration of gifts and talents. It’s not perfect, to be sure, but it’s been a good and meaningful journey.

Reflecting on how such a dramatic change has been possible, in a congregational setting in which the variety of opinions and perspectives could have rendered the congregation either paralyzed or shattered into warring factions, I would say that the most important component to the process of change— other than our continuing commitment to being a faith community focused on our relationship with God— is trust.

It might go without saying that any significant transformation requires trust, but I would argue that trust must be not be taken for granted. Instead, it must be fostered, respected and considered. Trust doesn’t just happen. It takes thoughtful and honest attention.

Trust is necessary between pastor and congregation, as well as between and among the individuals that make up the congregation. This isn’t about soulfully looking into another’s eyes, to gauge credibility. Trust involves a knowledgable awareness of trust’s building blocks, like reliability, confidence, honesty and safety. No one is perfect in the trust business, but it’s profoundly important that all involved, especially pastors, seek to move beyond the question, “Do you trust me?” and to act, speak and observe the components of trust in all of the various aspects of one’s call to a local church.

I should be clear that it’s the local church that is the focus here. Gallup recently released polling that suggests that the American public is much less trusting of institutions, including the Church and its clergy, than it once was. The evidence of what can happen when someone, like a religious leader, takes advantage of trust for personal gain or to satisfy problematic personal needs and desires is now more widely appreciated than it once was, though the toll of such monstrous behavior is difficult to fully understand. It’s a reminder of the staggering significance of trust, to all clergy and local churches, that trust must be at the forefront of relationships and tended to with care and diligence.

When it comes to cultivating trust, I have found that a few practices are especially crucial— attentive listening; patience; presence; and, a willingness to engage in conversation even when the other person disagrees with everything that I’ve said and done. It’s not that any of these things comes naturally to me. Those in my household know that there are times when I am extremely frustrated by the need to be patient when I don’t want to be and when what seems like a simple issue turns into a circus. Change isn’t easy for anyone, not even the one who proposes it. What’s important is that I actively cultivate components of trust. When it’s time for a really big change, most people at Old South know they can trust me, even if they end up not going along with whatever change is on the table. And, when I act in a way that employs the building blocks of trust, people in the congregation also usually act in a trustworthy way. Trust inspires trust.

For the small church, trust is an essential factor to the life and well-being of the congregation. By taking trust seriously in how we interact with each other, we also demonstrate and live out of our knowledge of the trust we have in the God who gathers us together.