I'm reminded of a pastor who had just been hired by a church. The outgoing pastor gave him three sealed envelopes and told him to only open them when there was trouble and the pastor was getting the blame.
About three years later there was a problem with the electrical system and the congregation was blaming the pastor for bad maintenance oversight. The pastor opened the first envelope. The pastor opened the first envelope. Inside was a very short letter: "Blame me." The pastor blamed the problem on the previous pastor not taking care of the building when he was there. The electrical system was upgraded and the problem went away.
About seven years into his time at that church, a lot of people started arguing politics and getting downright hateful with each other. They started blaming the pastor for the bad atmosphere, claiming he should be preaching sermons that answered these problems. He opened the second envelope. This was a slightly longer letter: "Blame the devil." So he started preaching about how the devil tries to tear down the church from within. The election season blew over and things got back to normal.
Two years after that election season, there was a sharp controversy over what the new carpet color should be in the main building. Some preferred one color because it was pretty, others hated it because it would clash with the walls. Both sides got so upset over it that they argued the whole time they were at church, even continuing their arguments in sharp whispers during the sermon. People started blaming the pastor, claiming it was his fault for not making a decision himself... but really they would have blamed him for anything EXCEPT making the decision they thought should be made.
He opened the third envelope. This letter was the longest of all. It said, "Get three envelopes and write three letters..."