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May 5, 2009
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
No Minister?, by Patrick D. Odum
[Editor's Note: Heartlight.org sees its mission as providing
resources for those trying to live for Jesus. We know that many are
not part of a traditional church with a building or "professional"
ministry staff. In addition to our articles, devotionals, graphics,
and Bible study tools (see links below), we are launching an online
resource called http://homegathering.net. This article helps us
launch this resource and we will be looking to you for ideas on
what resources we can provide.]
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve
others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms (1
Peter 4:10 TNIV).
My college roommate's father wrote an article published in The
Christian Chronicle a few months ago that I truly appreciated and
completely agreed with.
And I really hated that I did.
The article was titled, "No Minister? Look to God and Members Instead."
The author, David May, is a member of a small church in Minnesota. His
church doesn't have a "minister" -- or a preacher, or a pastor, or
whatever appellation for clergy you can imagine. They don't have anyone
on staff to do "church work" like preaching, evangelizing, hospital
visitation, and so on. They don't even have anyone to write bulletin
articles. And, no, it doesn't seem like this is a temporary condition
from which they're hoping and praying to be soon delivered. They don't
seem to be looking for anyone, or trying to find funding for the
position. They seem to have chosen, at least for the foreseeable
future, to get along without "a minister."
I know. "How are they surviving?" I asked myself. "How are they getting
by without someone who has some knowledge of the Synoptic Problem or
the Documentary Hypothesis or the debate about Openness Theology? How
can they possibly hope to survive, let alone grow, without someone who
knows how to properly construct a sermon?" Believe me, I'm as
astonished as you are, but ...
Well, they seem to be doing just fine, thank you.
I guess that's because when I say they don't have a minister, I mean
that they don't have someone who they pay to be The Minister. It turns
out that they actually seem to a whole bunch of ministers, a whole
church full of them, in fact. "People step up and do what is necessary
when the responsibility is theirs," he says. "When there is a located
preacher the temptation in our busy world is to hope the preacher will
get it done." He goes on:
[Without a minister,] if someone is going to give a devotional talk
on Sunday morning, it will be a member. If anyone is to sit with a
woman while her husband has surgery, it will be a member. If a
visitor is to be invited to lunch and offered an ear and a prayer,
it will come from a member. If we are going to reach out to the
community around us, the leadership will come from the members.
Really, Mr. May (that's what I've always called him). You're going to
mess up a good thing for me.
To be fair, Mr. May doesn't say that churches who have ministers should
get rid of them. In fact, he says that churches should treat their
ministers well. (Another thing I like about the article.) And I do
think, as non-objective as I am about the matter, that a paid minister
who loves the Lord and the church and works hard can be a blessing.
Paul seemed to think so, too: he reminded one church that it's right
for those who "sow spiritual seed" to "reap a material harvest" (1
Corinthians 9:7-12). Mr. May's article, though, does make me think
about whether the whole idea of a professional clergy as we know it
today might just be pretty far from the biblical understanding of who
the church is and what it is we're supposed to be doing.
In the Bible, God's grace isn't all about forgiveness of sins. That's
part of it, of course, but God gives us much more than just mercy for
when we mess up. The Bible speaks of God's grace in terms of the
abilities he gives to people, as well. That's something we need to
rediscover in the church, I think: as recipients of God's grace, we
have received not only pardon for our sins, but also abilities and
opportunities to share God's love and blessings with the people around
us.
Imagine a church where ...
Some can preach, and Peter reminds the church he writes that they
should do so with words God gives them. Some can provide service and
assistance, and he tells them that they should do it with the strength
that God gives them (1 Peter 4:10-11). And some have business acumen,
or skill in trades, or culinary skill, or medical knowledge, or IT
expertise. These are all expressions of God's grace, given in the form
of talent, interest, education, and so on (Romans 12:3-8). And the
health of the church, like the health of any organism, requires that
every part does what it's there to do (Ephesians 4:11-16).
That's the very thing, of course, that the professionalization of
ministry can prevent. The minister, or whatever you want to call him,
can too easily become the paid ministerial proxy for the rest of the
congregation. He does the ministry; the rest of the church shows up on
Sunday to worship, then goes back to their busy lives. Sometimes church
members like it that way. Sometimes, truth be told, so do the
"professional" ministers. Churches can grow pretty big that way,
especially if they can afford to pay salaries for a lot of ministers.
But they don't grow very healthy. "We mature much faster by figuring
out what needs to be done and doing it than we ever would by hearing it
described from the pulpit," Mr. May writes. "If every member takes
responsibility, the church will grow stronger."
Imagine a church where members, who carry a burden for visiting the
sick on their hearts, are at hospitals weekly or daily. Where those who
are skilled administrators, keep things running efficiently and
smoothly, streamlining the church's ministry. Imagine a church where
those skilled at carpentry or plumbing or electrical are caring for the
building -- and for the homes of other members and those in the
church's neighborhood. Imagine a church where people who can work with
troubled teenagers are encouraged and empowered to do so, or where
people with musical ability can exercise their talents, or where
painters and writers and other artists can work for the glory of God
with their media. Imagine, even, a church where those who can speak
well in public are encouraged to preach.
Imagine a church where professional ministers are no different than
everyone else, except that they're freed up to devote more of their
time and energy to "church work." And imagine a church where everyone
takes seriously their responsibilities as ministers, empowered by God's
grace to do "church work" wherever they find themselves.
I'm not looking for a new line of work. Really. But I am looking for a
church like that.
Aren't you?
---------
(c) 2009 Patrick D. Odum <p.d.odum@gmail.com>.
RELATED LINKS:
* Modeling is Better than Words
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200011/20001114_wooden.html
* Vulnerably Successful
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200610/20061029_vulnerablysuccessful.html
* The Landlord or the Minister's Wife
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200410/20041013_ministerswife.html
* Faith Web
http://www.faithwebblog.com/
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200905/20090505_nominister.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
THE GREAT AWAKENING, by Jim Wallis
By helping a nation hungry for hope and positive political solutions,
Wallis shows us that a revival is happening, as people of faith and
moral conviction seek common ground for change.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?260
Find more great books, CDs and videos at the Heartlight store! With
each purchase you make, you're helping to support Heartlight's
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