In Christendom churches, all "religious" energies must be focused toward the church. That means "professional" Christians must get the "amateur" Christians to "fill all the slots." ...
Obviously, these churches invest more in programs than in people. And, when necessary, they are ready to sacrifice people on behalf of their "first love." ... It's no surprise that Christian "movers and shakers" outside the church feel totally underutilized..."Put your dream on hold and come support a real ministry." That "real" ministry, however, turns out to be a frustrated club of part-time, spiritual dilettantes. And the clergy respond to their inevitable complaints by "getting what's-his-name to read a prayer."
When I was training for full-time ministry, my placement church stated that it believed in lay ministry. What I observed was actually what I described in my report as a clericalising of lay ministry. In other words, lay ministry was being extended, to be sure, but in quasi clerical ways; preaching, leading services etc. What concerned me then, and has never, in 20 years of 'ministry', ceased concerning me, is that churches only really recognise ministry in institutional terms. Clergy and councils find it hard to bless and resource ministry in the world because it really doesn't contribute to 'their' ministry which is church centred. In fact, the system is stacked against them doing so, certainly in the Church of England, because the financial structuring of church makes 'giving away' ministry a risky strategy for the continued viability of a church and its staffing levels. One of the reasons why, to varying degrees, I have always felt this impetus to be 'ecclesiofugic' [that is to escape from the gravity well of typical parish churches], is precisely the sense that we really ought to be forming ministry and mission around what God is already doing in the world rather than around simply what God is doing in people's lives that they are able to bring to church.
One of the things that being explicitly involved in spiritual direction has enabled me to see more clearly, is how the fundamental task of someone exercising 'ministerial priesthood' is to help discern God's action and word, to name it and to call the attention of God's people to it. It is the work of a corporate spiritual director and a community theologian all rolled into one.
Post Modern Christianity: The Future of the Church and Post Modern Ministry in the 21st Century:
Filed in: Christian, ministry, mission, laity, church, secular
ministry priesthood theology community spiritual-direction
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