I am thinking more and more about the role of the minister in the life of the church. I am convinced today that the early church did not have one over-arching structure. The "Church" was made up of "churchES", and they probably had a wide array of structures, ranging from sacramental to very informal, from eucharist-centric to foot washing-centric. The attempt to get the entire church to 'look like the early church' is not completely wrong-headed, but it must acknowledge the fact that the Christian community was very diverse, right from the beginning. There were disagreements about doctrine, big disagreements, and a variety of worship set-ups and organizational structures.
This probably means that the role of leaders differed in each church. I have been reading a lot about what a minister is and what they should be, and they all make appeals to the early church structure. It is likely that all of these appeals have the ring of truth in part because they are true. In the early church you could probably find different understandings of what a leader was, what they should be called, and what they would do. The mistake these writers make is when they try to paint the entire early church as looking one particular way, ignoring or skewing Biblical evidence that should problematize their own personal understanding on the matter. I try to recognize this diversity when I imagine what church services should look like here: http://ljtsg.blogspot.com/2012/12/gospel-meetings.html
But I have to say the meeting structures where the minister has little role are the ones that appeal to me the most. More and more, I am convinced that the best model for the church is what one writer has called 'one-anothering' rather than 'ministering'. We expect too much out of our leaders. Leading worship, expressing the power of the Holy Spirit through blessing and leading liturgy (where appropriate), speaking to the church with a message from Above, these roles are for all Christians everywhere. We are all leaders, all ministers in God's kingdom. Counseling and pastoral care, sermons, leading worship, all of this is to be the hands of the entire community. Ministers cannot take on everything for the whole community, and when they fail to do this they are looked down upon, or schism results.
That said, it seems to me that people left to their own devices simply cannot grasp the Bible without guidance. There is an entire depth dimension to scripture that is lost on people if they are not taught how to read and how to 'see' properly. A religious education, and I mean a formal religious education, seems of inestimable value for the Christian community, and some people having such an education seems like not only a good idea, but absolutely necessary. Having a person with some kind of professional counseling on hand for the community seems vital as well. Yet it is unfair, parasitic even, to ask someone to engage in such a lifestyle for the benefit of all, without some kind of payment, without giving them a 'hire' with which they can feed their families and yes even themselves. Paid ministry, and more explicitly education ministry, seems a necessity, even as the role of the minister seems to me to be overblown. I don't know where I will finally come down on all this but I have some preliminary thoughts. First, I think a minister is a theology professor for the masses. The goal is to educate people so they can reach into God's word and get all the Lord wants them to get out of it. A minister is a trainer of ministers. We are here to teach people so they can be leaders. The goal is to disseminate research and understanding to all God's people so that through them God can work for everyone else. Second, I think we are to be counselors of a higher order. One-anothering is important and should be come the common standard for the church. But there must be someone for the counselors to get guidance from. Knowing the human spirit and psychology can be useful for a community like the church, and it is good for the church to have access to it. Again these are just preliminary reflections. I am just beginning to really think about these matters in detail...more to come.
I think it is good for the church to have a leader, like a pastor/preacher/minister person. That said, the best leaders are the ones who can educate and distribute tasks to all the people that minister is a shepherd of. An effective leader is not one who does everything themselves, but who empowers others to do what is needed.
ReplyDeleteSecond note not strictly related but this topic reminded me of it and I thought you might enjoy:
I recently went to a yoga class with my mom and the class what a type of yoga called Yen Yoga (I'm not sure if that is actually how it is spelt, but that's how it's pronounced). Most yoga has a meditation section or two in it. This one was mostly meditation and one of the meditations was called "oneness meditation." It was all about finding where you are and accepting yourself and being connected to the community around you. It centers on love and community. It was a really cool experience.