Earlier today I read these posts by Cheesehead and Jan and they got me thinking...
What is the role of "minister" in the life of the church?
Are we called to actually be leaders and help with vision development and keeping?
Are we called to be teachers?
Are we called to be evangelists and reach out to those on the fringes?
Are we called to be chaplains of the existing congregation?
In essence we are sort of called to all of them. But, as a colleague of mine says, if everything is high priority then everything is also low priority. So where is our priority? Where does it need to be?
I am convinced that to be a chaplain to the existing congregation leads inevitably to the death of the congregation. Inevitably. Maybe it will take years but still...
Then there is the whole question of discerning what the church needs as opposed to what it wants as opposed to what it expects...
So what is the role of the minister anyway???
Hey, Gord, when you figure it out, will you let me know??? ;)
ReplyDeleteMinistry is a dynamic thing ... unfortunately in the modern Church a yearning for nostalgia has become the entrenched and unchanging norm ...
ReplyDeleteWe must be more than chaplains ... but even more importantly, Congregations, Presbyterys AND Conferences must stop enabling the co-dependent behaviour that paralyizes us and denies, turns back or destroys change ...
Today for the first time in the LAST 20 YEARS I feel like I'm finally doing REAL ministry - and I'm NOT in the Church any more ... that speaks volumes - or it would if folks would dare to listen ...
peace brother,