Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Problems?!
Mark Roberts in his recent series on the spiritual gifts, wrote about the problem of professionalism.
Just a few random thoughts for ministry professionals...
You are not building the church, you are building the people. We tend to get all screwed up about what the job is. It is not not get the numbers and contributions up, it is to make the people that are the current numbers and contributions into better Christians, better disciples. They'll get the numbers and contributions up, if you are successful at that task.
This has a couple of important implications:
Mistakes are part of the discipling process. Guess what! You made them too. And you learned from them. Part of what you need to do to make them into better disciples is allow them to fail. Yep, "your" ministry might not look so good then, but then...
It's not "your" ministry. I make a living as an "expert," though not in this field. The hardest thing about the job is to let my individual client companies figure out how to implement my advice in their context. It is so much easier just to tell them what to do, but each company has a different culture, and they are not my companies. I have to let them work it out for themselves or the advice I offer will never really take root.
God's got your back. Pros worry about all this stuff because they think their livelihood depends on it. NOT TRUE. Your livelihood depends on Jesus Christ. Which is plenty.
As a former pro turned amateur, I made these mistakes and I have watched them be made again and again. As a former pro turned amateur I often find myself relegated to the sidelines because the current batch of pros are too worried about losing the illusions of control they have.
There are many in the pews that need to step up, but there are many in the office that need to get the heck out of the way.
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Clericalism is the idea that certain people, the clergy, are specially gifted and empowered to do ministry. Those we call priests or pastors or reverends or ministers or fathers or preachers are the real ministers who are gifted by the Spirit. The rest of the people–just the lay people–are the receivers of ministry, but not the ministers. Clericalism reigned in the established church for centuries, though it was less prominent in independent or free churches. Even Protestants, who rejected the Roman Catholic version of priestly clericalism, developed their own brand before too long.OK, I could not agree more, but the shoe also fits on the other foot here. The pros need to get the heck out of the way sometimes.
[...]
In my experience, as clericalism loses its choking grip on the church, it is being replaced by a similar syndrome: professionalism. In this perspective, the church isn’t divided up into the divinely-called clerics and the non-called laity. Rather, the division falls between the professionals and the non-professionals. Professional ministers are trained, educated, experienced, and paid. They do the ministry, not because they have cornered the market on calling and gifting, but because they are the resident experts.
[...]
Many faithful churchgoing folk remind me of myself during my first few games of little league. I wasn’t an especially talented player, so I quickly found myself warming the bench. Soon I just didn’t expect to play and my expectations usually were fulfilled. One night I took my usual spot on the bench. Before too long, the darkness of the dugout and the lateness of the hour lured me to sleep. Toward the end of the game as I was snoozing away, I heard my name being called as if in a dream: “Mark! Mark!” As I began to stir, I realized that I wasn’t dreaming. The coach was calling me. I was being put into the game as a pinch-hitter. It would b my first official appearance in little league! But sleepiness didn’t help my batting much. Three quick strikes later, I returned to my spot in the dugout, mortified with shame and swearing that I would again never be unprepared to play.
If you are not expecting to get into the game, you will probably not be ready when the Holy Spirit calls you up to bat. So let me give you advance warning. God has not put you on his team so that you can warm the bench and watch the pros play. He has called you into the game. He will empower you to play with effectiveness. But first you have to get off the bench. You need to commit yourself to a ministry or to a fellowship in which you will be free to minister. As you become more accustomed to functioning in spiritual gifts, you will realize that the Holy Spirit wants to use you, not just in official church gatherings, but in all times and all places.
Just a few random thoughts for ministry professionals...
You are not building the church, you are building the people. We tend to get all screwed up about what the job is. It is not not get the numbers and contributions up, it is to make the people that are the current numbers and contributions into better Christians, better disciples. They'll get the numbers and contributions up, if you are successful at that task.
This has a couple of important implications:
Mistakes are part of the discipling process. Guess what! You made them too. And you learned from them. Part of what you need to do to make them into better disciples is allow them to fail. Yep, "your" ministry might not look so good then, but then...
It's not "your" ministry. I make a living as an "expert," though not in this field. The hardest thing about the job is to let my individual client companies figure out how to implement my advice in their context. It is so much easier just to tell them what to do, but each company has a different culture, and they are not my companies. I have to let them work it out for themselves or the advice I offer will never really take root.
God's got your back. Pros worry about all this stuff because they think their livelihood depends on it. NOT TRUE. Your livelihood depends on Jesus Christ. Which is plenty.
As a former pro turned amateur, I made these mistakes and I have watched them be made again and again. As a former pro turned amateur I often find myself relegated to the sidelines because the current batch of pros are too worried about losing the illusions of control they have.
There are many in the pews that need to step up, but there are many in the office that need to get the heck out of the way.
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