Reflecting Further On Ministry

One of the biggest challenges in ministry is working out what to do. There is always more that could be done. Equally, it is often possible to avoid things that ought to be done. When given the opportunity, I have always urged those entering ministry to take and enjoy space when it arises, and not feel guilty. It won’t happen that often, at least not for those, the vast majority, with a proper commitment to ministry. It is important that we think about priorities, giving some weight to what ought to be done and what actually ought to be left.

Stephen Cottrell (in On Priesthood: Servants, Shepherds, Messengers, Sentinels and Stewards) explores this point. He writes: “Of course, as ordained ministers, we do things. Of course, there is an awful lot to do! But let us not delude ourselves. The things that you actually have to do to as a priest are not so many. Once you have led the services on Sunday, chaired the PCC, and buried the dead, there is not such a huge list of stuff that absolutely has to be done. What you could do is limitless and never ending. One of the hardest home truths for clergy to face is that when we are too busy and our diary too full, it is not because of all the things we had to do, but the things we chose to do. Indeed, the greatest and most practical wisdom that every priest must acquire in order for their ministry to be fruitful is the gift of discernment about what to do – what to pick up, and what to put down, and how to lead and build a church where ministry is the work of everyone. Many clergy never achieve this. They often end up washed out or burned up. It is a desperately sad sight. They will also complain: about the congregation, with whom they would share ministry if they weren’t such a dull bunch; about the diocese – all its red tape and bureaucracy are really to blame. But never themselves. This is essentially a spiritual issue. It is about seeking a life that is lived in community with God. The important question is this: Is the love of God and the love of the gospel the motivation behind all that I do? And is prayer and the nurturing of the spiritual life the wellspring of my ministry? The life of prayer, and nurturing the life of prayer, is the heart of ministry. It will express itself in many different ways.”

I do think the point about taking responsibility for our diaries is important. Having held a senior leadership role (as a URC Synod Moderator) for well over a decade now, I have often been asked about the pressure on ministers. I can advise and support, and often I have, but I can’t enforce colleagues to work (or take appropriate time) in particular ways. Ministry doesn’t work like that.

Cottrell sums up what is essential concisely and accurately when he quotes Derek Allen, one-time Principal of St Stephen’s House, and the person who led his ordination retreat. “Derek Allen concluded his final retreat address with the words: ‘Find enough time to sleep, find enough time to pray, and then do what you can.’”

That is wisdom indeed.

On Ministry

Stephen Cottrell’s On Priesthood: Servants, Shepherds, Messengers, Sentinels and Stewards is one of the most helpful and challenging books on ministry that I have read. I just wish it had been around a long time ago. I like these five categories of ministry which he places very much in the context of ministry belonging to the whole people of God. The priest, or minister, has a particular role – but all are called to discipleship. However, I like, too, his recognition of the big role that ministry should take, not because it makes ministers important, but because it gives them important responsibility. He states that he believes “that the incarnational and sacramental pattern of the Christian faith means that as Christ himself is the sacrament of God, God made visible and tangible to us in flesh and blood like ours, then it is Christ himself who ordains and sends out particular ministers, not just to lead and serve his Church (though, as we shall see, this is a primary part of ordained ministry), but also as evangelists and prophets to teach and preach, to hold the powerful to account, and to speak of God’s kingdom of justice and peace in a world of ever increasing confusion and hurt.”

We, who are ministers, have got a lot to do, and Cottrell recognises that. “So in the Church, the task of leadership is to serve the whole Church and build it up so that each person may discover the part they are called to play in witnessing to Christ and building the kingdom, and to be ready for the inevitable sacrifices that go with a life following Christ, and for the conflicts and persecutions that may come. Leadership in the Church is not an easy thing.”

The task is to take on the five roles, but do so in a way that enables and encourages the whole people of God to play their part in the life of the church. “The task of the priest is not to be the lead player, not the first violin or the concert pianist, but the conductor, harmonising and utilising the gifts and creativity of the whole.”

What does this mean? “So priests must love the people they serve. They are the ones for whom Christ died. They must teach the people they serve to play and love the music of the gospel. They must feed them with word and sacrament. They must make the words of the psalmist their own: ‘O sing to the Lord a new song; sing his praise in the assembly of the faithful’; ‘How good it is to make music to the Lord …’ (Psalms 149.1; 148.1).”

Lots to think about.  Lots to challenge.

God's Table

This is God's Table: Finding Church Beyond the Walls is Anna Woofenden's fascinating account of how she formed 'the garden church' in San Pedro, California. It is an interesting story of how a vacant lot was taken over and became both a garden and a church, making a meaningful impact in its community, gathering folk who, for the most part, would otherwise not have gone to church. She makes the point that, anew in every generation, we need to listen for what God might be saying to us: "The church has adapted from age to age to serve people in their local contexts. Monasteries, medieval beguines, prayer meetings, Catholic Worker communities—all were new ideas once. Innovative expressions of Christian community were, and are, part of a loyal response to God’s call to faithfulness."

We need to see past current models and look for what God is doing, recognising that church is not restricted to our traditional views of how it should be. "A building is not what makes a church. The heavenly city has no temple. Being there for fifty or five hundred years is not what makes a church. The Garden Church brought into focus the power and the essence of church, as people gathered together to love God and love neighbor, share in the sacraments, belong to one another, and serve together. Rooted in the rich gifts of the faithful who have come before, we found the body of Christ together in the garden. We came together around the table believing that we were being nourished in the same stream" of the water of life."

The church is always on the move, following God's exciting ways. "God is making church all over the place, beyond the walls, on the streets, in the soil, and around the table. Whenever we gather together, God is with us. Wherever we pitch our tents, she will pitch hers too." What might God be saying to us about being the church in our context?