ministry

I recently conducted a workshop entitled “Technology in the Pulpit”.  It was designed to explore many of the ways that computers and its attending technology can be used not only in the pulpit but in other ways to facilitate evangelism and the work of the church.  This include exploring how to become a blogger.

For me, it was an interesting time because it allowed me to do what I am supposed to be doing, teaching, and in an area that I have explored since it became part of the educational and religious landscapes some twenty years ago.

More importantly, the two “graduates” of the workshop are now bloggers in their own right and a part of the Methodist Blogging community.  They are

1. The Odd Thought, and
2. Living Water

Please visit their sites and help welcome them to the neighborhood.

Beth Quick writes about the difficulties of finding time and energy to contemplate a vision for a church in the midst of a very busy pastoral life:

How do you make time for going beyond the day to day life of the church? Do you think it is necessary to have a 'bigger picture' plan in ministry? Maybe if what I was involved in doing day to day seemed more like really being in ministry, really responding to God's call on my life, and less, sometimes, like checking boxes of things to do that aren't essentially of critical importance, maybe then I would think living day to day was all we needed to do. After all, I'm pretty sure Jesus said something about not worrying about tomorrow so much.

John Meunier and Amy Forbus have challenging thoughts about the lavishness of United Methodist buildings, including this warning from John Wesley: Let all our Chapels be built plain and decent; but no more expensively than is absolutely unavoidable: Otherwise the necessity of raising Money will make Rich Men necessary to us. But if so, we must be dependent on them, yea, and be governed by them. And then farewell to Methodist Discipline, if not Doctrine too.

One of the legacies of the modernity was (and is) the rise of the science and art of taxonomy, which is the categorization of species and things into specific identifying groups. While this taxonomic impulse certainly offers benefits to understanding the world, the down side of the call to name and categorize is that it tries to place people into boxes based on labels, from conservative to liberal, evangelical to mainline. Given that racism is a relatively modern phenomenon, corresponding to the rise of the age of reason (the Enlightenment), I would argue that racism has been assisted along the way through the taxonomic impulse.

Part of the reality of postmodernity, post-evangelicalism, post-liberalism, post whatever-that-we-live-in-today is the questioning of taxonomies, recognizing that human beliefs, emotions, and even things like sexual identity don't always conform to clear cut categories. There are many shades of gray along the way, and taxonomy as a science doesn't deal well with objects that cut across categories.

Even though I generally rebel at labels and categories, I also use them. Some of this is demanded by a church hierarchy and polity that desires labels: members and non-members, baptized and professing, "full" and "preparatory." Some however is an attempt to identify in some capacity where one falls in their faith journey and their relationship with the community of faith. There is a difference in expectations and commitment between those who are willing to be called members and those who are first time visitors. While these differences may not be as great as often assumed (first time visitors may have a deep sense of belonging to the community even though they are new), the use of categories can be helpful in identifying how one is best in ministry with another.

I write all of this to ask a question for your input. For some time now our community has maintained a status of persons that we call "regular visitors." These are persons who have been present in worship for more than four times, and who we generally see as on the path toward a deeper commitment to the church. These persons may retain this status for just a short time, or for many years, and I am finding myself troubled with the faulty name that we have given them, for they in fact are no longer visitors but friends and co-worshippers.

Do you have any thoughts on a better name for this category of persons in the church? Some use the title of "constituent," but I feel like that is pretty formal and doesn't really say much. I am intrigued about calling them "friends" but does that suggest a deeper level of commitment than these persons are ready to assume? How does your community identify this category of persons?

JD would like advice about how to deal with a larcenous church member.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), senior Republican on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, is investigating the financial procedures of six leading televangelists: Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland, Paula White, Eddie Long, and Creflo Dollar. He sent a letter each of the ministers asking detailed questions about how donations are used to support their extravagant lifestyles. Grassley's investigation is welcomed by some pundits as an opportunity to crack down on financial abuse by these ministers, but questioned by others as a violation of First Amendment protections of religious organizations. What do you think? Should Grassley's investigation proceed? [cross-posted]

Todd Bergman challenges this notion, and some of its implications for Christian life: I don't want to confuse standards of holiness for qualifications for positions. Paul writes to Timothy about the qualifications for elders and deacons. But when we read those passages we read that the life they were to lead was to be exemplary and without room for disgrace. If I read my Bible rightly, this is no less and no more than what all followers of Christ are to be pursuing. Pastors are not called to a higher level of holiness just because we are ministers of the gospel. We, all believers of Jesus Christ, are called to "be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:49)." That does not say that preachers are to be perfect while everyone else can live mediocre lives. Every one of our lives is put next to the standard of God in heaven. Pastors are not professional Christians. Pastors are professional leaders, shepherds, teachers, and proclaimers. They are called to equip the saints to do the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:11-13). Pastors are not the example of Christ in our communities. We are all the embodiment of Christ in this world. We are all ambassadors of God in this foreign land, the earthly kingdoms. We are all the children of God, created in God's likeness, called to live righteous, holy, and true lives.

Allan Bevere has an excellent post about how important it is for pastors to engage in constant, thoughtful study in order to be effective pastors, and especially to be effective preachers: Not only is it critical to take sufficient sermon preparation time each week, the pastor needs to read and study on a daily basis. At any one time I am reading four different books-- one in theology, one in biblical studies, one in pastoral ministry, and a final book in a miscellaneous area (American history, politics, etc.). I also make sure that I read authors with whom I know I am going to have major disagreements. It is all too easy for us to read those writers who confirm our beliefs rather than challenge them. If the pastor is not engaging with the profound theology of the ages and the wisdom of others, he or she will not preach engaging sermons. Church folk with any depth of faith can spot a shallow preacher from a mile away. [snip] Finally, the life of study is not only important for good preaching, it is necessary for the teaching pastor as well. Every pastor is the resident theologian of her or his congregation. Pastors owe it to their congregations to assist them as they work through the great doctrines of our faith, and the issues of our time as they relate to what we believe. If the church folk know their pastor is devoting her or his life to study and reflection, they will seek out the pastor as they study and reflect. If they don't approach their pastor with such issues, it is because the pastor, by his or her practices, has demonstrated that the life of study is unimportant. Congregations deserve better. Pastors, what are your own reading habits? Leave a note in the comments.

Should a pastor know how much money specific members are giving to the church?