A Few Good Thoughts from Pastors

Most clergy hear in seminary that their job description is to ‘equip the saints for ministry’ (Ephesians 4). Unfortunately, very few remember much counsel or guidance on what that might mean. At a recent gathering of Faith At Work’s Mutual Ministry Project, clergy were asked what they thought ‘equipping the saints for ministry’ might mean. Their responses were honest and thoughtful. A sampling will comprise the ‘A Few Good…’ column this issue.

A Seductive Heresy

One thing I have come to realize is that “equipping the saints for work of ministry” is very different than “being a minister.” Many of the parishioners in the congregation I serve think of me as “their minister” or “the minister of the church.” That is perhaps the most seductive heresy I have had to confront during my years in the pastorate. As their minister, they expect that I will be diligent in prayer for them and use my “special connections” to intercede with God on their behalf, I will study the scriptures for them and present a brief synopsis every Sunday in the form of a sermon, I will demonstrate God’s care for them by visiting them in the hospital, at home and perhaps even at their workplace.

Throughout my years as a pastor I have received a great deal of praise and affirmation for doing those very things, but the truth is none of them are very helpful for “equipping the saints for the work of ministry.” On the contrary, the more I do them, the more I reinforce a consumer culture in the church in which members pay an annual subscription fee for religious services.        (UCC Pastor, New York)

Most of the pastors in the Mutual Ministry Project believe that encouragement and consciousness raising is an important part of their equipping role. It is essential to say— through sermons, teaching and personal interactions—that laypeople are gifted and called for ministry in their various settings.

This has significantly changed my understanding of the role of pastor. The role change may be towards “Spiritual Self-Image Coach”. It is encouraging and equipping people to understand themselves as, “A–List” Christians; fully competent for ministry of all the kinds they are called to. The message is, “You are fully equipped for ministry in your baptism and faith. You can do it. You can be the light of the world.”                                                                                                                                         (Lutheran Pastor, Minnesota)

Being an Encourager of Small Groups

More than encouragement and consciousness raising is required. All of the MMP pastors have come to the conclusion that small groups and other forms of intentional relational community hold the most promise as places for people to grow in faith, offer each other ‘pastoral care’, and ultimately to support each other’s call in daily life.

What I have come to realize about my role as a pastor is that the most important things I do to “equip the saints for ministry” involve supporting and strengthening our church’s small group ministry. Faith grows as people share their life stories with each other and connect them with the stories of our faith recorded in the scriptures.                        (UCC Pastor, New York)

On Workplace Visits

Most of the pastors regularly visited people in their workplace as a part of their equipping role. They felt that if they were to help parishioners see their daily life as ministry, they needed to have some sense of what it was laypeople did on a daily basis. This practice helped them understand the complexity of workplaces in this age; it also helped insure that their preaching was grounded in the real life experience of their people.

Personally, I feel it is by doing workplace visitations that I come to understand and appreciate more fully the complexities of being a Christian minister in the workaday world, where a faith-based context is not assumed or necessarily encouraged. It is by meeting with folks where they spend the majority of their time that I come to understand how best to minister to them; what programs or services are needed to facilitate the teaching and empowering process; and how to craft services of worship and messages that reflect the true joys and struggles of those who gather.                                                                                   (UCC Pastor, Massachusetts)

These quotes represent just a few good thoughts from pastors in the Mutual Ministry Project. There were many more. If you are a pastor who would like to hear more about this project, or want to join with other clergy in equipping the laity for ministry in the world, contact Doug Wysockey- Johnson at DougWyJo@aol.com.

 • How does your church support members as missionaries?

This column supports churches in helping people understand their work as ministry in daily life. If your church has an effective ritual or program to do this, please let us know. DougWyJo@aol.com.   

Doug Wysockey-Johnson is the Executive Director of Faith At Work. Doug co-leads FAW's Mutual Ministry Project with Dick Broholm. The MMP is a three year research effort to help the church support people for their ministry in daily life. It is called the Mutual Ministry Project out of the conviction that both pastors and laypeople are called to ministry, and that they need each other for support in the living out of our daily calls.