20/20 Vision
August 31, 2010
As a brief postscript to yesterday's posts on pastors, I received an email last night from Danny Hyde, the URC minister in Oceanside, CA, drawing my attention to Acts 20:20, where Paul describes his ministry among the Ephesians. It provides precisely the historical picture which his letters would seem to presuppose: a ministry built around both public proclamation and teaching house-to-house. Paul knew the people to whom he ministered. This was presumably his version of the multi-campus church.
Again, it begs the question for me as to how far the modern aspirational ideal of the ministry has shifted from the actual practice of Paul to something more akin to the criteria of success used by the world around us: numbers, money, celebrity. I do stress aspirational here, because the reality is that few students are ever going to minister in churches of more than 200 people, let alone 2 or 3 thousand plus; but if the movers and shakers of our day are all celebrity pastors of large churches, if everyone you ever hear at a conference is such a one, then it is at least worth asking ourselves whether we are in practical terms moving into the Corinthian territory of admiring the `super apostles,' losing sight of Pauline practice, and coming to equate faithfulness with success. Maybe we are not so doing; but let us at least ask the question. And if this is so, if we build a culture of expectation on that basis, is it any wonder that rates of ministerial depression, burn out and drop out are so high?
I return to where I started: it has meant a huge amount to me, to my wife and to my children over the years that the pastor has known us by name, visited us in our home, even turned up on occasion to see the boys play football (the proper version, with a round ball and extensive use of feet), and shown an interest in us beyond the confines of the Sunday service -- that, to put it as plainly as I can, like Paul he has taught us publicly and in our home and sometimes by simply showing he cared by standing on the occasional touchline in the rain to cheer the lads on. That is true New Testament ministry a la Paul. As believers, I think we should expect no less from those to whom, humanly speaking, we have entrusted our very souls.
I am not convinced that this kind of ministry can be modeled at all effectively in the relative anonymity of a church of thousands or even many hundreds, no matter how diligent the eldership might be. (Personally, I cannot imagine that a session or elder board of 30 plus can operate with any degree of day to day efficiency) Nor do I believe that the preaching in the largest churches is necessarily better -- or sometimes even as good -- as preaching in many of the unknown, smaller congregations. As a side comment (and maybe for discussion another day), I also think the potential for hiding from membership responsibilities is much greater in huge churches. In a church of 4000, who really notices if I don't give my money and my time as I should? The juggernaut will keep moving. And who notices if I skip church for a few weeks or longer?
Of course, if the Reformed megachurch is the only gospel preaching place in your area, you may have no choice but to attend there; but where possible, go to a church where the pastor and elders can really get to know you and you can roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty (sometimes literally). That is simply closer to the NT model.
Again, it begs the question for me as to how far the modern aspirational ideal of the ministry has shifted from the actual practice of Paul to something more akin to the criteria of success used by the world around us: numbers, money, celebrity. I do stress aspirational here, because the reality is that few students are ever going to minister in churches of more than 200 people, let alone 2 or 3 thousand plus; but if the movers and shakers of our day are all celebrity pastors of large churches, if everyone you ever hear at a conference is such a one, then it is at least worth asking ourselves whether we are in practical terms moving into the Corinthian territory of admiring the `super apostles,' losing sight of Pauline practice, and coming to equate faithfulness with success. Maybe we are not so doing; but let us at least ask the question. And if this is so, if we build a culture of expectation on that basis, is it any wonder that rates of ministerial depression, burn out and drop out are so high?
I return to where I started: it has meant a huge amount to me, to my wife and to my children over the years that the pastor has known us by name, visited us in our home, even turned up on occasion to see the boys play football (the proper version, with a round ball and extensive use of feet), and shown an interest in us beyond the confines of the Sunday service -- that, to put it as plainly as I can, like Paul he has taught us publicly and in our home and sometimes by simply showing he cared by standing on the occasional touchline in the rain to cheer the lads on. That is true New Testament ministry a la Paul. As believers, I think we should expect no less from those to whom, humanly speaking, we have entrusted our very souls.
I am not convinced that this kind of ministry can be modeled at all effectively in the relative anonymity of a church of thousands or even many hundreds, no matter how diligent the eldership might be. (Personally, I cannot imagine that a session or elder board of 30 plus can operate with any degree of day to day efficiency) Nor do I believe that the preaching in the largest churches is necessarily better -- or sometimes even as good -- as preaching in many of the unknown, smaller congregations. As a side comment (and maybe for discussion another day), I also think the potential for hiding from membership responsibilities is much greater in huge churches. In a church of 4000, who really notices if I don't give my money and my time as I should? The juggernaut will keep moving. And who notices if I skip church for a few weeks or longer?
Of course, if the Reformed megachurch is the only gospel preaching place in your area, you may have no choice but to attend there; but where possible, go to a church where the pastor and elders can really get to know you and you can roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty (sometimes literally). That is simply closer to the NT model.
