I was reading an article by Bill Easum this morning, you can read it here. The part of the article that really resonated with me was the "staff must ask" section. Here are the questions...
Staff must ask, not "What must I do today?" but "Who will I mentor today?" not "What is my job?" but "Who will I discover?" not "How much can I do?" but "How many others can I equip?"
Those are great questions. It is so easy to get caught up in the doing of church that we miss out on the opportunity to partner with the entire Body of Christ to fulfill the call of God upon our church. What would happen if we really started asking ourselves these questions? What would happen if we insisted that both paid and unpaid staff asked these questions?
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
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2 comments:
Chris,
That is a great way to reformulate what full-time ministers are paid to do. Unfortunately there are many in the church who still believe that pastors are paid to "do" ministry, while the congregation is there to "receive" ministry.
Andrew Purves of Pittsburgh Seminary just came out with a new book called, "The Crucifixion of Ministry." This is what the press release about the books says:
"Purves says that the attempt to be an 'effective' minister is a major problem. Ministers are 'in the way.' He radically claims that ministries need to be crucified. They need to be killed off so that Christ can make them live. Rooting church service in Christ's own continuing ministry, Purves provides a vision for students and practicing clergy to reclaim the vital connection between Christ and participation in his ministry today, even if it means letting Christ put to death the ministries to which pastors cling so closely."
Can't wait to read it!
Jeff
Jeff,
Interesting quote from Purves. I do believe that pastors can get in the way, but we don't have to, we can show the way. I think that is the best way to help people succeed. If we can define the desired outcome and allow staff, both paid and volunteer, determine the path, we all win. The Kingdom is built, people get to live into their gifts and passion, and God gets credit for it all!
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