It shouldn't happen to a church minister.

I hate to complain. No, I do it doesn't suit me. I have so many really brilliant people around me and the privilege of serving in a work that I love. I have worked hard to be in the place in life that I am. I work hard at the career path to which I feel called and so subsequently have chosen. However, I have recently read a couple of pieces that do down me and my fellow professional church leaders. The first is "The Complex Christ" which I have already said quiet a lot about in my blog and others. The simple fact is that Kester Brewin sees paid professional church leaders as people who are prone to power trips and control freakery. I do sympathise with something of his experience but, in a general view from my experience, nothing could be further than the truth. Most people who do this job do so because of a deep seated desire to serve God and to see Jesus become the center of the lives of people in their church and community. Second, a scurilous article published on the front page of the recent in house publicaton for the Congregational Federation criticised "clergy" for not telling their congregations how to convert their neighbours. "They" the author states, "have let us down!" Such criticism makes me sad. It does so because it takes the attitude that a) clergy know better how to bring people to Jesus and b) that there is an easy answer for non-clergy. In all my training as a church minister in theology, pastoral care and evangelism/church growth I have never seen an answer that is not readily available through Bible study. I have preached on the building of relationship and the need to engage with people who are not Christian and may not be "our kind of people!" I have, however, never seen an easy route that takes no application to the task from the people who are Christ's ambassadors. This is, of course, the whole of His people. The equipping comes through a mutual engagement in the task. To set the leader in a synthetic superior position is not my congregational way. A minister is not a jack of all trades or a the sole paid messenger of good news. The worst thing that can happen to a church minister is to be isolated as someone different from the whole corporate task of being the body of Christ in the world. As Christian churches we may well be on the path to eventually losing the capacity to have paid professional leaders. This might be a good thing for the motivation of congregations to draw together rather than rely on any individual action. However, leaders will always be in the position of influence and responsibility for an organisation to be effective. Replacing paid professionals with capable voluntary leaders may limit our horizons but may also allow for congregations to say, "I can do that!" This is no mean thing and could be the thing that ministers have been saying to their congregations but has not been seen as equipping for works of service. My message is the Bible says it and with Jesus at the center of our church you can do it.