When we really start talking about virtual church, Church where all the gathered believers participate fully in the gathering, we step into both an undefined and a clearly frightening arena.
But, as frightening as the possibilities may seem, something must be done. In the final analysis, instead of a single-pastor system with program-driven worship, each person in the Body is supposed to bring something from the Lord that will cause another to mature in love and good deeds. Now honestly, can a 45-minute sermon do that? I think it can maybe do some of it, but I doubt that it is fully adequate concerning the complex needs of the average congregation these days.
And if this level of ministry is really happening, where the people of God are carrying their gifts, their insights, their words, and sharing them in the church meeting, it is probably more by accident than planning. This probably happens only on the day when the pastor falls suddenly ill, and/or the guest speaker has car trouble and misses the meeting.
I know what you are thinking; “if everybody in our meetings started participating by sharing or exhorting, the meetings would become so horrendously long, they’d last all day!”
And after all, this is America where a typical family attending church is in a hurry to get to church, in a hurry to start the service, in a hurry to get through each segment, and in a hurry to get to lunch.
You know, I think it is far more than just about the length of the meeting. No one is saying that long meetings are better, unless, the length of the meeting helps create the synergism for full mutual edification for everyone. As to the length of the meeting, for me it is like whether we are playing one-on-one basketball, or whether we are playing with a full team of five on each side, and whether the game has gone from half-court to full-court press. This seems pretty obvious, more players, longer game.
In the average church gathering the players are the worship leader or worship team and the speaker. Maybe some small parts have been set aside to be played out by someone giving the announcements or a special musical number. But when you add several more players to the roster, with people bringing songs, words, prophecies, drama, art, testimony, and a myriad of responses, the meeting will become longer. More players, longer game. But is that all bad?
It is always about more than the length of the meeting for me. As a leader, I want to take a long, hard look at what I am doing to “equip the saints for the work of service.” If people look only to me for ministry, or even just a select “anointed” few, then there could be something wrong with this picture. “We can describe the pastor as performing a solo act on the theater while the church members are the audience, never fellow actors. Lay people warm a pew and place money in the offering plate to create the context for pastors to perform their ministry.” Greg Ogen
What does it mean for me to create an environment where I draw others out, close my mouth, and relinquish my moment by moment control over every facet of the meeting? What does it mean for me to use my platform as a ‘boot camp’ for others to participate and learn? When you first begin to let go of your ministry hold over people, I know you go though a lot of changes and insecurities. At the same time, this will be the first step of many for others to begin to blossom and find edifying fulfillment in their own risk-taking and ministry participation.
It starts by simply committing yourself to release the Body to talk, to sing, to prophesy, to share in the meetings. If not in the main meetings, find some meetings where this can happen on a regular basis. If you don’t have any such gatherings, create one.
Granted, the size of the meeting has bearing on how many can effectively and fruitfully share. So, if necessary, create some new meeting simply for the purpose of releasing the body to be the body. Begin to see yourself as a leader who leads through others as well as one who brings his/her gift to the mix.
God has called me to lead, to equip, to give oversight, and sometimes this is best done by getting out of the way, and actually seeing whether or not my equipping ministry is doing just that, equipping!
“We can describe the pastor as performing a solo act on the theater while the church members are the audience, never fellow actors. Lay people warm a pew and place money in the offering plate to create the context for pastors to perform their ministry.” Greg Ogen
If you are not a leader, then not only encourage the leaders with whom you are related to to open up meetings with more and more “stimulating participation,” but you also need to take the responsibility and get ready to participate. Come to those meetings with ample preparation of your heart. Seek the Lord prior to meetings in such a way that you will feel motivated to come with gifts to freely give away to others in the meeting.
Remember, you are a priest! The Bible says so! Priests are qualified to min ister to the Lord and to other believer-priests. So, get on with your priestly duties! When we see that the ministry of the church is not centered on just one person or ministry, not on a clergy/laity distinction, but on a team, we also see that it is the “spectator sport” of Twenty-First Century Christianity that has produced some of our greatest problems.
One of the primary reasons for people becoming disgruntled, or even worse, bored, is because they are not experiencing personal, ongoing fulfillment in their own mission and call.
Every Christian has been given a calling, a ministry. They were known before the creation of the world, and called with a purpose. The frustration of not being equipped or given permission to fulfill what we are created for, is causing many of the conflicts, battles, and splits that happen these days.
A recent survey suggested that when asked how many Christians even know their calling, the number was 5%, and when asked how many function in that calling, the number dropped even more. But, I believe that freedom is coming. There is a new breed of leader rising up who will fulfill the mandate of true New Testament ministry to equip people, and allow them to do the ministry. This will come in many forms, but it will come. It has to.
A New Testament church leader is only successful if he/she is raising up others who can do what they do. Tom Peters once said, “Leaders don’t make followers, leaders make other leaders.”
A true leader is only successful to the degree that he/she is reproducing himself/herself. For those who wonder about how this will grow their church, don’t worry, you’ll have church growth! But it will not be just growing fat, but growing strong.
Imagine church as not just another meeting held at a meeting place, but a ‘fully-equipped’ and ‘highly activated’ group of believers living in virtual reality, not historic Bible time-warp. Imagine church life returning to the concept of ‘share and tell,’ rather than ‘come and get!’ Imagine a new breed of leaders actually becoming more excited about the daily and weekly Holy Spirit encounters of the people in the Body, than the numeric success of the weekend gatherings.
One of my ministry mottos has been, “the meeting place is the mentoring place for the market place.” “Every Paul who does not have a ‘Timothy’ is wasting a good part of their ministry, and failing to make what could be their greatest lasting contribution to the church.” Rick Joyner.
Over the years I have actually seen a direct correlation between how a person is allowed to participate in a public meeting and that individuals zeal and confidence in ministry outside the church setting. If we can make room for people to share, to give a word of knowledge, a word of exhortation, comfort, even preach and teach in a public meetings, we are directly helping them find their mission and their bearings for ministry outside the church. If they can learn in an atmosphere of affirmation and safety in the church, they can grow to minister in the hostile environment outside.
As the Body is given permission to be the ‘ministering missional church,’ and not just the applauding fans of the Star Minister, even the selection process for leadership will shift. Every time we gather we get another opportunity to see ‘future leaders’ in action.
“Every Paul who does not have a ‘Timothy’ is wasting a good part of their ministry, and failing to make what could be their greatest lasting contribution to the church.” Rick Joyner
Dr. C. Peter Wagner has said that conferences have displaced seminaries as the primary place of equipping for the future leaders of the church. But that is not enough. We must recapture the biblical pattern of leader-disciple, mentor-student, coach-player. Life does more to prepare us for ministry than isolated institutions or even the best conferences. While many still cringe at the word “discipleship” because of some excesses in the past, this word must be recaptured.
Some reading this newsletter might think I am advocating that we pastors suddenly resign our churches and ministries, and go sell cars or insurance for a living.
Not at all! I believe present leaders have their best days in front of them, their finest hour.
Graham Cooke refers to “wise master builders” as those who build, and don’t merely bless. He states that too many leaders prefer merely to “bless” the work of ministry around them, rather than invest their lives in building solid foundations. He goes on to talk about how we have settled for “power” and don’t pursue “presence.”
I personally want to leave behind the legacy of an army of alive, activated, well-equipped disciples, who have both heart and confidence in ministry, rather than just leaving behind a stack of old teaching tapes that remind people of what a hard-working pastor I was. What about you?