Link-O-Rama

Here's what I've found interesting on the blogroll lately:

Rebecca discusses being revolutionary Christians vs. being resolutionary Christians.

The DOC lectionary blog welcomes some new contributors.

Danny has an eye-opening T-shirt. I think I'm going to try and get one myself.

Tim participated in an interesting NPR interview about being "spiritual but not religious."

8 Years

Today my wife and I are celebrating 8 years of marriage. I am humbled and thankful that someone so beautiful and caring would find a lasting place for me in her life.

The Grotto of the Redemption

On Monday and Tuesday I was at a clergy retreat in West Bend, Iowa. While there we focused on spiritual practices for personal and congregational transformation. We also had the great opportunity to visit the Grotto of the Redemption. Pics below.

A truly sad day

Today I learned that my favorite purveyor of gourmet coffees and loose leaf teas will be closing at the end of the month. No longer can I torment my barista, Levi, with jokes about being a vegan. No longer can I stop for a coffee or tea and read a book while enjoying the sounds of Modest Mouse.

Farewell, Shaky Tree. We barely knew ye.

Ordination For the People!

I've been cogitating some recent posts on ordination by Tony Jones and a few other people. Tony is basically arguing that the ordination process creates sort of a ministry caste system, or at least a set of ministerial elitists which is unhealthy for the church. Matt Cleaver has been arguing for a while that the seminary system is in need of a major overhaul because of its tendency to be out-of-touch with the realities of parish ministry.

This summer my own denomination, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)--yes we have parentheses because they're cool--will be considering the matter of ordination, and I'm really excited about what's happening.

Our current system, which has been in place for ages, is that there are basically two levels in the "Order of Ministry." There are Ordained ministers and there are Licensed ministers (you may know them by the term "Lay Ministers." In this system a Master of Divinity from a seminary is a non-stated but de facto requirement for ordination. All those who are unable, for whatever reason, to seek a seminary education are allowed the option of licensure. Licensed ministers have most of the same priviledges as ordained ministers but have limitations. In most of our regions (you may know them by the terms "presbytery" or "conference") there is a bit of an educational process that people must go through to obtain licensure. Additionally, those in seminary but not yet ordained are usually granted licensure.

Under the proposed resolution we'll be changing this structure of the Order of Ministry. There will be two paths to ordination, a seminary track and a lay track. There will also be licensure or "lay" minister status as well.

Some pastors aren't so happy with the proposal, feeling that the granting of ordination for those who haven't finished seminary will in some way cheapen their ordination. I'm sure some are wondering why they went to seminary if there were going to be another option given. And I must admit I had a few of these feelings, too, but only at first.

Our denomination, like many others, is facing a ministerial shortage which will only increase in coming years if major changes aren't made. Additionally, I've witnessed several licensed ministers in my time who were every bit as good a pastor as, and often times even better than, some pastors I know who went through the seminary process. There are many who receive the call and answer in later life, there are those who have no ability to pay for seminary, and there are those for whom seminary may just not be right. I think we should find a way to give recognition of their call-of-God, too. And I also support the resolution because it creates an avenue where congregations seeking pastors will know if the person achieved ordination through the seminary track or through the lay track.

In addition to pragmatics, this is also a highly theological issue. The major objection raised by pastors regarding the "cheapening" of their ordinations/seminary educations is exactly the kind of elitism Tony wrote about. And whatever happened to the "priesthood of all believers?" Whom we choose to ordain and the requirements we place upon them speaks a lot about what we believe regarding whom can recieve and answer the call of God. Do we believe that God only ministers in and through those who've achieved academically? Or do we believe there might be another way? This resolution still requires study and training. Each region will be given the responsibility of developing an educational system to train up and teach these non-seminary-going pastors. That may be a little frightening to some, and it will likely lead to a bit of inconsistency in training competency (since no doubt some regions will take this more seriously than others), but implementation of such a process says we believe God can call people to pastoral ministry even if they aren't able to complete the process desired by the academy. It also says we believe the local church and the church catholic has a responsibility to train up ministers from within ourselves.

This July I think, I hope, change in the Order of Ministry will sweep through our denomination, and with it the Holy Spirit might finally have a chance to breathe new life into us.

Shared pastoral leadership

Right now I'm in the middle of my first year doctoral residency at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. During this residency I've had to be several hours away from my family...and also from my congregation. And in this format there's no real chance to go back for "pastoral emergencies." This means other people have had to cover for me in my absence.

Last week an elder from the congregation did the preaching, and this week another elder will be preaching. Yesterday we experienced a death in our congregation. The elders took the primary responsibility for providing bereavement care in that situation, though another local pastor is officiating the service.

I must confess, I do feel a bit guilty about being away during this time, especially for my friends who are suffering such a great loss. But I'm also finding this to be a tremendous time of growth, not just for me personally, but I think (I hope) for the leaders of our congregation. The elders are beginning to fulfill the biblical role and calling of the elders and becoming much more than communion presiders.

I'm reminded of the pastoral model of the Apostle Paul, who spent his time gathering a fellowship of believers and training them up to be the Church, then leaving them in the hands of qualified leaders who came from among their own ranks. Paul's whole process of developing churches was to build them up in such a way that one day they'd be able to function without him. This may be a frightening concept to many pastors and to many congregations, but what do you think would happen if we began to adopt that model of ministry?

I think there would be a lot less burnout among pastors. This is just theoretical and not based on any concrete study on my part. But I do notice the extent to which many churches' ministries are centered around the pastor and rely most solely upon her/him for leadership, pastoral care, and just about every thing else imaginable. If there was this underlying understanding that the responsibility and the opportunity for ministry really belongs to the people, then I think the people would hold more of a stake in things and actively take more leadership roles and responsibilities. The load of pastoral care, teaching, and shepherding the congregation would at the very least be shared more evenly between the leaders and the pastor than it usually is. This sharing of the load would free the pastor up to do what pastors are meant and called to do: Be with God and be with people.

I think there would also be a dramatic resurgence (maybe this is just hopeful thinking) of passionate spirituality amongst congregants. Such a model would, I believe, force churchgoers to critically rethink their understanding of church and to come to the great realization that we all have been called to participate in the ongoing ministry of Jesus in the world, not just those professionals or those ordained into ministry.

What do you think might happen?

Commandment Breaking

One of the key components of my doctoral curriculum this year is Sabbath. We've been studying the ancient Jewish and Christian traditions of Sabbath as well as studying scriptural dynamics of Sabbath. I've become acutely aware of just how badly I am guilty of breaking the 4th commandment...and of how most christians today ignore regular Sabbath keeping altogether.

Now, I'm not talking about taking a day off work. I'm talking about completely ceasing for the Sabbath. Sabbath is about removing work from your schedule as well as from your heart and mind. It involves ceasing from all the things that dehumanize us...not just work, but the marketplace, technology, and even the thoughts that burden us and keep us awake at night. And Sabbath is not intended in a legalistic manner, but more simply to remind us that we're not merely machines.

Sabbath is a celebration of the freedom we experience as people of God. It's a celebration of creation. For God didn't cease creating on the seventh day. No, God created on the seventh day. He created Sabbath on the seventh day. Abraham Joshua Heschel says that "the Sabbath is not for the sake of the weekdays; the weekdays are for the sake of the Sabbath" (The Sabbath, 1951). And as such the weekdays prepare us for the glorious celebration of a God who created us with freedom and with a chance to experience peace.

But how many of us observe this kind of Sabbath? I personally don't know anyone who does so regularly. How might our lives be different if we treated the 4th commandment with the same attention we give to the others? How might our world be changed if keeping Sabbath were as important as not murdering?

One of the activities we did today was to get in groups and debate different points of view regarding the necessity of Sabbath keeping in today's culture using scripture and the traditions as our guides. My group was assigned the devil's advocate position of arguing that Sabbath keeping is altogether unnecessary in today's culture. I must say it was fun. But without prooftexting scripture and subscribing to Dispensationalist theologies it was impossible. So we had some fun with it. But it got me to thinking...all the arguments we used were just horribly impossible stretches. But at the same time, they're all the same rationalizations we allow ourselves to use in our heads when we try and justify our workaholism. Interesting.

Tomorrow we'll depart for the Holy Wisdom Monastery for 24 hours of Sabbath. I can't wait to celebrate the peaceful rest that will surely come in the restful celebration of God's creation.