Smouldering
Wick -
Shining light ?
Bob Pitcher.
In the last few weeks every incumbent
in Wales has been sent a video called ' Smouldering Wick-Shining Light'.
Many of you will have seen it.
It comes from the new Council for Mission and Ministry and it has been
provoked by the huge crisis the Church in Wales faces.
It basically says that our denomination unchanged has about fifteen to
twenty years before its structures completely 'melt down'
and we cease to exist as a denomination. So it encourages us to think
radically about Patterns of Ministry, modes of mission and 'ways of being the
Church’ because, as Bishop Barry said recently, ' The Status Quo is not an
option.'
This
is really a very exciting and amazing opportunity. Our Province, in the shape of the Council for Ministry
and Mission, is actually asking us to feed them with radical ideas .
PATTERNS OF MINISTRY
In terms of ministry it seems that we really can't be more
radical than the New Testament. In Ephesians, Paul lays out the fivefold
ministries of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers.
It was he who gave some to be apostles,
some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and
teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of
Christ may be built up. (Ephesians
4:11-12 N.I.V.)
Sadly, in the Church in Wales, ministry
has been largely
pastoral. In England, as
well, selection boards have been
discouraged from selecting candidates to the ministry who are, for instance,
evangelistic. Often our
Bishops are seen just as sorts of 'over-shepherds'.
As a result the Evangelistic and Prophetic thrust of the Church is
stifled; if not killed off. We lack direction and a cutting edge. Also the teaching of the church has been diluted, if
not poisoned, by a diet of liberal theology in our training institutions. So our
teachers (clergy and readers) have often failed to give nourishing food, or even
worse, have given faith destroying teaching, to those under their care. Those
engaged in renewal, however, are expecting the Spirit of God to bring
restoration and life and we should expect not only the restoration of Spiritual
Gifts to the Church but also Spiritual Ministries. It is after all, by the Spirit of God that men and
women are called and equipped to serve the church.
But how will these ministries emerge?
Too often we have seen spiritual ministry as the reserve of those in the
ordained ministry and of readers. It
is of vital importance that we find ways of letting other ministry emerge and
function. It is after all the
function of the fivefold ministry to equip God's People for the work of
ministry, not to do the work for them.
Clericalism has been a tourniquet to the life blood of ministry within
the church. There have of
course been many wonderful men of God over the years who have served and
pastored their flocks selflessly to the Glory of God but the tragic
misunderstanding of 'one parish one man', has made a huge contribution to the
present paralysis of the church.
Naturally we can't just release any old
person who comes along claiming to be an evangelist, teacher or more
particularly a prophet and ways must be found of identifying, and giving
authenticity to emerging gifting. We
must find ways then of nurturing, training and commissioning such men and women.
I imagine the video will produce a multitude of 'Good Ideas'.
It seems important to me, however, in the light of the scriptures,
that we pray for and promote what God has already shown us in these
matters.
MISSION
Uganda doesn't export apples, because
it doesn't grow them. It does
export coffee, because it does grow coffee beans . In exactly the same way we
can't export the life of Christ if we don't grow the life of Christ. People are understandably not interested in our
religion. If they were people
would be going to church. People
are, however, interested in Jesus. His
Love, Forgiveness, and fullness of life naturally attract them. All the mission
initiatives in the world will come to nothing if Christ is not to be found in
his people. It is simply not
good enough for us to proclaim the good news, we have to be the good news as
well. This is another good
reason for taking good notice of the fivefold ministries for it is they
who,..................................
prepare God's people for works of
service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in
the faith and in the knowledge of
the Son of God and become mature,
attaining to the whole measure of
the fullness of Christ.
(Ephesians 4: 12&13 N.I.V.)
God is not just after lively churches,
relevant churches, doctrinally pure churches or socially active or even
charismatic churches. Although
all of these things are good they all miss the mark.
No, His aim is that His Son should be seen in us.
That we might truly be incarnational
and be The Body of Christ.
Paul speaks here of us attaining the whole measure of the fullness of
Christ. How can this be?
Well, through the work of the Spirit. The Fruit of the Spirit is the
character of Jesus, isn't it? The
gifts of the Spirit are the power of Jesus and the ministries of the Spirit are
the authority of Jesus. It is
as we, God's people, allow the Spirit of God to abide in us and have His way in
us that Jesus emerges in us in character, power and authority, as the corporate
expression of who we are. It
is as we become more and more like Him through that work of the Spirit in us,
guided and facilitated through the fivefold ministries, that we will become more
and more attractive to those who are seeking life and we will actually be his
hands and feet in every area of life where we make contact.
This is true mission and true renewal.
We live at a moment of great
possibility. A door of
opportunity has opened up for us. It
reminds me of the time when the Babylonian captives were encouraged under Cyrus
to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple.
Many did not want to return, but for those pioneers who took up the
challenge to repossess their possessions in God, despite the hardships, they saw
the 'Glory of the latter house which was even greater than the Glory of the
former'. May we see
that in our day too.