“Behold, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs forth – do you not

“Behold, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up– do you not

perceive it?” Isaiah 43:19

Sue Singer, copyright June 2009


Baptismal Theology – A New Vision for Ministry

• “Ministry of all the baptized”• “Lifelong Christian formation”• “Being the church in the world”• “Moving from maintenance to mission”• 30 years of gradual emergence


“Building the Path” Visions of Church…

Inclusivity Mission precedes self-definition Expansiveness Collaboration Not set apartSpreading God’s love – not gathering pledge unitsTelling the Story Listening for the StoryBroadening and redefining community Spirit-filled enthusiasmEncountering the Living GodLooking and listening to the un-churchedRadical exemplar of our baptismal vowsMoving beyond parish identityFlexibility Relevant in today’s world


Socio-Cultural and Contextual Shifts

• Religious and cultural pluralism• Post-industrial society• Late capitalist consumerism• Multiple “identities”• Everything is a choice – including religious

identity• Post-Christendom



The “Total Ministry” Model(aka “Local Ministry,” “Ministry of all

the Baptized”)Arose in rural areas with small congregations, stable populations, and little access to seminary-trained clergy.



Theological Foundations

• Sacramental worldview• Baptismal Covenant shapes ministry• The Church is a community formed and

empowered by Baptism• Ministries arise out of the gifts of the Spirit• Gifts are abundant, not scarce


Necessary Shifts in Understanding

• From church as religious consumer group to church as a community of shared ministry

• From ministry as “professional” to ministry as part of every person’s Christian profession

• From ministry as the work of the few to ministry as the work of the many

• From scarcity to abundance


Resulting Canonical Changes• Enabled small, isolated, poor congregations to

raise up local ministers• Enabled discernment, formation, and training to

take place locally• Broadened understanding of ministry from solo

leadership to collaborative, multi-gifted team• Shifted understandings of ministry within the

whole church• Provided living examples of different ways of

approaching discernment, call, formation, and ministry


Total Ministry Formation “process”

• Community education, discernment of mission in context, commitment to a new approach

• Discernment of gifts• Calling a ministry team• Shared formation in community• Commissioning/ordination of team members• Ongoing discernment and formation


The “Area Ministry” Model

• Diverse teams from churches and institutions• Discernment of neighborhood needs• Seeking innovative contemporary solutions• Collaboration leverages resources• Spiritual growth and fresh expressions of

mission and ministry• Missional, outward-directed strategy for

transformative and creative ministry Sue Singer, copyright June 2009

Skill-sets for Area Ministries – for Congregations

• Reading context, “discernment of place”• Grass-roots discernment of mission and

ministry, “from the ground up”• Collaboration and community organizing• Diverse team-building• Intentional formation, Rule of Life in

community


Skill-sets for Area Ministries –for the Diocese

• Strategic planning and resourcing• Discerning what needs to be done at what level• Building the congregational skill-set: classes,

curricula, learning communities, area gatherings• Communication and coordination• Articulating the new theology and vision• Restructuring institutional resource-flows



Missional Discipleship

Prophetic Discipleship

Sacramental Discipleship

Sacramental Theology

Discernment

Formation

Prophetic Preaching

Action/Reflection

Small Groups

Ministry Teams

Training

Commissioning


Ecumenical and Interfaith Collaboration

Schools, Chaplaincies, Community Groups, Agencies

Government

Ministry in Daily Life Fresh Expressions of Church

Evangelism and Witness Diverse Ministry Teams

Direct

Involvement &

Community

Organizing

Shared Advocacy for Justice

Pan-institutional Initiatives

ECS


Challenges Amidst Opportunities• Our unease at ambiguity, collaboration, new

views of “success”• The difficulty of holding onto the vision• Institutional “undertow” and organizational

structures that don’t quite “fit” yet• The messiness of allowing specific, local

expressions to emerge• Our resistance to the new, and grief for the old• Our complex shared history with power, choice,

collaboration, competition, in this diocese




An Easter Vision

Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When

he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20)


A Pentecost Vision

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly

from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue

rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1)


Documents

“Behold, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs forth – do you not