Spring 1982 Quarterly Review - Theological Resources for Ministry

8/9/2019 Spring 1982 Quarterly Review - Theological Resources for Ministry

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V O L . 2, No. 1 SPR ING 198 2A Scholarly J o u r n a l for Refle ction on Mi nis try

Q U A R T E R L Y R E V I E W

Special Issue: Profession al Minist ryMinistr y as Vocat ion an d Profession

/antes C. LoganProfessing the Call to Serve

David Loioes WatsonToward a Revised Diacon ate

Jeffrey P. MickleDoubt and FaithWilfred M. Bailey

Plus homiletical studies by Virgil P. Howard


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Q U A R T E R L Y R E V I E WA Scholarly J o u r n a l for Reflection on Ministry

A publication of The United Methodis t Publishing Hous eJohn E. P r o c t e r , President and Publisher

an d the United Methodist B o a r d of Higher Education and MinistryF . Thomas T r o t t e r , General Secretary

Editorial Director, Ronald P. PattersonE d i t o r , Charles E. ColeBook Review E d i t o r , C a r e y J. GilfordEditorial BoardF . Thomas T r o t t e r , ChairF r e d B. Craddock

Candler School of TheologyKeith R. Crim

Virginia Commonwealth UniversityLeander KeckY a l e Divinity SchoolSallie McFague

Vanderbilt Divinity School

Uoyd R. BaileyDuke Divinity School

Cornish RogersSchool of Theology at Claremont

Roy I. SanoPacific School of Religion

John L. TopolewskiChrist United Methodist ChurchMountaintop, Pennsylvania

Quarterly Review (ISSN 0 2 7 0 - 9 2 8 7 ) provides continuing education resources forprofessional ministers in The United Methodist Church and other churches. A scholarlyjournal for reflection on ministry. Quarterly Review seeks to encourage discussion anddebate on matters critical to the practice of ministry.

Falling within the purview 01 the journal are articles and reviews o n biblical,theological, ethical, and ecclesiastical questions; homiletics, pastoral counseling, churcheducation, sacred music, worship, evangelism, mission, and church management;ecumenical issues; cultural and social issues where their salience to the practice ofministry can be demonstrated; and the general ministry of Christians, as part of thechurch's understanding of its nature and miss ion.

Articles for consideration are welcome from lay and professional ministers. UnitedMethodists, and others, and should be mailed to the E d i t o r , Quarterly Review, Box 8 7 1 ,Nashville, Tennessee 3 7 2 0 2 . Manuscr ipts should be approximate ly twelve to twenty-fivepages in length and should be in English and typed double-spaced, and the original andone duplicate should be submitted. N o sermon s, poems, or devotional material areaccepted. Queries are wel come. A style sheet is available on request. Payment is by fee,depending on edited length.

Quarterly Revi ew is published four times a year, in M a r c h , J u n e , September, andDecember, by the United Methodist B o a r d of Higher Education and Ministry and TheUnited Methodist Publishing Ho use . Editorial offices are at Box 871, Nashville, TN3 7 2 0 2 . Circulation and business offices ar e at 201 Eighth Ave nue South , Nashville, TN3 7 2 0 2 . Second-class postage paid at Nashville, Tennessee. Quarterly Review is availablea t the following r a te s : $10 a year for members of United Methodist annual conferencessubscribing through the all-conference plan; $ 1 5 a year for members of United Methodistannual conferences subscribing through the conference leadership plan; institutions andlibraries, $15 a year; and individual subscriptions, $20 a year. Subscriptions may beobtained by sending a money o rder or check to Quarterly Review, Business Manager,2 0 1 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 3 7 2 0 2 .

Postmaster: Addres s changes should be sent to United Methodist Publishing House ,2 0 1 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 3 7 2 0 2 .Subscribers wishing to notify publisher of their chan ge of address should notify thes e c r e t a r y of their conference board of ordained ministry, if the subscription has come

through a conference plan; or to Business Manager, Quarterly Review, 201 EighthAvenue South, Nashville, TN 3 7 2 0 2 .

An index is printed in the winter volume of each year (number 5 for 1 981 only; number4 t h e re af t e r ) .

Quarterly Review: A Scholarly Journal for Reflection on MinistrySpring, 1982Copyright 1982 by The United Me thodist Publishing Houseand the United Methodis t Board of Higher Education and Ministry


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VOL. 2, NO. 1 SPRING 1982

Q U A R T E R L Y R E V I E W

Special Issue: The Professional MinistryCONTENTS

Editorial 3Ministry as Voca tion and Profession

James C, Logan 5Professing the Call to Serve : Voca tion, Com pe te nce ,and Identi ty in the Ministerial Office

David Lowes Watson 27Tow ard a Revis ed Diacon ate

Jeffrey P. Mickle 43Homiletical Studies: Exeges is and Exposit ion ofGosp el Lectio ns for Easterti de

Virgil P. Howard 62The Role of Doubt in the L i f e of Faith

Wilfred M. Bailey 101


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E D I T O R I A L

W e have now completed the first full year in the l ife of the ne wQuarterly Review, a Scholarly Journal for Reflection on Ministry, It isa good time for the publisher to ask, "Are we accomplishing ourpu rp os es ?" Fro m a publ ish er's po int of vie w, I thi nk the ans weris yes .

T he nu mb er s look goo d. Whi le that is not the mo st impo rtan tquest ion, it mus t be admi tt ed t hat no matt er ho w excellent theedito rial product , if no on e reads Q R it is a failure. W e arepleased to report that Quarterly Review achieved its two-yearcirculation goal befo re the first edit ion was off the pre ss.Circulation is double that of its predecessor, Religion in Life, andwe are operating in the black.

S i n c e Quarterly Review is a joint effort of the Board of HigherEducati on and Ministry and The United Methodi st Publishi ngHo us e, it appe ars a pprop riat e to revi ew som e of th e goals setforth in the first issue by Hig her Edu cat ion G ene ral Secret ary F.Thomas Trotter.

Trotter wrot e, " Q R int ends t o be a cen tra l ele men t in theconti nuing educat ion of the ministry of the churc h. " Altho ughone cannot say with assurance that we have achieved that goal, Ithi nk we are mov in g in the right directi on. More and mor eann ual co nfer ence board s of mini stry are mak in g QuarterlyReview available to all mini sters in training an d mini ster s onappointment.

Trotter also wro te , "I t is our ho pe tha t Q R will provide a wi dercom mun it y of discourse on issues such as ministry, ecu meni sm,interfaith dialogue, evangelism, and ministerial disciplines."

One has only to review the contents of the first four issues ofQ R to be assured that Editor Charles E. Cole and his colleagues

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on the editorial board are accomplishing that goal. Scholarlyarticles hav e range d wide ly across ma ny s ubjects essenti al tocontinuing education for the ministry, including the issuesaddr esse d in this special issue on professi onal ministr y.

Trotter stated, "Reordering the l ife of the ministry of thechu rch is a goal of Q R . " Th os e in ministry will be the best judg eso f our succ ess in rea chin g that goal. Are we provid ing en ou ghfood in the pag es of Q R to en ha nc e the quality of you r ministrythrough reso urce s on prea chin g, pastoral care, administr ation,and the sacramental l i fe? We hope so.

The first four se as on s of our n ew Quarter ly Review have beengratifying to me for at least two reasons:

1. In an ag e of ele ctr oni c co mm un ic at io n, it is gratifying for apubli sher o f the printed word to see a new periodical succeed.2 . Mor e impor tant, the succ ess of a quality jour nal, desi gnedfor serious scholars, is a positive reflection on the intellect andprofe ssion alism of our United Met hod ist clergy.

J O H N E . P R O C T E R


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MINISTRY AS VOCATION AND PROFESSION

J A M E S C. LO GA N

More than sixty year s ago the Briti sh the olo gia n Peter TaylorForsyth remarked, " Th e ecclesiastical ques ti on of the hou r is notthat o f the laity (as at the Refo rmat ion) but that of the mi ni st ry ."1These words ring with a familiar sound. During the past twodec ade s a spate of bo ok s and articles has chro nicl ed theproblemat ic positio n of the ordained ministry in the mod ernworld. "Ministry in crisis" has become a common catch-phrase."Crisis" is prob abl y exag gera ted rheto ric, how ev er. In the midsto f the curre nts of cha ng e surgi ng throu gh so ciety an d chur chalike, countle ss clergy have, ne verth eless , faithfully proclaim edthe Word, celebrated the sacraments, cared for the hurts ofpeople, fulfilled their institutional responsibilities, and involvedth ems el ves prop heti call y in societal iss ues. At the sam e timethe y have wit nes sed confu sion of ident ity wit hin their ran ks andhav e watche d an increasing numb er of their colleagu es make thetransition to "ex -pa sto rs. " No sensitive observ er can doubt thatif not crisis ther e is certain ly "fe rme nt in the mi ni st ry ."2 In themid st of this ferm ent is an issue hardl y antici pate d in Forsy th' sday: Are we to thi nk of the ordai ned m ini str y primarily a svocation with the emphasis u p o n divine calling, or is theord ain ed mini stry to be und ers to od primari ly as a profession withthe emphasis u p o n the acquisit ion of skills and co mpe te ncecom men sur ate wi th the professions of medi cine, law, andedu cat ion ? Per hap s the tw o ques ti ons are not excl usiv e, and thesingle questio n be com es: Wh at is the proper relationshipbe tw ee n vocati on and profession?

T o leap prema tur el y to this questi on is to court the criticism ofbei ng simplist ic. A mult itu de of forces, social, spiritual, andintellectual, has converged on the ordained ministry in recentJ a m e s C. Logan is professor of systematic theology, Wesley Theological Seminary,Washington, D.C.

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decades to make this question imperative today. It is hardlyhyperbole to employ the word revolution to describe the power ofthese forces. If for no ot her rea son, b eca use the chu rch is in theworld and because on virtually every side the world is inrevolutio n, the chur ch' s own exi sten ce has not been a placid one.The revolu tions of the world are not simply pressures o utside thechurch. The revolutions surge within the church as well. Thevenerable Webster defines a revolution as "the rotation of acelestial body upon its axis," and even though we may be temptedto think of the ch urc h as a "celestial bo dy ," w e canno t av oidnoting the considerable turning withi n the "b od y" of the c hurchas well. One of the specific cons equen ces of the pervasiverevolut ion is "unce rta in servants in semi nary and min ist ry. " 3

Certainly one such force has been the social and culturalph en om en on of secularization in the Wester n world. T heprocess has as many definitions as there are social analysts. Yetwhat ever else secularization may m ean , sociologically it is ahistorical process whereby previous monolithic, sacral understan ding s of societ y brea k dow n. On ce the church 's spires rosefrom the cent er of th e med iev al cities or cr ow ne d the nort h of theNew England common or shared an equal place of prominencewith the courthouse in the southern county-seat town, buttoda y the hub o f po we r and in teg rat ion in soc iet y is to be foun dmo re and m ore in the technol ogical cente rs of p roductio n.Wh er e in the sacral societies of Eur ope an d Amer ica the Ro ma nand Protestant clerics wer e raised abo ve daily rhy thm s toperform their traditional duties under the rubrics of prophet,priest, and king, in the secular, technol ogic al society thecelebrating priest is more often the technocrat. The clergy findthemselves frequently ministering on the periphery of thatsociety, mini steri ng to peop le wh er e they sleep rather tha nwh er e th ey ma ke the funda menta l d ecisi ons gove rni ng theirlivelihood, ministering to their individual and private needs. 4Though Protestants have never looked upon the ordainedminister as a sacred person possessing an indelible character byvirtue of ordina tion, they have nevert hele ss vie wed the ordained minister as "set apar t" for a special ministry of primary,even essential, importance in h u ma n l i f e . With the increasingspecialization and specification of roles and responsibilities inthe mod er n techn ologi cal societ y the historic understanding of


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ordained ministry appears to be subjected to a transition not ofits ow n maki ng from the posit ion of prim ary, nec ess ary socialim por tan ce to on e of sec ond ary, o pti onal social signifi cance.

I n Prot esta nt ter ms the traditional ima ge of the pastor as theon e wh o is alw ays on the "giv ing e n d " with the con greg ati on onthe "rec eiv ing e nd " is erodi ng. As this erosio n takes place theord ain ed min ist er is cau ght in a conflict: traditional roles n olonger function as they once did, and confusion reigns overwhat the em erg in g role sho ul d be . Cert ainl y the traditionalfunctions of kerygma (proclamation), diakonia (service), andmaturia (witness ) are consta nt in the churc h's ministry.Functi ons, howeve r, are not static. Thei r shap es and dynami cschange and fluctuate. The current discussion in The UnitedMetho dist Chu rch regarding a per man ent diaconate is but o neil lus tra tion of the cha nge an d fluctuation.

Anot her aspect of the revolutionary world impi nges withequal force upon the traditional church and its unders tanding oforda ined mini stry. T he rules of the gam e in chu rch and socie tyhave been subject to constant revision during the past twodeca des . Th e ferm ent of the racial, eco nom ic , an d femin inerevol uti ons in the larger society is macr ocos mic all y reflected inthe ferment in the church. The quest for a genuinely raciallyinclusive church with a genuinely open itineracy calls intoquestion some of the unstated images of clergy and the clericalsystem within The United Methodist Church. The image of thewhi te, male minister is of necessi ty unde rgoi ng chan ge. Man y o fthe inhe rit ed ima ges of the ordai ned m ini ste r are givin g waywithout a clear visi on of ne w of ne w im age s on the hori zon.

These currents of cha nge within the churc h are acco mpani edwith theological prob lem s of considerab le magni tude . Thebreakup of nom ina ll y Chris tian and sacral unders tandings ofsociety and t he con com it ant pluralism of religio us an d secularvarieties have called the church to reassess its traditionalunders tandings of its pl ace men t and role in the wid er socialarena. The theological rhetoric of an " exo dus soc iet y," a"pilgrim people," a "servant church," and a "servant ministry"indicates the need for renewed ecclesiological grappling. Whensuch langu age is tak en seriously , theo logi cal and structuralimplications for the church and its ministry are immediatelyapparent . As illustration, note that the older "come-st ructure"


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o f the church to which pastors and congregations havehistorically become habituated is increasingly ineffective in amo re fluid society. Sim ply wit nes s the struggle in mostProt esta nt den omi nat io ns wit hin the past decad e to find aneffective me an s of evan gel izat ion . If th e ch urc h is to be a"pilgrim people" and "sojourners" in "a strange and alienl an d/ ' the n a cont empor ary form of the ancient "go-st ructure"o f the early church will be necessary. 5 This is both a theologicaland structural task yet to be accomplished for most of thecontemporary church.

The ordai ned mini ster' s role identit y is ma de all the moreuncertain by developments in the recent attempts to emphasizethe min ist ry of the laity an d to undergi rd this min ist ry wit h a"theology of the laity ." No Prot estant nee ds to be remi nded thatthe "p ries thoo d of all bel iev ers " is a fundamenta l legacy of thechu rch 's herita ge. Yet if all Christ ians by virtue of their bapt ismare "priest s" or "minis ters ," what is the meani ng and purpose ofordi nati on in the histori c sense of the term? How oftenseminarians and pastors ponder the question, What does theordained minister do that the layperson cannot do? The questionma y be wron gly phrased, but th e fact that it arises with frequencyis indicative of the dil emma. Unintentionally Hendrik Kraemer' sTheology of th e Laity 6 ha s enc our age d a certain skeptic ism about theordained ministry. In the meantime the institutional church haspro cee ded as a "split -level " chur ch wher e the laity often functionsas a subcultural "p ara chu rch " whil e the ordain ed clergy carriesout its functions in the more public " o f f i c i a l " church. Thisinformal arra ngem ent is not a solution but rather a description ofth e probl em. W e hav e not yet in reflection or practice resolved theissue left us by the Reforma tion of the relati onship betw een clergyand laity who possess a common baptism into a ministry ofreconciliation and yet perform an extraordinary ordination of theclergy "set apart" ministry.

The matt er is ev en mor e com pl ex wh en we see that thebroa der sea on whic h these two theo logical pro ble ms surface isi t s e l f a deeply t roubl ed o ne . Th e philo sophic al worl d views ofth e past wh ic h supp orte d a nd mad e credible our theologicalaffirmati ons and spiritualit y ha ve lost plausibi lity an d persu asiveness . Thi s in i t s e l f is no n ew discov ery. Ou t of the wrec kage ofthe nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries the revelational


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theology of Barth an d th e existential the olog y of Bul tm an n hav eexp ress ed valiant efforts to be resp onsi ble either to God (Barth)or to modern ity (Bultm ann). Theological t ime, how ever , runsfast, an d theol ogy is mu ch mo re diverse today .

The problem, however, goes deeper than the development oftrends in theo logi cal tho ugh t. M a ny laity an d clergy experienced in the 1 9 6 0 s wh at Ja me s Wa rd S mit h has called "th e loss ofconfidence in the cosmic se ns e, " 7 On the level of praxis "the losso f co nfi de nce " result ed in the loss of a spirituality wh ich forano the r era unde rgir ded theologi cal beliefs in Go d, prov ide nce,praye r, a nd calling to ministry. To be sur e, the loss of confi dencewas not absolu te. For ma ny it was and con tin ues to be a gna win gsense of "u ne as e. " The attempt s of the 1 9 6 0 s to develop a"secular spirituality" were as one-sided as attempts to develop"ecclesiastical spiritual ity" at the expe ns e of the world. Th e"secular spirituality" be co me s weary and anem ic.

The dilemma of a vital spirituality inevitably forces clergy tofocus on the se ns e of a divin e calling. Th e ord ain ed mi nis try isroo ted in the will an d calling of Go d. A compe lli ng se ns e of suc ha callin g to min ist ry is not usu all y ant ec ed en t to a livingspirituality, but the two go ines capa bly ha nd in han d. Wh at ev erelse may be said, and more needs to be said, ministry isvocat ion, a divine calling to a particular responsi bility wit hin thepeople of God, Any reckoning with the issue of ministerialiden tit y that fails to take into ac co un t the dyn am ic s of callin g willbe doomed from the beginning.

In the midst of the revoluti ons from wit hou t and wit hin, theidentit y of clergy is further com plic ated by the chu rch' shistorical practic e. W e hav e oper ated not from on e single imag eo f the minist ry but rath er from at least thre e image s a rrang edrou ghl y in chron ologi cal order in the minis ter's dev elo pme nt." W e te nd ," writes Ja me s Gla sse , "to recruit minist ers thro ughon e kind of ima ge, train the m in light of ano the r kind, an d thenrequire t hem to practice in ter ms of yet an ot he r. " 8 Recrui tmenthas tend ed to ope rate from wha t can be ter med "t he call mode l . "Seminary education to a great degree has operated from the"professional mo de l. " Upo n leaving the seminary and enteringthe broader l i fe of the chu rch thes e sa me minist ers are sad dledwith the responsibilitie s of "instit utional mai nt en an ce " or an"institu tional mod el ." Gla sse rightly con clu des that "t he stag es


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o f the proc es s ten d to canc el ea ch oth er out and not to becumulative in their effect ." 9

This mixed and confused situation has given rise to a quest forcontemporary models which can effectively guide clergythrough the "identification cris is ." The re can be no question thatw e need work able mod els . Th e real quest ion is the prope rbeg inn ing point for the devel opm ent of such model s. Wit hin thepast two deca des at least five such mod els hav e be en prom ine ntin discu ssion of the ordaine d minist ry.

The monumenta l three-volume s tudy of theological edu cationin the Unit ed States and C ana da beg un in 1 9 5 4 and concluded in1 9 5 7 unde r the genera l direction of H. R ichard Niebuhr, Danie lD. Will iams, and Jam es M. Gus tafs on had unparalleledsignificance for the s tudy of ministry on the Nor th A mer ica nconti nent. W hil e theologicall y defining mini stry as the furtherance of the love of Go d and neig hbor , Niebu hr surv eyed thechurch's physical plant and inquired into the various activitiescarried out in this setting. He posited the "pastoral director" asthe most appropr iate descri ption of wh at appe ared to beem er gi ng an d ga ini ng gr ou nd in tho ugh t as wel l as practice ofmin i s t ry . 1 0

Un de r the im pac t of the "t he ol og y of the laity" and theconcerns for church renewal in he early 1 9 6 0 s , some advocatedthe "equipping mode l ." "Th e c lergyman 's (sic) c h i e f task,"wrote Robert Raines, "is to equip his people for theirminist ry. . . . W ha t is the Ne w Test am en t dim ens ion of the layministry ? Hen dri k Krae mer has sugge sted a theologicalground ing for this an d n ow the ne ed is to spell out jus t wha t thismeans in the life of the local c h u r c h . " 1 1 At approxi mately t hesam e tim e Cha rles L. Taylor , writin g for semi nari ans, sugg este dthat the orda ine d mi nis try is simi lar to the arm y comm issa ria t insuppl ying nou ris hm ent to the "la y" troop s of the "front li ne ." 1 2

While the "equipping model" focused upon the pastor'srespon sibil ities wit hin the chu rc h an d to the laity as the yperfor med their apost olate in the world of work, a m or eoutwar d-focus ed mo del appe ared shortly afterward. Takingselective cue s from Bonhoef fer' s prison pap ers, writ ers such asHar vey Co x and G ibs on Wi nte r soug ht to define the church andit s ministry in terms of "se rva nth ood ." " Th e servant Chu rch ,"Winter wrote, "is the community who confirm mankind in its


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fre edo m to fash ion its future, pr ote sti ng the pre ten si ons toultim acy in any h u ma n structures and suffering with men in thestruggle agains t the power s of ev il . " 1 3 Co x called the ch urc h tob e "God ' s Avant -garde ." 1 4 T he locus classicus for this mo de l w asfound in Dietrich Bonho eff er's statem ent:

T h e Church is the Church only when it exists for others. To make astart, it should give away all its property to those in need. The clergymust live solely on the free-will offerings of their congregations, orpossibly engage in some secular calling. The Church must share in thesecular problems of ordinary human life, not dominating, but helpingand serving. 1 5

Many eng age d in the social outr each minist ries, or wha t werethe n called "spe cial min ist rie s," found the servant mod el to behighly appropriate for their endeavors. While the language of"se rv an t" and "for ot he rs " app ear ed frequently in chur chpublications, only here and there was it significantly translatedinto structural reality.

Conf ront ing the identity crisis of the paris h clergy , Jam esGlasse in 1 9 6 8 called for still ano the r mo del . O f the cl erg yma n hewr ot e, "T h e critical iss ue is not his ecclesi astica l iden tity in t hechurch, but his occupational identity in the world of wo rk ." 1 6 Theprimary pro ble m was ne ithe r the vertical, theol ogical on e no rthe outreach, missional one. Rather, the primary problem wasthe lateral one, the ministry in relation to the other professions.T h e conc lusi on rea che d was that wh at is ne ed ed is the disco veryand practice of ministry as profession. To give organizationalsub stan ce to his propo sal, Gl ass e an no un ce d the format ion ofthe American Academy of Parish Clergy.

Finally, Henr i Nouwen ' s Creative Ministry app ear ed in 1971and was interestin gly subtitled "Be yo nd Profe ssion alism inTeaching, Preaching, Counseling, Organizing, and Celebrati n g . " 1 7 A year later Nouwen followed with a book that waswidely read, The Wounded Healer.18 Sens itiv e to pasto rs "w ho arequestion ing their own rele vance and eff ectivene ss," Nouw enoffered a model of minis try whi ch effectively con tai ned insightsfrom pastoral care and the quest for a new spirituality toundergird ministry. The times had changed. In contrast to theconfident h u ma n aut ono my of the 1 9 6 0 s , Nouwen presentedth e con dit ion of a sufferin g wor ld, a suffering gen er ati on, the


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suffering h u m a n being, and the suffering minister. Constructively, he sought to show that "the wound , whi ch cause s us tosuffer now, will be revealed to us later as the place where Godintimated his new creation." 1 9 Only a " w o u n d e d " pastor couldb e a heali ng past or.

T h e recital of these models is not to offer a deta iled a nalys isbut to poin t to on e fund amen tal characteris tic whi ch all five havein co mm on . Wh il e all mo re or less give theologic al conside ratio nin the formu lat ion of mo de ls (particula rly in the case s of Ni eb uhrand No uw en) , they neverth eless tend to describe conte mporarypractice. Thi s in no way invalidates the enterpr ises o n w hichthese authors were engage d. The y were responding in part towh at m ay be called the sociological accidents of ministry . Mos t ofth em were not un aw ar e of the theological essence of ministry.Ministr y, ho wev er , is defined an d sha ped bo th by the culturalan d social acc ide nts of th e tim es and by the theolog ical constantwhi ch lies at the roots of minist ry. Ac ros s history, Christianministry has taken many different shapes and forms. Indeedthat is the case in the Ne w Tes tam en t chu rch itself. C han gin gsha pes a nd forms do not necess arily imp ly a cha nge in ess enc eo r su bs ta nce o f min istr y. If min ist ry is a calling from Go d, it isalw ays serv ice in a wor ld wh ic h is no t static. An adeq uat edisc ussio n of minis try need s to disce rn, in Ha ns Kun g's word s,both the "constants and variables" defining and affectingminis t ry . 2 0

Th ou gh ministr y ma y assu me varying forms bec aus e of socialand cultural conditions, these constitute the variables, not thecons tan t ele men t of minist ry. An adeq uat e con cept of ministrywill ne ed to do justice to thre e points gen erati ng the tensi onwithi n whi ch the chur ch lives: the de ma nd s an d w itne ssge rm an e to th e gos pel itself, the histor y of the Chri stianco mmu ni ty 's atte mpts to live and wi tne ss to the gospel, and thenee ds of the prese nt situati on. Joh n We sl ey saw the theologicaltask as the dialect ical inte ract ion of Scri ptu re, tradition,exper ience , and r easo n. The abo ve three points illustrate th ecreative tension betw een the gospel as comm unic ated throughScripture, the church's tradition, and contemporary experience.T o beg in wit h con tem por ary exp eri enc e an d to permi t that tobecome normative can lead us to indulge in a cultural mimicry


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wh ic h is alrea dy painfully ev iden t in ma ny dim ens io ns of thechurch's l i fe . The changing variables are not the grounds for adefinition of mini stry . Th ey are the occa sio ns for re ne wedgrappling with the issue. The d e ma n d of the gosp el i t s e l f isconstant or normative. The task before us is thereforefundamenta lly a theological one.

T h e understanding of ministry as set forth in The Book ofDiscipline of The United Methodis t Church reflects a grow ingecumenical consensus in ecclesiology regarding ministry. 2 1 Thecon sen sus can be summ ari zed in three propositi ons. On e,minist ry is defi ned in terms of the normat ive mi nist ry of JesusChrist. Sec ond , this normati ve mi nistry of Jesu s Christ is given tothe church and constitutes the church 's very esse. Th e church doesnot first of all possess a ministry, but the church is only as itpartici pates in the minis try of Go d as see n in the reconci lingministry of Jesus Christ. Finally, a proper understanding ofordai ned mini stry can be gained onl y from withi n the context ofthe general minist ry of the whol e peop le of Go d. Properl y, then ,The Book of Discipline speaks of the general ministry ofreconciliation wh ic h is the responsi bili ty of all bapt ized Chris tiansand the "represent ative mi nist ry," i.e. , ordain ed ministry, asrepre sent ati ve of the one essent ial and no rmat ive mini stry ofJesus Christ as this ministry has been given to the church.

W e employ the biblical images, such as "the people of God,""th e body of Chri st, " or "th e com mun it y of the Spirit . " But whatis common to all these expressions is that the church is thecom mun it y of tho se who have bee n called (people of God ),inco rpor ated i nto (bod y of Chri st) , an d emp ow er ed b y the Spirit(community of the Spirit) for the purpose of wi tne ss to andservice of the one Lord Jesus Christ. The church, as T. W.Manson expressed it, is the communal continuation of themessianic ministry of Jesus . 2 2

" T h e min ist ry of Jes us Chr is t" inclu des the public minist ry ofwor d and deed, alt hough not exclusively. This phrase mea ns,rather, t he New T est ame nt' s witn ess to the inclusive event ofincarnate birth, l i f e , death, and resurrection/exaltation of JesusChris t. The wh ol e eve nt of Jes us Chris t, as pre sen ted b y theNew Testament writers, is heralded as God's decisive eschato-logical, saving action for humankind . One can properly say that


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the ev ent o f Jes us Christ is the co ncret e expr essi on of the divineministry for the sa ke of the wor ld .

Priority is therefore given to the missio dei as concretelyexpr esse d in Jes us Christ. Christ ian ministry, eithe r the"gen era l min ist ry" or the "repre senta tive min ist ry, " does notoriginate from within the church. Rather, Christian ministry hasits origination in the initiative of God as this is revealed in theincarnate l ife of Jesus, his reconciling death, and the cosmicvictory of the Resurrection. All this is God's doing; all this isGo d' s ministry for a creation that is "gro ani ng in travail" (Rom .8:22 R S V ) . Paul unders core s t he divine initiative by express lyspea king of Go d as a "s en di ng " God . "W h e n the fulness of thetime was co me , Go d sent forth his So n " (Gal. 4:4 K J V ) . John theevan gel ist spea ks of this as the ev en t of identificat ion: " Th eWo rd bec ame flesh and dwelt am on g us " (John 1:14 R S V ) . Whilehumankind in all gene rati ons ha s quest ed for God, in Jesus w esee the reversal of this order. In Jesus we see God in search ofhumankind . T he divine action of "s en di ng " and "identifyingwi th " consti tut es the first asp ect of a defini tion of minist ry.Min ist ry be lon gs first to Go d. Th e mini stry of Jes us Christconsisted in his being sent as the One Minister to find the lastand the lost. The church, therefore, does not constitute its ownministry, but it has a ministry given to it which is thecontinuation of that one ministry which God initiated in Israeland brou ght to co ns um ma ti on in Jes us Christ.

The purpose of the divine ministry in Jesus Christ isreconciliation. Paul's ex pres sion is the classic stat ement of thedivine purpo se, "G od was in Christ, recon ciling the world untohim sel f" (II Co r. 5:19 K J V ) . Paul, howe ver , is not the definer butthe witness to the definition as this was consummatelyex pre ss ed in the cro ss. Bec au se the cross is the focus edexpr essi on of Go d' s reconcil ing purp ose, the Gos pel s take theform of exte nded Passio n comm enta ries . The Crucifixiondefines the l ife and purpose of Jes us Christ. In othe r wor ds, thel ife an d minis try of Je su s an d th e Crucifi xion form a coh ere nt,who le gospel . For this rea son we are not allowed by the Gosp elwriter s to vi ew the min ist ry of Je su s in isol ation from the divineact of Crucifixion and Resur rect ion. Wha t Jes us said, did, and


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wa sth es e wer e all asp ect s of on e reality, na me ly , the divinereconciliation of the wor ld.

The ministry of Jes us Christ inaugurat ed a ne w age. Th estartl ing words ann oun cin g the open ing of the Galilean ministryare, "T h e tim e is fulfilled, and t he kin gd om o f G od is at h a n d "(Mark 1:15). Jesus ' me ss ag e of the kin gd om was that the divinesovereignty over h u m a n affairs was imminently near. Thewords of pro cla mat ion cann ot be sep ara ted from the procla imer,for he is the emb od ime nt of the ne w age. Th e divine sovereigntyis nothing less t han the righte ousn ess of Go d. Too long we havesep arat ed Jes us an d Paul in this reg ard king dom andrigh teou snes s (or justification) se em to hav e be en two unrelatedrealities. Ernst Kase ma nn has recently establi shed that Paul 'sidea of the righ teou snes s of God belong s fundamenta lly withinthe same horizon of expectation as Jesus' preaching of thek i n g d o m . 2 3 Carl Braaten describes this graphically: "God'srig hte ous nes s is his powe r in relatio n to me n wh o are not in therigh t, wh o do not do wha t is right , wh o viola te th e righ ts ofoth ers in self-righ teous aggre ssi on, wh o rob God of his rights,his due, by putt ing him d o w n in their pride." 2 4 In other words ,the m inist ry of Jes us is the mi nist ry of the eschatolo gicalki ng do m of Go d. Th e chu rch and its minis try participate in theproleptica l pr es en ce of the ne w age an d follow the escha tolog ical Chris t into the ne w future of divine righ teo usn ess in theco ns um ma te d king dom . In this respec t the churc h has no optionbut to reveal in its life and ministry the radically "ex-c entr ic"nature of Go d and Go d' s mini stry for "th e least of th es e, " theso-called "ma rgi nal s" of society, "th e poor and t he m thatm o u r n . "

The reco ncil ing, escha tolo gical mini stry of Jes us is giv en itsdefinitive shape in the servant character of Jesus ' relationshipwit h peo ple . T he early chu rch sa w that Jes us in his w ho leministry represented the "ideal" or " p u r e " Israel, the prop hetic"re mn an t, " "th e servant of G od . " Wh et he r and to wha t extentJesus actually identified himself consciou sly with certainchristological titles is a matt er of op en de bat e in co nte mpo rar yNe w Tes tam ent schola rship. For pur pose s here we do not h aveto decide the iss ue, beca us e in actuality this wa s the sha pe of theministry of Jesu s wh eth er h e appropriated messia nic or


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christological titles or not. The title g i v e n to the ministry is not asi m p o r t a n t as the ministry's actual c h a r a c t e r . In the ser va nth oodof Jes us ' minis try we see the pr im ar y c h a r a c t e r of the chur ch' sgen era l mini str y an d th e or da in ed mini stry . The spiri t an d th em a n n e r o f th is s er v a n th o o d a re g i v e n by both precept andexample in Jesus :You kn ow that tho se wh o ar e sup pos ed to rule ove r the Gentiles lord itove r the m, an d their gre at me n exerci se authorit y ov er them . But itshall not be so among you; but whoever would be great am on g youmust be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must beslav e of all. For the Son of ma n also ca me not to be serv ed but to serve ,and to give his life as a ransom for many ( M a r k 1 0 : 4 2 - 4 5 RSV).

A s inst ruct ions to the disc iples t h e s e w o r d s w o u l d h a v ec a r r i e d l i tt le au th or it y ha d it no t be en for the inc arn ati on of t hewo rd s in the ve ry pe rs on and mini str y of Je sus himself . Th efaithful " r e mn a n t " sa ve s by ser vic e an d self-sacrifice, not bycla i ming specia l ti t les an d posit ions of s ta tus . By pr ec ep t an dex amp le Jes us pr ep ar ed the pa th o f d i sc ip lesh ip w hic h theco mm un it y o f be l ievers wa s to fol low. The early christo logicalh y m n , w i t h al l of i ts int erp ret ive pr obl ems , neve rth ele ss c learlysu mma ri ze s wha t wa s so ev id ent in the minis try o f Jesus :Ha ve this min d amo ng your selv es, whi ch is you rs in Christ Jesu s,who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality withGod a thing to be gr as ped, but em pt ie d himself, taki ng the form of aservant, being born in the likeness of me n. A nd being found in hum anform he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even deathon a cross (Phil. 2 : 5 - 8 ) .

In the concr ete life of reconci l ia t ion , di v i ne r i g h teo u s n es s , a n dse rv an th oo d w e see no t only the es se nc e of th e minis try of Je sus ,but w e see the es se nc e of Chri st i an minist ry . Th e s ing le val idpl ac e for a th eo lo gy of min is tr y to b e g i n is w i t h the reconci l ingse rv an t min is tr y of Chr is t himself . Thi s is th e min is tr y wh ic h isg i v e n to the ch ur ch , an d up o n wh ic h an d fr om wh ic h a l lministr ies , wh et he r the mini str y of the w h o l e pe op le of Go d orthe part icu lar ord a in ed minis try , ar e der iv ed .

T h e d e p e n d e n t c h a r a c t e r of the ch ur ch 's minis try and t heprior i ty g i v e n to the ministry of Jesus is clearly s e e n in the


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Pentecost accounts in Acts. The apostles are interpreted to bethe conti nuatio n of the ministry of Jes us Christ who h ad takenthe form of a ser van t in their mids t and had emp ti ed himselfeven unto death. The gift of the Spirit is not the beginning oftheir ministry. The gift of the Spirit is the fulfillment of thepro mis e of Chris t 's presen ce with the m in their ministry. Boththe apostles and the Spirit are sent by Christ. Ministry,therefore, has this inescapable christological grounding.

To the churc h comp os ed of baptize d Ch ristians is given thison e esse nti al mini stry of Jes us Chri st, and t his minis try is bot hthe church's rationale and sustenance. Ministry is definitelygiven in the reconciling action of Go d's rig hteou snes s in God 'sServant and has its continuation in and through the generalministry of the churc h.

Baptism mar ks the entr y of all Chri stia ns into the gene ralministry of the chur ch, wh os e responsibility is to manifes t theredem ptive pow er of Go d's grace in relationsh ip with all people.The Book of Discipline corre ctly hold s that in th e sacra men t ofbap tis m "the Ch urc h claims God 's promis e, ' the seal of theSpirit' " (Ep h. 1:13; par . 105, 19 80 Discipline). The generalminist ry of reconciliation, righ teou snes s, and serv anth oodtakes many shapes and forms depending upon the various giftso f the individu al m em be rs . The se vari ous gifts of the Spirit arehel d in a co mm on bo nd of unit y that is the bod y of Chri st in bothits inw ard l i fe of koinonia and its outw ard thrust of diakonia for thesake of the wor ld . In the upbui ldi ng of the bo dy of Chr ist in itsinner vitality and outward mission, the church in generalministry fulfills its purpose to be the continuation of themessiani c ministr y of Jes us Christ.

In spe aki ng of the chur ch as the conti nua tio n of Chri st'sminis try, w e shoul d be clear that the recon cili ng mini str y ofGo d' s righ teou snes s in the form of serv anth ood is uniquel y theministry of Christ. The church continues this ministry only as itembodies this one unparalleled ministry. In one sense themini str y of Je su s Chri st is distinct from the mi nistr y of thechu rch in that his ministr y is that wh ic h is do ne for us and whi chwe ourselves cannot originate. This sa me ministry, howe ver ,has contin uit y with th e mini stry of the who le in that Chris t


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reveals the true nature of minist rywhat ministry in his na mereally entailsand grants that ministry to the church.

The gen era l mini str y of the ch urc h is fulfilled in its emb od yin gthe pat tern of the in carn atio n or the self-giving of Go d in Chri stin all relations hips wh ich Chr istians exp erien ce in the whol egamut of l i f e . Baptized Christians perform this ministry not somu ch as an indivi dual and corpo rat e imitatio Chris t but in theeschatological style of following Christ or, as Eduard Schweizerputs it, "walking behind Christ" into the new future of theyet-to-be con summ ate d kin gdo m. 2 5 The general ministry is,ther efor e, not a subt opic of the doct rine of the chur ch. Mini strylike mission is derived not from ecclesiology but from theChristi an doctrin e of God . The chur ch, therefore, does notconstitute ministry, but rather ministry constitutes the church.Seen in this ma nn er , the ser van t mini str y of outr each an dservice in the worl d is not an opti on for me mb er s of the chu rch .Rather, the church is truly what it is in Christ when it is inmini stry preci sely to tho se to w h o m Chris t min ist ere d an d forwhom he gave his l i fe .

As chur ch and general ministry cannot be separ ated, neithercan the distinctive ordained ministry be simply absorbed intothe general ministry. Commonality and distinctiveness inherein the two e xpre ssio ns of ministry. To ignor e the commonal ity ofthe two resul ts in a sace rdot ali sm of the ordai ned minis try.Failure to acc oun t for the dist inct iven ess of eac h simpl ycollapses on e into the oth er. T he ord ain ed minis try, like allminis trie s of the chu rch , is deri ved fro m and dependent uponthe one norm ati ve min istr y of Jes us Chri st. Here in lies thecom mona lit y of the two express ions of ministry. O n the otherhand, the ordaine d minis try is properly called a "repres entati vemin ist ry ." It is repr esen tat ive of the minis try of Je su s Christgive n to the wh ol e ch urc h, and ther efore the ord aine d minis tryre-p res ent s befor e the general mini stry the calling of allChristians to ministry. The summarizing and re-presenting ofChr ist 's minist ry to the gen eral min istr y is basi c to th edistinctive ness of ordai ned ministry.

Historically, the people called Meth odis ts have unders toodthis distinctiveness to relate to the threefold responsibility forWo rd , sacr ament , and churc h order. Whi le the se are distinct


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functions, they cannot be isolated from the various forms andfunctions of the gener al ministry. As proclaime r of the Wo rd ,the o rda ine d min ist er tells the st ory of faith in order to facilitatethe faithful witness to that same Word by the general ministry inthe life of the world . As celebra nt of the Wo r d in sac ram ent , theordained minister th rough bapt ism and Eucharist rem ind s th ewh ol e peop le of Go d of their min istr y to be poured out andbr ok en for the sake of the world . As res pon sib le for ch urc horder, the ordained minister seeks to provide a climate forgro wth in disciplesh ip for the whole chur ch. In other words , thepurpose of the repr ese nta tiv e min istr y is to serv e as the con sta ntrem ind er to the whol e people of Go d of their com miss ionth rough ba pti sm to be en ga ge d in the minist ry of reconci liatio nan d serv ice. In this ma nn er t he two forms of mini stry , lay an dordained, are held in inseparable linkage to the missional life ofthe chur ch in the world . Fors yth put it succi nctly w he n hestated, "T he ministr y (ordained) is sacram ental to the Chur ch asthe Church i t s e l f is sacra menta l to the wo rl d. " 2 6

Ca re should b e exe rci sed in suc h a deli neat ion of the functionslest the ordained ministry be und ers too d to be exclusivelywit hin the do ma in of the instit ution, wh ile the respo nsibil itiesfor the gener al mini stry lie outs ide the doma in . S uc h a divisiono f labor will no t serve either church or world res ponsi bly, norcan suc h bifurcation of functi on be def end ed theolog icall y, Th eord ain ed min ist er is also a bap tize d Chr ist ian and in this se ns e isnev er remo ved from the responsibilities of the general ministry.I f the ordain ed mi nis try is to be valid repr esen tati onal ly, it m us tparticipate in the actual life of the gene ral minist ry in the world .The dist inct iven ess of the orda ine d min ist ry lies in theresponsibilit y of the representati ve minist ry to summ ariz e anddramatize in parabolic form, particularly in Word and sacrame nt , the minist ry to wh ic h all Chr ist ians are calle d.

It could be arg ued that this inte rpre tati on is a theol ogica lrationale for ordai ned minist ry as it prese ntly exists, but is suchreally historically the case? If the n or m of mini stry is the W or d ofGod incarn ated in Jesu s Christ, then ministry can and hashistorically taken ma ny different forms. Th e fundament alproblem faced by the early church was how the Christiancom mun it y could rema in apostolic after the apostles had pass ed


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from the sce ne . Th e anci ent que sti on is still the mo de rnquesti on. T he early chur ch' s respon se, as Braaten has chronicled, wa s to safe guard t he chu rc h' s aposto licit y with theprinciples of canonici ty of Script ure, credal deve lop men t (suchas baptis mal an d ordinati onal con fess ions) , and th e liturgicalstruc turi ng of the cult (su ch as bap tis m, Eucha rist , a ndprocl amati on). In Braat en's wor ds, the chur ch sought to assureits apostolic continui ty th rough can on, creed , and cul t. 2 7 In thisma nn er t he chur ch sou ght to be faithful to its sour ce and origin,name ly, Jesus Christ. To the present, cano n, creed, and culthave functioned to secure this continuity.

This, ho we ve r, sa ys little abo ut ordina tion . O r doe s it? Cou ldnot the church simply have retained certain functionaldistinctions, i .e., charismatic ministries, without focusing morespecifically u p o n a certain ordering of mi nis tr y? 2 8 The responseto such a question greatly depends upon the tradition in whichone has been nur tured . Obviously, most branches of the Societyo f Friends woul d ans we r the quest ion affirmatively, wher easAnglo-Cat holics wou ld vigorously object.

United Methodists and their antecedent bodies historicallyhave not traced the office of ord ain ed m ini stry bac k to aparticular practice in the ministry of Jesus. Wes ley was notlacking in appr ecia tion for chu rc h order and a con cer n for p rop erordination by prope r pers ons. H e could and did, howev er, offerjustification for a functional unders tanding of apostolici ty rat herthan historical succe ssion . Th e followers of We sl ey have,ther efor e, he ld that t he test of apostolici ty does not lie inhistorical suc ces sio n but rat her in faithfulness to the gospel ofJesus Christ . The situations whi ch We sl ey confronted in hisrevival and which the early Methodists faced in this countrywere not totally unlike the situation faced by the early church.T h e cont inui ty wit h apost olic mini str y coul d not be sust aine dth rough can on, creed , and cult with out leaders wh os e specialrespo nsibi litie s relat ed specifically to the mai nt en anc e of thes eimp ort ant funct ions. Th e situat ion has not radically ch an ge d tothe prese nt. To orda in pe rso ns for the se responsibilit ies is not tocreate a "supe r class" or sacerdotal syste m with in the churc h. Solong as the integral relationship between the general andrepr esen tati ve mi nistr ies of the ch urc h is org ani zed , there is


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not hi ng authori tarian nor elitist in setti ng certain per son s not somu ch "al ong sid e" but "wit hin " the general ministry to havespecific respons ibili ty for Wo rd , sac ram ent , and order.

O f cour se, this cuts agai nst the grain in so me quarters whe rethe rece nt te nde nc y has be en to equa te bap tis m and ordinat ion . 2 9 Bap ti sm an d ordinat ion do say similar thin gs about theco m mo n mini stry of the church , but they do not hav e identicalem ph as es . In his fair an d balan ced present atio n of ministry,Robert Paul has cogen tly argu ed that bapti sm sets the individualwit hin th e cont ext of the co mm on mini stry of the chur ch. In thissense , bapti sm is "inc orpo rati on." Ordi nation, o n the otherhan d, app roa che s the matt er from a different direction. It is notfrom individual to chu rch , but rathe r, from chur ch toindividual . 3 0 Bapti sm recogn izes our commo nali ty before Godand thereby our common ministry. Ordination, on the otherhand, recognizes that while there are no distinctions in statusand r ank, t here are nev ert hel ess differences of gift, c a l l , andequ ipp ing . It is no t sufficient simpl y to set th e tw o forms ofminist ry alongsid e eac h othe r. Th e gener al minis try and therepresentati ve mi nistry are actually coter minou s. Each isessential to the other.

This in no way indi cates that the churc h creates its o wnrepresentati ve ministry. Whi le the church ordains, the churchdoes this as a recognition of the call of Christ and the gift of theSpirit. Whil e the call to the repr esen tati ve mini stry com es in andthrough the churc h, the call is of divine origin. One aspect of thehistoric wi tne ss of tho se traditions mak in g up The Uni tedMethodist Church is the recognition that ordained ministry isinitially cons tit uted by divine c a l l . The church recog nizes the callan d certifies pre par edn ess for minist ry. "T he part of ecclesiastical author ity in the orde ring of the min istry is that of recog nizin gan d accep ting the gift of Chri st to his Ch ur c h. " 3 1

To this point we have been concerned with a theologicalgrou ndi ng of minist ry. Yet any doctrin e of the chu rch whi chignores the empirical, sociological reality of the institution isvuln erab le to a replic ation of the anc ien t christological her esy ofdocetism, i.e. , the denia l of the bodily human it y of Jes us Christ. Atheo logy of mini stry whi ch likewis e igno res the increa sing


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vol ume of releva nt research of huma nist ic and behavio ralpsy cho log y and sociol ogy is equally vulner able to a spurious"spir itual izing " of minis try. Whi le the representa tive mi nistry isthe responsive practice to the divine c a l l , recognized andacce pted by the churc h, it is likew ise h u m a n service rend ered inthe context of a living huma nit y.

T h e s tudy of ordained ministry is at a significant juncture.Nev er before hav e w e had s uch a vol ume of psychol ogical andsociological contr ibuti ons to the practice of minist ry. At thesame time at least three highly significant developments can beseen in the church. The 1 9 8 0 Gener al Conf eren ce mand ate for aholistic s tudy of minis try may hav e prof ound long- range importfo r the chu rc h. At least min ist ry will be a priorit y item on t hechu rch 's agend a in this qua dre nni um in a wa y unlike rece ntquadrenn ia. Further, the mov em ent toward establishing standards of competence and excellence in the practice of ministry,coup led with the dep loy me nt o f tools and p roced ures ofevaluation, offer ne w ex per ie nce s for the cler gy as well as thechurch in general. Concomitant with the latter development isthe emphatic stress upon the impo rtan ce, if not necess ity, ofserious continui ng education.

Church historians could argue that while these factorsdescribe the occasion in whi ch we find ours elve s, the cause for thisre new ed grappl ing with equipp ing for and evaluation ofmini str y lies at th e root s of our traditi on as Uni te d Me th odi st s.During the Wes ley an revival Charl es We sle y pen ned his famoushymn on the ministry and etched upon our tradition theoft-quoted lin e, "Un it e the pair so long disjoined, kno wle dgeand vital piety." 3 2 To be sure, Cha rles hardly pos se sse d th eprophe tic pow ers to foresee that in 1982 "k no wl ed ge " could betranslated as "pro fess iona l co mp et en ce ," but it is undenia blethat a stress upon "a comp eten t share of kno wl edg e" in ministrywa s a pivotal con cer n of Joh n Wesley. Sim ply peru se t hesubjects wh ic h We sl ey advo cate d as essent ial for his pre acher s:scriptural exegesis, original lan gua ges, world history, " so meknowledge" of science, logic includi ng met aphy sic s, andnatural philo sophy all prefaced with We sl ey 's insis tence uponthe ability to unders tand "th e various stat es of thos e under [the


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prea cher 's] ca re ." In typical fashion Wes le y co mm en te d furtherfor emphasis thatsome of these branches of kno wle dge are not so indispensablynecessary as the rest; and therefore no thinking man will cond emn theF a t h e r s of the Church, for having, in all ages and nations appointedsom e to the ministry, wh o, sup pos e they had the capacity, yet had notthe oppo rtun ity of attaining the m. But wh at ex cuse is this for one wh ohas the opportunity, and makes no use of it? . . . he is inexcusablebefore God and m a n . 3 3

The debate wh et he r o rdain ed minist ry is a vocat ion or aprofes sion is really a misp lace d debate. Ho w often "cal lin g" hasbe en mis use d to camou flage or rationalize inc omp ete nce . O nthe other hand , professional com pet ence without personalco mm it me nt in fulfilling a voc ati on resul ts in an insti tutiona llymech anic al and lifeless perf orma nce. Th er e is ind eed som eth ingo f an analogy betw ee n con cer n of our ancest ors of theeig hte enth centu ry to "co njo in kno wle dge an d vital pie ty" andour twen tiet h-cent ury t ask to put togeth er rightly "pro fes sio n"and "vocat ion."

The crucial term is "rightly." The theological model ofminis try is nor mati ve b eca use it is rooted in the chu rch' ssel f-un der sta ndi ng in th e light of its con fes sio n of faith.Therefore, minis try as willed, initiated, and s um mo ne d by Godis primary. Voca tion is the root unders tanding of ministry.While the comp ete nt practice of minist ry may vary according tocircumstances and conditions, nevertheless competence is anine sca pab le factor in the very integrit y of mini str y itself. Hen ce ,the unders tanding of minist ry as profes sion cann ot be e sch ew edas an accidental intru sion or pass ing fad. The professionalstandards are instrumental to ministry as the vocationalstandard is nor mati ve for the sa me ministry. Beca use theprofessional s tandards are inst rume ntal to minist ry, they can notbe se t in a hard and fast man ner . T he y can ne ver beco me law andhen ce a legalistic test for det ermi nin g wh en a nd wh er e Christianminist ry is validly practi ced.

I f prof essi on is defi ned as "a type of wo rk perfo rme d in asocial setting whi ch requires particular educat ion, entr ance , an drelati onship to on e' s peers and to the pub li c, " 3 4 one can discern


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bo th similarities and differenc es be tw ee n ministry as profes sionand ministry as vocation. Ministry does not seem to fit neatlyan d una mb ig uou sl y in to any of the opera ting definitions ofprofession. Professions such as medicine, education, and laware not under the radi cal an d often relat ivizi ng scru tiny tha tminis try is today . N o one se em s to ' doub t the cont inue dnecessi ty of medi cal service, educ atio n, and legal coun sel . Thepoint is ho w to do thes e better . Minis ters , on the oth er han d, arefrequently caugh t in doubt rega rdin g no t jus t the relevan ce ofwh at the y do but the nec ess it y of it at all. A p rofe ssi onaldefinition of mini stry will not ans we r the quest ion of thenecessi ty of minis try. On ly a theolo gical definition can do that.In fact, the unders tanding of minis try exclus ively as professi oncan contri bute to an eros ion of conf iden ce in the nec essi ty ofministry.

A mo re fund ament al diffe rence lies in th e fact that in otherprofessions the relationship between personal faith and publicpractice does not appear to be as integrally tied together as inminist ry. The min ist er is not primarily eng ag ed in comm uni cating aut obio grap hy bu t rather the story of faith. Nev ert hel ess ,the authenticity of the Story is lacking without personal story. Incom par iso n with ot her profes sion s this difference is a matt er ofdegr ee. Th e degr ee, ho wev er, in this case is striking.

I f to be a pro fes sio nal is to be eq ui pp ed wi th skills wh ic h aredesired by the public, and this is certainly one factor in mostdefinitions of prof essi on, t he minis ter is in tou gh straits. T hegosp el whic h the minist er is to procl aim is hardl y a bap tis m andconfi rmati on of the dom ina nt value s of con tem por ary society. Infact, the gospel of the cross is a scandalon. Prophetic ministryhard ly ha s a ch an ce if it is to be mol de d an d s ha pe d by publicde ma nd . Sim ply exa mi ne the profile of lay and clergyexpectations of the ordained ministry in a recent study, Ministryin America.35 What emerges from this s tudy is a profile ofexpe ctat ions whic h is certainly the profile of a professi on. Th edom ina nt pic ture is an interper sona l style of minis try influen cedgreatly by the disciplines of psychology, social science, andtherapeutic practice. Th e skills dem and ed are unquesti onablyprofessional skills. Here is a profile of a profession. Yet theresponsibility to utter the prophetic Word, " thus saith the


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Lo rd ," to live and call oth ers to a cruci form exist enc e in the na meo f the crucified, an d to wal k in the rank s of Go d' s co mi ngkin gd om of right eousn essall these do not rest comfortablywith in the definition of a pro fession .

This is not to say that the Wor d whi ch jud ges and heals doe s notrequire comp eten ce, indeed professional competen ce, but theWord nevertheless transcends the professional demands or it isnot the Word of God. Yet this is not the final truth. No validpurpose is serve d by confusing, int entionally or unintention ally,profession with "professionalism." Whatever the profession, be itlaw, medicine, or education, its purpose is no t fulfilled wh en itsidentity is reduced to a simple tally of functions. The professionalis at the sa me time a per son , not a coll ection of funct ions.Conversely in relation to ministry, no valid purpose is servedwhen the rigorous demands of professional expertise in service toother s are jett ison ed in favor of a mediocri ty masq uera ding underthe gui se of the gospe l. Th e cas e of mini stry is not an either/or,either profession or vocation; nor is it a matter of "scissors andpaste," simply attaching one definition to the other.

Wh at is requ ired is a rec ogn iti on of the differ ences in linguisticdisco urse. Min istry as voca tion is theologi cal discou rse definingthe sou rce , cha ract er, and goal of mini stry . Minist ry asprofessio n is sociological discou rse descri bing and enabl ingeffective practi ce of mini stry . Defi niti on is not desc ript ion, n or isdesc ript ion definiti on. Fo r full dis cou rse we nee d bo th . For amo re fruitful practi ce of min ist ry we ne ed bot h. Th e co mm en t ofa semi nary presi dent p laces the matter properl y, " I believ e thatwhile the professonal image should be an informing image inour the olo gy of mini str y, it ca nn ot be the transforming realityout of whic h we fu nct ion ." 3 6 There really is not a conflict orsta lema te if we ge t on with properly uniting the two so longdisjoi nedvocatio n and profes sion.

N O T E S1. P. T. F o r s y t h , The Church and the Sacraments ( L o n d o n : Independent P r e s s , 1 9 1 7 ) ,p . 130.2. Seward Hiltner, Ferment in the Ministry (Nashville: Abingdon P r e s s , 19 6 9 ) .3 . W a l t e r W a g o n e r , Bachelor of Divinity (New Y o r k: Association Pre s s , 19 6 8 ) .4 . See Ji i rge n Moltmann, Theology of Hope (New Y o r k: H a r p e r & Row, 1 9 6 7 ) , pp.3 0 4 - 3 8 , for an insightful t r e a t m e n t of the placement of the c h u r c h in a technological

society.


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QUARTERLY REVIEW, SPRING 19825 . See Study Encounter, vol. Ill, no. 2, World Council of Churches, 1967.6 . Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1958.7. James Ward Smith and A. Leland Jamison, eds., The Shaping of American Religion(Pr ince ton: Princeton University Press, 1 961 ) , p. 120.8 . Profession: Minister (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1 9 6 8 ) , p. 18.9 . Glasse, Profession: Minister, p. 19.10 . H. Richard Niebuhr, Th e Purpose of the Church and Its Ministry (New Y o r k: Harper &Row, 1 9 5 6 ) , pp. 79 ff. This book, published in collaboration with Gustafson andWilliams, was accompanied by The Ministry in Historical Perspectives (New York: Harper,1 956) , Niebuhr and Williams, eds.; and by The Advancement of Theological Education (NewY o r k: Harper, 1 957) , with all three scholars as authors.

1 1 . New Life in the Church (New Y o r k: Harpe r & Row, 1961) p. 145.1 2 . "Why Not the Ministry?" The Interseminarian 1 (April 1962): 13 .13 . The New Creation as Metropolis (New Y o r k: Macmillan, 1 964 ) , p. 55.1 4 . Harvey Cox, The Secular City (New Y o r k: Macmillan, 1 9 6 5 ) , pp . 1 25-48 .1 5 . Letters and Papers from Prison, rev. ed. (New Y o r k: Macmillan, 1 9 6 7 ) , pp. 203-4 .1 6 . Profession: Minister, p. 21.1 7 . Gard en City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1971.1 8 . Gard en City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1972.1 9 . Wounded Healer, p. 98.2 0 . Why Priests? (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1 972) , p. 53.2 1 . The Book of Discipline (Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House, 1 980) .T h e r e is wide ecumenical co nsens us at this point. As early as 1957 Yves Conga r in LayPeople in the Church (Westminster, Md.: Newman Press, 1957) argued that a theology of ministryha d to be done within the context of an inclusive ecclesiology. This was in mark ed contra stto earlier appr oache s to a theology of ministry. The discussions within the Faith andO r d e r Commiss ion of the World Council of Churc hes have exemplified the sa me

methodological approach by considering the theology of the whole people of God asprerequisite for a theolo gy of ordai ned ministry . See One Baptism, One Eucharist and aMutually Recognized Ministry (Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1 978) . The 1980C O C U resolution on ministry follows the same order. See In Quest of a Church of ChristUniting: An Emerging Theological Consensus (Princeton, N.J.: Consultation on ChurchUnion, 1 980) , chap. VII, reprinted in QR 1 (Spring 1981): 68-85.2 2 . The Church's Ministry (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1 948) , p. 107.2 3 . Commentary on Romans (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmanns, 1 980) .2 4 . The Future of God (New Y o r k: Harper & Row, 1 9 6 9 ) , p. 94.2 5 . Lordship and Discipleship (Naperville , 111.: Alec Allenson, 1 960) , p. 79.2 6 . Church and Sacraments, p. 133.2 7 . Eschatology and Ethics (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1 974 ) , p. 86.2 8 . The careful New Testam ent research of G e r h a r d Krodel, "Forms and Functions of

Ministries in the New Testament," Dialog 9 (Summer 1969): 1 9 1 - 2 0 2 , seems to lendsupport to this assumption with a slight qualification toward the end of his argument:"The legitimacy or illegitimacy of this develop ment depends entirely on how hissuperior rank is understood and where the basis of his authority lies."2 9 . See a particularly vivid illustration of this in Peter Schmiechen, "Mission plusFunction = Ordination," The Christian Ministry 1 (November 1969): 1 0 -1 1 .3 0 . Robert S. Paul, Ministry (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1 965) , pp . 1 27-63 .

3 1 . Manson, Church's Ministry, p. 108.3 2 . Book of Hymns, No. 344.3 3 . John Wesley, "An Address to Clergy ," The Works of John Wesley, vol. X (London:Wesleyan Conference Office, 1 8 7 2 ) , pp. 4 8 1 - 8 4 .3 4 . Ronald Pavalko, Society of Occupations and Professions (Itasca, 111.: Peacock, 1 971 ) ,pp. Ill ff.3 5 . David S. Schuller, Merton P. Strommen, and Milo L. Brekke, eds., Ministry inAmerica (New York: Harper & Row, 1 980) .3 6 . William K. McElvaney, The Journal of Pastoral Care 30 (March 1976): 55-68.26


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PROFESSING THE C A L L TO S E R V EVocation, Competence, and Identityin the Ministerial Office

D A V I D L O W E S W A T S O N

It is an exacting task nowadays to complete letters ofre com men dat ion for candida tes seekin g admis sion to annualconferences in The United Methodist Church. The informationrequested has become increasingly specific, and while there isan evident concern in most instances for an evaluation of thecandi date's calling, the emphas is is mu ch mor e on person alcharacteristics. One is asked to assess these in considerabledetail, and as the 1980 Book of Discipline makes clear, there is thethe optio n of re co mme nd in g a psycho logic al test to sup ple men tthe reference (par. 4 1 4 . 4 ) . It is as if boa rds of orda ine d mini strywer e undeci ded over the relative impo rtan ce of vocatio n an dprofessional aptitude, as in the following question from a recentconference letter, which could well have been a summary of theentire docume nt: " Do you frankly think this pers on has ch ose nthe right voc at ion ?" Th e seman tics wer e interesting. No t toolong ago, the candidate might have chosen to accept or reject acall to the ministry, or chosen to enter the ministry, but could nothave chosen to be called.

The issu e is wei ght y an d is not of cou rse peculia r to t heordai ned ministry. Profe ssionals in ma ny fields, includin g otherare as of minis try, re cog niz e an d identify with the tensi on itimpli es. It to uc he s the ordai ned mini stry , how ev er , at a poi nt ofparticular sensitivity. The church rightly insists on theco mp et en ce of its full-time leader shi p wh en million s of peo pleare under its care we ek by we ek in wors hip, educatio n,counseling, and many other areas. Indeed, not to insist on adegr ee of expertis e woul d be patently irrespo nsible. It wouldalso be a denial of the incarnational nature of mini str y and anDavid Watson is assistant professor of evangelism at Perkins School of Theology, Dallas.

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alienation from the world in which Christians live, witness, andserv e. Yet the ch ur ch is called first and fore mos t to proc laim tothe world a me ss age of eternal ho pe and eschato logical urge ncyan d mus t gua rd against the assimilatio n of criteria andobjectives which might enervate the pursuit of its mission.

The Discipline ma ke s clear that th e tensi on of this twofol d taskis inescapable, not least for those in the ordained ministry. The"Historic Exam inat ion" and the statements conc erning ordination stipulate that candidates must affirm not only their faith inChrist and their striving for Christian perfection, but also theircommitment to the doctrines, disciplines, and polity of TheUnit ed Meth odi st Chu rch (par. 425) . Fur ther mor e, whil e it isacknowledged that ordinands are "persons within the Churchcommunity whose gifts, grace s, and pr omi ses of futureusefu lness are obser vable to the com mun ity , wh o res pon d toGod ' s call and offer the mse lve s in leader ship as ordainedmin ist ers ," it is exp ecte d that they shall also be comp ete nt in th edisciplines of Script ure, theolog y, chu rch history, and churchpolity, as well as in the unders tanding and practice of the art ofcommunicat ion and h u ma n relations (pars. 4 2 9 . 1 , 4 3 1 . 8 ) . Inshort, it is the duty of the chur ch to authe ntica te th e call of itsministers.

Con sid er the cour se of two hypot hetic al tho ugh repres entative app roa che s to the ministerial o f f i c e . O n the one han d, thereare those who perceive their call as a direct commission fromGod. It may c om e as a co ns equ en ce of conv ersi on anddisc iple ship ; it ma y be a subs equ en t critical poi nt in their lives;but it springs essentially from a deep intuitive conviction thatthis is Go d' s will. Th e chur ch pres ents suc h perso ns with a serieso f che cks and te sting s, beg inn ing with their professionaltraining an d contin uing thro ugh out their ministry . If they h aveknown the B i b l e as a sou rce of auth orit y a nd reve lati on, forexam ple, bein g confro nted w ith the disciplines of scripturalstudy will be a difficult and sea rch ing pro ce ss. If the y ha vekn ow n the guid ance of Go d thro ugh pra yer and supportivefellowship, they may be disoriented to find that, in theexigencies of the pastorate , inspiration mus t be filtered throug hthe realities of pers onal gro wth a nd faith dev el op me nt . 1 If theyhav e ente red t he ministry with a stron g sens e of miss ion, t hey


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may be disconcerted to find that an objective study of the worl dand the Christian tradition often means an adjustment in theirvisions and their hopes. 2

Such testings and searchings are necessary for ministry in aworld o n whi ch Marx, Freud , and Ein stein have left their mark.W e cannot unlearn what we now know about human historyand the h u m a n psyche, nor yet ignore what it means to berelative in tim e and spa ce. If mini stry is to be tens ile rather thanbrittle, seasoned rather than euphoric, the direct and intuitivecall must be subjected to criteria of professional competence. Inthis way the call is confirme d and stre ngth ened , and savingdiscipleship th rough Jesus Christ is offered with integrity anddiscernment .

On the other hand, there are those for whom the call comes asa growing conviction. It may emerge through an upbringing inthe life and w or k of the chur ch, wit h the pro spe ct of serv ing it infull-time ministry evolving as a professional option. It may comeas the result of a n e w aw ar en es s of the Chr isti an faith and ofper son al skills an d apt itude s; but it will ulti matel y be per cei vedas a co mmi tm ent rather than a comm iss ion. Th os e wh o enter theminis try in this wa y are no ne th el es s calle d by God . Th ey are justas inspired by the vision of their work and are just as convincedo f its missiona l significance. Their vocation, howe ver , is mo relikely to develop as they acquire their professional skills.Testings for such persons come from the challenge of thegospel to which they make their professional commitment. If,fo r example, they have grown into a knowledge of Godthroughout the ir lives , it will be a difficult and search ing task forthem to present the gospel to those who have never heard it,especially if the res po ns e is that of con ver sio n an d a pe rson alexperience of salvat ion in Chris t. If the y hav e appr oac he d thecounseling of people as essentially a therapeutic process, it maybe disturbing to find that pastoral care in the context of thegospel can be an encounter with a dynamic God. And it will bedisconcerting to find that, in matters of death and eternal l i f e ,people look to a minister for words of author ity, notexplanation.

Y e t suc h testin gs and disc over ies are nece ss ar y if mini stry is tobe pasto ral lea der shi p and no t mere cons ulta tion . It is difficult to


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surround oneself with ecclesiastical support systems and at thesame time serve the risen Christ. Juan Luis Segundo's generalrule of pastoral prudence is a pierc ing re min der of wh at c an happenwh en a co mmi tm en t to the ministry is blandly professional. T hegospel be co me s "the abs olute min im um in obligation in order tokeep the max imu m numbe r of pe opl e. " 3 We cannot forget whatwe no w kn ow abo ut global sin an d suffering, no r yet can w eignore the continuing imprisonment and murder of Christiansas the price of their di scip leshi p. If mini stry is to be apostoli crather than institutional, motivating rather than palliative, thedeductive and professional commitment must be subjected tothe imperatives of the gospel.

I t is not easy for the church to hold two such approaches in acreative ten sio n, particular ly wh en p ers ona l proclivities tend toconfirm one or the othe r. Tho se w h o perce ive their callintuitively will often resis t profe ssion al acco unta bilit y as achal len ge to the certa inty of their vocat ion. By the sa me token,those who arrive at their commitment deductively will oftenreject the dem an ds of the gospel whi ch see m to ques tio n the irprofessional expertise. Yet there is a pressing need for arecogni tion of the se percep tions as comple men tar y, not leastbecau se an exclusively vocationa l or professional approacheva des the real cha lle nge facing the chur ch today.

I t is ironic that th ere sh oul d be any quest ion o f a con cep tua ldichotomy between the two, because a profession was originallythe declaration or vow made by one who had entered a religiousorder. Th e wo rd w as applied to the practice of divinity, law , andmedici ne, in whi ch "pr ofe sse d" know led ge was requi red.Secularization has rightly ext end ed its use in cont empor arysociety, but has also, and perhaps inevitably, led to a degree ofsecular ism in whi ch vocation and profession alike ha ve lost much i fnot all of their t heol ogic al significance . It is quite exce ption al inour time to find persons, Christians included, who regard theirocc upa tio n as a calling wh ic h has co me from God . Un ite dMeth odis ts, for exam ple , wh o ren ew their cove nant each year inwords of total commitment, probably leave a safe margin forpersonal initiative and achievement, to say nothing of choice. 4

Herein lies the chall enge . Self-sufficiency, the gr oun d of allsin, has become the accepted criterion for personal and


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professional acco mpl ish men t. Vocati on is vie wed , not as are sp on se to Go d' s creativ e pu rp ose , but as self-fulfillmentthrough self-un dersta nding and self-asser tiveness. Peop lebecome professio nals in that at wh ich th ey can excel, rather thanby as ki ng ho w th ey mig ht us e their gifts an d skills to attes t to thegrace of G od an d to serve oth er h u m a n beings .

This dev oti on to self-sufficiency lead s inevi tably to t hewo rsh ip of actio n an d suc cess idols, as Jiirg en Mo lt ma nn hasso aptly described them. 5 Th ey confront Christi ans in their dailyliving at alm ost ev ery turn an d pres ent a con st ant threa t to theirintegrity. Nor are ministers of the chur ch excus ed the challeng e,for th ey are thr eat ene d by the sa me idols. It is ne ve r easy tomai ntai n the distinctive role of Chris tian minist ry in the conte xto f h u m a n kno wl ed ge an d e nde avor , but it is especi ally difficultw h e n the co nt ex t is that of dis cove ry. An d toda y there is aproliferating expertise in precisely the area of kno wl edg e mostcongruent with pastoral ministry: the field of h u m a n relations.While it is wh ol ly approp riat e to draw on these new disciplinesas pastoral resourcesgroup dynamics, for examplethere isal wa ys the risk of dist orted priorities .

All of wh ic h ren der s faithful ness to th e tradition of the g osp elo f paramount imp ort anc e. The prob lem is that kee pin g thetradition, or the receiving and handing over of t ruth andknowledge, is a h u m a n activity by no mea ns limi ted to theChristi an faith. As K. E. Sky dsg aar d has ob serv ed, traditionparticipates in the ambiguities of h u m a n nature. Hu ma ns wishto control what the y receive and hand on, and tradition therebybecomes a def ens e of their desir e to exi st in their ow n wa y. 6Christian tradition, on the other hand, confronts the quest forh u m a n s e l f ^authent icati on with " a living histori cal pe rs on as weknow him th rough the faithful rem em br an ce of the firstgener ation , the wi tne ss o f the Apo stl es. . . . Thi s biblical-historical J e s u s . . . is th e ren ew er an d fulfiller o f tra diti on. Thi sflaming cente r alone is the co re of tradi tion ." 7 For the people ofthis distinctive tradition t her e mus t the refo re be clarit y ofidentity and purpose, both in the church and in its ministerialoffice.

A writer who helps considerably in this regard is the Frenchsociologist and lay theo logi an, Jacq ues Ellul, whose work in


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recent dec ades ha s been a valuable if controv ersial interpretation of the role of the c hu rch i n a tec hnol ogi cal age . His Presenceof the Kingdom in 1 9 4 8 wa s a proph etic warni ng that tech nolog y,if und eres tim ated or uncon trol led, wou ld prese nt a prof oundthreat to hu ma n s ociety. He has argu ed cons isten tly since thenthat this is exactly wha t ha s happ ene d. His sust aine d convictioni s that hu ma n self-und erstand ing is no w govern ed by techno lo g y , an d that the onl y mot iva tin g and c han gi ng force in societ yhas become technique, best translated from the French astechnics 8 Whereas primitive humans understood the threat ofopposing forces in terms of a divine personification of nature,and whe rea s the biblical story depicts hu ma ns as desacralizingnature b y seeing the mse lve s in terms of a God- give n destin y,mod ern self-unde rstandi ng has been that of an eschatolog icalhistory. It has been a short step to embracing technique as theme an s by wh ic h to ach iev e this , bu t in so doi ng ther e has be en afundamental misund erstan ding of the aut onom ous nature oftechnology. It is not " an iner t, weig htl ess object that can be u se din any manner, any direction by a sovereign mankind.Technology has in itself a certain number of consequences, itrepresents a certain structure, certain demands, and it bringscertain modification s of ma n and society , whi ch force themselves up on us whet her w e like it or no t. " The effect on humansociety and exis tenc e is twofold: the eliminat ion of anyth ing thatis not "t echn ici zabl e"; and the reconstit ution of the whole ofsociety on the basis of technological totalization. 9

With tec hno logy as the ultimate reality and purp ose of h um anexistence, argues Ellul, the human race has no place to go, nohop e to nurtu re. Ever ythi ng in society , includin g religion, iscau ght up in the pro ce ss , an d "w it h the final inte grat ion of theinstinctive and t he spiritual by mean s of thes e hu ma ntech niques , the edifice of the technical socie ty will be comp lete d.. . . It will not se em insa ne, for eve ryt hin g will be ordere d, an dthe stains of hu ma n pass ion will be lost ami d the c hr omi umgleam. . . . Th e sup re me luxu ry o f the soc iety of techn icalnecessity will be to grant the bonus of useless revolt and of anacquiescent s m i l e . " 1 0 Th e hu ma n hop es of an historicaleschatology have ende d, discreetly and silently, "an op en vei nin a war m ba th ." 1 1


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Ellul's theol ogica l res po ns e to the se analy ses is to draw a firmBarthian distinction bet we en the Wo rd of Go d and the world,and to identify the Christian as divinely elected. Christians havenot been created to be separate from the world but at the sametime are most certainly not of it. Christian thought, l i f e , andheart are neither dependent upon nor control led by the worl d,but bel ong to the On e wh o has sen t disci ples into the wor ld topractice disc iple ship in spite of the worl d. Ch rist ian s are not toac t in the same way as everyone else. Th ey are not to look at thevarious movements which h u ma n beings have started, forexample, choose those which seem "go od ," and then supportthem. Christians are not to give their blessing to any particularh u m a n ente rpris e but are cha rge d wit h a mi ssi on of wh ic h th enatura l pe rso n can have no ideayet whi ch in reality is decis ivefor the world.

It is a revo lut ion ary role, not bec aus e of wh at Ch ris tia ns d o,but beca use of wh o the y are: amb assa dors o f anot her state. Th eyare the salt of th e eart h, e xe ge te d by Ellul as the sig n of the ne wcovenant which God has made with the world in Jesus Christ.1 2They are the light of the worl d, gi ving to the world thr oug hChrist the true mea sur e of goo dne ss and the true meaning ofhistory. Th ey are also she ep in the midst of wol ves, wit ness ingto the suffering of Christ, and accepting in their lives thedom ina ti on of ot her peopl e for th e sake of Ch ri st .1 3

In an age of plu rali sm, secul arizat ion, and future sh ock , w he nit is important for Christians to know who they are, this is apowerful affirmation. Christians are the elect, the people ofGod. They are who they are, and are placed where they are,because God has called them and sent them into the world. It isan identit y wh ic h is gr oun de d in their justific ation in Chris t,coram Deo, and it reminds them that they are, above all else, asign to the worl d of Go d' s saving work. Thi s identi ty is not onl yaffirming, but li beratin g, in that it frees Chri sti ans from t heburden , so often and so unnecessarily self-imposed, of feelingresponsible for the saving work which is Christ's and Christ'salone. Chi sti ans are not the mea ns of Go d' s salvati on: th ey arethe sign. 1*

Vocationalism mus t not, howe ver, beco me passive an dinwa rd. It is also inc umb ent upon Christ ians to evince a concer n


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fo r service to the world. When vocation is defined as election, asscripturally it mus t be , a co mm on Chri stian mi stake is to be co meposs essi ve of the gosp el an d to achiev e an identity at t heexpense of the rest of the h u ma n race. It then becomes difficultto avoid an attitude of excl usiv enes s or eve n disdain t oward theworld; and on a planet which we have now seen from outerspace to be delicate and fragile, this is a dangerous perversion ofthe gosp el. Fortuna tely there is mu ch in the Method ist traditionto guard against such a parochialism.

If we turn to We sl ey , we find a catholicity whi ch defineselection as bei ng cho se n by God for a particular w or k. 1 5 His viewo f Meth odi sts is well kno wn: he looked upon them as those"raised up to reform the nation, more particularly the Church;[and] to spread scriptural holiness over the land."1 6 The key toChris tian ide ntity is particular el ection for universal service.Christians are not only ambassadors: they are announcers,hera lds o f a ne w age , th e basileia which Jesus himself announceds o often and so compellingly. The new age is in the world, but itis also of ete rni ty, a nd it offers new l i fe to all. There are manywh o wor k for it, who suffer for ri gh te ousnes s' s ake; and for allsuc h, as one wou ld exp ect of a Go d of jus ti ce, the re is divineapproval. Christians are not exempt from this struggle, butneither are they the major protagonists. They must work alongwith e ver yon e else as colab orers, sharing in the hope of thatwhich is to come. But they are also called to a specialdiscipleship. Put simply, they are the ones who know what ishap pen ing . Thi s particular privilege require s of Christi ans thatthey be on call for special ass ign men ts, ready to proclaim inword and dee d wha t they kn ow . Their discipl eship depends ona direct relationship with the risen Christ, which renders theirtask unpre dict able and eve n self-contradictory in the eyes of theworld . T her e are times wh en their missi on is clear, exciting, an dresponsive to evident needs. At other times it makes no sense,has no ost ensi ble pur pose , a nd offers little enc our age men t. Attimes it calls to the forefront of the struggle for the basileia. Atoth ers , it calls ba ck from t he fray to apparent disempowermentand inactivity. Such is the role of Christian discipleship, and it isthe particular identity of the church in an age of social andreligious technics.


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Documents

Spring 1982 Quarterly Review - Theological Resources for Ministry