Ordained Presence
2 Timothy 4:1-5 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge thel iving and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound[a] teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry.
How is it possible, in terms of the ordained minister’s pastoral task to work this out in practice? The Lutheran Church, emphasises that ordained ministry is a privilege granted by God through the call of the church and that those who serve in this ministry are accountable to the Word of God for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Ordained ministers are called to faithful preaching and teaching, to be examples of the Christian life, and to lead and equip the baptized for their ministries in the world. In other words the emphasis is the ministry of Word and Sacrament expressed through holy living and enabling ministry in others.
For the Tentmaker Minister, this has to be expressed through a sense of presence and purpose within the community of the church, its wider field of mission and the context of daily employment. John Mantle writing about Britain’s first Worker-Priests speaks of such a presence in the pastoral sense as being an organised presence, an articulate presence and a prophetic presence. In his book he tries to answer the question “What did a worker-priest have to offer in the workplace that a layman did not?”+ by saying that the simple answer might be an understanding of human and pastoral problems, substantial theological comprehension and a human face for a distant institution whose clergy he represents.
Whilst acknowledging the differences between a worker-priest and a Methodist Non-stipendiary Minister, there is a similarity of where pastoral ministry is exercised. Perhaps we should questions why leadership, in the presbyterial sense, is restricted to the church environments. I would argue that the traditional role of the pastor seen as exclusively within the 'fold', whilst the laity are those who venture into the world of work is an inappropriate model.
There are, however, those who would advocate the need for the ordained minister to have a sense of separateness in order to fulfil the pastoral role. I feel that this is primarily a misunderstanding of what it means to be set apart. Yes, there is a need for a presbyter to disengage in order to reflect upon her/his engagement both in the world and community, but unless the pastoral task is focused on care and development of the body of Christ, it will become impoverished and itself ineffective in ministry. For the church's task is surely that of ministering to the community by reaching out to it as it actually is, rather than passively expecting a sudden active Christian commitment from people before anything else can be done. Being with people, where they are making the Incarnation known in the community is surely true pastoral ministry.
Conclusion For me, the ordained Non-stipendiary Minister’s task in an age of uncertainty is to truly underpin the life, ministry and care of the whole people of God. This work has to be truly incarnational in essence, participatory in nature and holistic in expression. Whilst individually focused, the pastoral task has to project the all-embracing representation of Christ, with, through and by the whole people of God and as such is in, through and beyond any human institutional limitation. The Tentmaker Minister has to be both engaged and disengaged from life, an inhabiter of the margins, a dweller of the verges the mass experience, at least in the mind of many of those she/he meets. Yet perhaps because of that very dislocation, through such wandering, the Tentmaker can be is used in discerning signs in the lives of those who either frequently or momentarily find themselves along side her/him, seeking direction.
Empowering God, you called your disciples to share the good news of your love to the ends of the earth. They were a motley crew, many from the margins of the society of their day. Sometimes I feel on the margins of life, and I wonder if you can use me. Remind me that power comes from you and you alone. Give me a courageous and willing spirit so that I may boldly go wherever and to whomever you send me. Amen.
Tomorrow- The Name of Jesus
+ John Mantle, Britain’s first worker-priests, SCM Press Ltd, London, 2000
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