Thoughts on Discipleship: The ‘glue’ of Ministry and Spiritual Formation and “Let’s hear it for the established church!”

Two recent blog posts, one discovered last month and one written within the past 24 or so hours, are behind today’s thoughts regarding discipleship and congregational life.

Having been in a local church all of my life and spending nearly 22 years in local church ministry as a youth minister, a youth and education minister, and a solo pastor, I have probably helped more people develop their faith than in coming to faith.

It’s not that I do not care about an individual’s spiritual condition. I do. It’s not that I have not helped people with their confession of sin and their profession of faith in God through Christ. I have.

It’s just that my pastoral calling and office, as I look back, seems to have always been focused on the discipleship side and not the evangelistic side. So anytime, someone writes about spiritual formation or discipleship, I am interested.

Last month, I came across a blog (the first of the two aforementioned ones) from the Adult Education Ministry of the Church of the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Vancouver, Washington. One of their entries dealt with their current visioning process and what it means for discipleship.

http://goodshepherdadulted.blogspot.com/

About halfway down, after writing about another model of ministry, a statement appeared that I resonated with because it is something that I have been thinking, and believing, for a while now.

It’s not about the model- it’s about living into our calling.

I have learned from ministry models. I have learned from traditional models of ministry (I grew up with them!) I have benefited from the purpose-driven model, I have used the Navigators material, Serendipity small group materials, and other kinds of lessons, dvd’s and the like to help others (and myself) develop their faith.

But it is not about the materials or models. It is about living into our calling. It is about consciously and intentionally joining into a local community of faith and walking with those in that community of faith as we live the life of faith.

I know that I am not saying anything new to some of us but this statement has further jelled my thinking about how to help those that I have been called to pastor become effective disciples.

In these nearly 22 years of ministry, I have served 4 churches. The oldest is now around 126 years old and the youngest is 46. The church where I converted is 47 and the only church plant that I was a part of as a kid would have been 41 years old this year had it survived. The average age of the four churches I have served is 77 years of age!

Furthermore, the current church I served has been in the same location since its beginning in 1943! Part of the building (basement kitchen from original house basement is probably from the 1920’s; the rest of the basement was constructed in the early 50’s and the sanctuary was built in 1963.)

I will admit that I have wondered over the years why I was in the ministry at all! All three of the churches that I served as an associate minister had a pastoral change within a year or two of my arrival! And the church that I currently serve as the solo pastor nearly closed 10 years ago!

The second blog, written just recently by Thom Rainer author of several good books on ministry, is about this aspect of my ministry – the established church… and I needed to read it because it was an affirmation of the work that I have done in established churches.

You can read it here

http://www.thomrainer.com/2009/06/crisis-at-county-seat-first-church.php

Toward the end of his blog he says this:

I am not ready to give up on established churches. If church leaders across America decide in large numbers to give up on established churches, we simply will not replace them fast enough with new churches. The most optimistic church planting projections fall well short of replacing more than one-half of the churches in America.

Another problem with giving up is that many of the established churches do have great potential with the right kind of leadership. While many will resist change to the point of death, many are ready to move forward.

Finally, the new churches will soon be established churches. Most churches begin to demonstrate resistance to needed change within ten years of their founding.  We will always have the challenge of County Seat First Church, regardless of location, denominational affiliation, or demographics.

We need leaders who will have a long-term perspective, who realize that, while change may be slow, it is possible. We need leaders who will love the existing congregants and lead them at a pace that will not divide the church. We need leaders who will love and live among the church members. We need leaders who will live and love in the community.

Thanks, Thom… I am one of ‘those’ pastors. It is hard and it is long at times, but I know that this is where I am to be at this point in my life.

Let’s hear it for the ‘established churches’ of all shapes, colors, and sizes! They still are part of God’s kingdom!