Preaching on the Inside
Nearly every day, for the better part of three years, I stared at the first few words of Matthew 28:19, "Go ye therefore into all the world and teach all nations..." (KJV). The verse was boldly emblazoned over the stained glass windows in the chapel at the seminary I attended. Those words were a daily reminder of why I was attending seminary in the first place.
Six years after commencement and two congregations later, figuring out how to embody "The Great Commission" feels much more complicated. I can't be in "all the world"...so I work in a ministry often called the "local parish". I spend most days on a corner lot in a well-to-do suburb in Southeast Wisconsin. My commute from the backdoor of the rectory to the office door at the church is all of 30 paces.
My weekly efforts at preaching are largely directed at the same people (although each week brings a different configuration of people in the congregation). But after four years, I know where most people sit on a given Sunday. I also know where many of them stand on an assortment of issues. I know who will shake my hand at the main door and who will duck out the side doors for a quicker exit to the sidewalk (or to the after-liturgy refreshments in the parish hall). I'm guessing that by now most people have learned how to tune me out when I'm riding one of my favorite hobbyhorses. To quote the writer in Ecclesiastes, "there's nothing new under the sun."
How do I square up the command of Jesus to "go into the world" when I'm so much a part of a mainline denomination that often seems more defined by staying in place than ever attempting to go anywhere?
Oh, I know. My job is to "equip the saints" so that they can go into the world of their every day lives. That's what I've been told anyway. I wonder though. How do we get past all of the church-speak? How do we give a theological and mission-oriented rationale for keeping a clergyperson on the payroll? Is there such a rationale? When did ministry become organizational development? When did mission take a backseat to management?
I'm still naive enough to believe that the Gospel has world-changing, death-ending, life-giving power. From several conversations I've had lately outside of the "Episcopal ghetto", I know that there are people just beyond this block who are interested in learning more about the Way of Jesus...even if they aren't convinced about the so-called "organized church". My prayer is that being collared by the church won't degenerate into imprisonment behind the ramparts of an institution more concerned about fortifying itself against the culture than engaging that culture with the message of Jesus.
My call in the meantime, though, appears to be preaching on the inside...hoping against hope that somehow a few seeds of the Gospel will find their way off this corner and out into world we've all been commissioned to "go forth into".
Nearly every day, for the better part of three years, I stared at the first few words of Matthew 28:19, "Go ye therefore into all the world and teach all nations..." (KJV). The verse was boldly emblazoned over the stained glass windows in the chapel at the seminary I attended. Those words were a daily reminder of why I was attending seminary in the first place.
Six years after commencement and two congregations later, figuring out how to embody "The Great Commission" feels much more complicated. I can't be in "all the world"...so I work in a ministry often called the "local parish". I spend most days on a corner lot in a well-to-do suburb in Southeast Wisconsin. My commute from the backdoor of the rectory to the office door at the church is all of 30 paces.
My weekly efforts at preaching are largely directed at the same people (although each week brings a different configuration of people in the congregation). But after four years, I know where most people sit on a given Sunday. I also know where many of them stand on an assortment of issues. I know who will shake my hand at the main door and who will duck out the side doors for a quicker exit to the sidewalk (or to the after-liturgy refreshments in the parish hall). I'm guessing that by now most people have learned how to tune me out when I'm riding one of my favorite hobbyhorses. To quote the writer in Ecclesiastes, "there's nothing new under the sun."
How do I square up the command of Jesus to "go into the world" when I'm so much a part of a mainline denomination that often seems more defined by staying in place than ever attempting to go anywhere?
Oh, I know. My job is to "equip the saints" so that they can go into the world of their every day lives. That's what I've been told anyway. I wonder though. How do we get past all of the church-speak? How do we give a theological and mission-oriented rationale for keeping a clergyperson on the payroll? Is there such a rationale? When did ministry become organizational development? When did mission take a backseat to management?
I'm still naive enough to believe that the Gospel has world-changing, death-ending, life-giving power. From several conversations I've had lately outside of the "Episcopal ghetto", I know that there are people just beyond this block who are interested in learning more about the Way of Jesus...even if they aren't convinced about the so-called "organized church". My prayer is that being collared by the church won't degenerate into imprisonment behind the ramparts of an institution more concerned about fortifying itself against the culture than engaging that culture with the message of Jesus.
My call in the meantime, though, appears to be preaching on the inside...hoping against hope that somehow a few seeds of the Gospel will find their way off this corner and out into world we've all been commissioned to "go forth into".
posted by FrGaryB | 6:08 AM
2 Comments:
I believe Jesus was addressing the 11 disciples, commissioning them to go forth and bring others to be followers of Jesus.
This is sort of like you and your fellow classmates scattering to different parts of the country to proclaim the good news Jesus offers us.
Then it is our job (hopefully desire) to go out and do the same.
On the surface there is a flaw in this pyramid plan. The priest is the "trained professional", with willing participants coming to you. We laity have to talk with those who do not have or want a relationship with Jesus (or more likely the church).
The flaw in this thinking is that formal seminary training or the lack of such makes us ill equipped but in reality shows our inability to trust in the Holt Spirit can and will work through us.
The point you brought up that does bother me is How do I square up the command of Jesus to "go into the world" when I'm so much a part of a mainline denomination that often seems more defined by staying in place than ever attempting to go anywhere?
This drives me a bit crazy in hearing As Episcopalians, we don't... we are not comfortable doing...
All this does is give us permission to stay in our own little boxes and not step out of our own comfort zones over something as important as another’s salvation.
Brad:
I think we're probably tracking along the same lines here...
This post is simply my latest attempt to wrestle a bit with how to proclaim the "Good News Jesus offers to us" week after week to "insiders" -- people who have allegedly heard the message for years and years.
If my recent experiences in coffee shops is any indication, there are more opportunities to talk about Jesus outside the church than inside it...and this presents a wonderful opportunity for collar-types like me to remember that the work of the Church is always outside of its walls.
I would also suggest that the people who show up on Sundays in church may or may not be "willing participants"...people attend church for a variety of reasons, and I'm always glad some people show up, but I'm learning that there are many motivations behind their presence...and I always get in trouble when I presuppose what those motivations are or "should be".
My comment about the insular nature of many mainline congregations merely reflects my observation...I don't believe "what is" gives us permission to stay in our boxes...many people don't even know we're in a box in the first place.
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