DESCRIPTION:

The bulk of American church goers are lay people. The equally obvious, but often neglected, truth is that the effectiveness of Christian ministry in the secular community is directly related to the preparation and involvement of lay people in intentional creative witness and service. This course will deal with the relationship of the clergy to the laity in local congregational life; the recruitment, preparation and affirmation of lay leaders in meaningful areas of ministry; and the essential priorities in the life of the pastor/priest that can allow this to happen. To that end, we will spend some of our time in the classroom reflecting on matters and terms that require clear definition for both ourselves and the people we will seek to serve. We will focus on such concerns as church administration, strategy formation for congregational mission, and ways to discover appropriate areas for ministry by lay leaders. The instructor will draw upon his own involvement in 47 years of pastoral ministry in rural, suburban, campus related, and inner city congregations as well as his own experience in secular callings prior to ordination.

1. A fuller appreciation of the privileges and responsibilities of ordinary Christians in congregational and everyday contexts;

2. An awareness of a range of proven models and experiments-in-progress within the area of the ministry of the laity;

3. A knowledge of the biblical and theological grounds for the ministry of all Christians and of the most effective ways of communicating these.

4. A sensitivity to several different cultural contexts in communicating a vision for the ministry of the people and of the growing multi-cultural character of serving Christ.

The class will meet once each week for a four-hour session. Classes will include lectures, case-study debates, small group discussions, presentations by lay people involved in innovative ministry, and field work encounters with certain experiments. We will spend part of our class time reflecting on our required readings. We may have some outside resource leaders with us.

Banks, R. Redeeming the Routines: Bringing Theology to Life. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1993.

Diehl, William E. The Monday Connection. HarperSanFrancisco, 1993.

Ogden, G. The New Reformation: Returning the Ministry to the People of God. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990.

Greenleaf, R. K. Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness. New York: Paulist, 1977.

Selected portions from books available on a reserve in the library.

1. A 10-page essay endorsing the importance of the ministry of lay people in some aspect of daily life, along with practical recommendations as to how this could be affirmed, approached and supported.

2. An 8-page proposal for your pastor, church officers, para-church leadership or denomination justifying the fullest role of ordinary Christians in the church and describing an effective example or proposed model of this.

3. Biblical readings for our mutual reflection and discussion will be assigned weekly.

Elective for M.Div. For M.A.T. meets requirement in Ministry Foundations (Min F).