Aliens in a strange land
Aliens in a strange
land
The focus
of the Episcopal Café’s
Magazine (a site to which I contribute a monthly essay – this is my April
contribution) for April is captured in these questions:
What is the relation of the Church,
Government, and the American Experience? Where is the church called to
be in these tense political times – a place of activism or a refuge from
political rhetoric? Have we been hobbled by our declining influence or set free
from our shackles to the establishment?
Those
questions reminded me of William Stringfellow’s book title, An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a
Strange Land. I increasingly feel that I live in a strange land.
Political polarization has displaced the mutual respect and compromise
essential for democracy to protect the rights of the minority and the majority.
Physical isolation with people connecting via social media has become the new
norm, causing many communal organizations (including religious congregations)
to wither and die. Growing economic inequality has overwhelmed commitment to
promoting economic opportunity for all. We fight wars with ill-defined
objectives using borrowed funds, leaving the debt to our children as part of
their inheritance. Impetuous narcissism and self-interest rather than servant
leadership now characterize many who occupy positions of power and influence.
Where is
the Church, and most particularly The Episcopal Church (TEC), to be found in
this strange land?
Jesus was
the face and voice of justice in an unjust world. Yet too frequently our voice
is muted. We may be seen but not heard. Our Presiding Bishop speaks loudly, prophetically,
and whenever possible from a national platform. He is an exception. A majority
of our diocesan bishops speak softly or are silent. Some of our parish clergy
preach the gospel boldly, but few carry that message to their larger community
through personal advocacy and witness.
Jesus
welcomed everyone – the foreigner, the Jew, the oppressed, the outcast, and the
sinner. Yet too frequently our avowed inclusivity contains an unspoken
exclusivity. Some parishes emphasize activism; other parishes emphasize being a
refuge from political rhetoric. Few parishes provide space for both activists
and those seeking refuge. Some parishes welcome liberals; other parishes
welcome conservatives. Problematically, parishes, regardless of who they
welcome, usually send mixed messages, communicating who they welcome through
body language and code words that unintentionally, if not intentionally, exclude
dissenters while verbally affirming that all are welcome.
Jesus
exhorted his disciples to love God and their neighbor. He called disciples but
did not form an organization. Yet too frequently our goal is to revive, or at
least to sustain, the institutional church. Maintenance, not mission, is our real
agenda. We need to pay our clergy. We need to maintain our buildings. And we want
some money for programming. Whatever is left, and typically it is only a
pittance, goes to mission beyond the parish. Parishes typically view the money
that goes to the diocese as a burdensome “tax” rather than as an opportunity to
engage in mission beyond the parish. Financial prudence and institutional
self-preservation widely preclude risk taking that advocates for the
vulnerable, aids the least among us, welcomes the stranger, cares for the
earth, and otherwise proclaims the gospel.
My
observation and pastoral experience is that people seek a congregation that
intellectually challenges their spirituality and theology, emotionally both
embraces them and offers a safe community in which to move toward wholeness, and
provides multiple, diverse opportunities to work toward improving the world. In
sum, a Jesus shaped community attracts followers. Such congregations, vibrant
communities of aliens in a strange land, invariably grow. For them, institutional
maintenance is a byproduct of their focus on mission.
We Christians
are aliens living in a strange land. Without good leaders we will perish. Those
persons and groups responsible for discerning whether God has called a person
to serve as a bishop, priest, deacon, or warden must examine the person’s gifts
for leadership. A call admittedly has many facets. However, in this crucial
time for the Church, God surely calls very few if any persons who lack significant
leadership gifts. The greater the scope of responsibility, the greater is the
requirement for superior leadership.
Effective
leadership in today’s Church includes these three essential elements:
- Effective leadership connotes a clear and passionate vision of mission shaped by Jesus’ teachings and ministry, a vision the person consistently and unrelentingly communicates in her or his own unmistakable, proven, and contextually appropriate voice.
- Effective leadership connotes a demonstrated, successful commitment to growing a loving Christian community.
- Effective leadership connotes an energetic engagement with the broader community, translating her or his vision into practice. Mission, not institutional maintenance, is the priority.
This
emphasis on leadership does not deny the importance of other elements of
ministry such as pastoral care and religious education. The reality, however,
is that TEC is a denomination of small, aging congregations. Thus, most vicars
and rectors have limited demands on their time for hospital visits, pastoral
counseling, funerals, baptisms, or confirmand preparation. Too often, clergy
spend time with friends among the congregation in ways that lack any
discernible connection to the Church’s work. This time masquerades as genuine
ministry. Small congregations similarly have limited requirements for religious
education.
We have
strong reasons to be optimistic about the future of the Church. God is on our
side. Furthermore scholars who study pastoral leadership widely agree that one
clergyperson can adequately serve a congregation of 500-700 people. Over half
of all TEC congregations are smaller than a quarter of that size. A priest who
recruits, trains, and then cedes canonically appropriate pastoral care and
religious education ministries to the laity has ample time for exercising
leadership that passionately communicates a vision, lovingly builds inclusive
community, and vigorously engages in mission.
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