Every Lay Person A Minister

A journal entry by Bishop Dick Wills, July 23, 2007

S: I Peter 2:9 -- But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

O: Every follower of Jesus is now a priest (minister).

A: In so many of our churches we continue to think of the minister as the one who stands before us on Sunday mornings and delivers the sermon. And it is true, this person as been called by God to be the spiritual leader of the congregation.

The distortion comes when we think of the pastor as the only minister in the church. The pastor is to do the ministries of the church because he or she is the spiritual leader. The pastor visits the sick and leads the ministries of the church. So many of our present churches do not align with this important verse in scripture.

We are all ministers. The pastor is the spiritual leader. But the people are the ministers of the church. Lay people are called by God to ministry in different areas of the church. Some lay people are the ministers who bring the presence of Jesus to those who are sick in the hospital. Other lay people are ministers who bring food to the hungry. Other lay people are ministers who bring the presence and gospel of Jesus to those in prison. Lay people are the ministers who visit in the homes of the congregation.

In Acts 6 we see the lay people wanting the Apostles to minister to a group of widows who are being neglected. The Apostles (pastors) resist and direct those bringing the concern to select lay people to be the ministers to the widows. The Apostles (pastors) are to spend time in prayer, preaching the word, and being the spiritual leaders of the church.

This is how God has ordered the church. I am always excited when I visit a church who understands the Bible’s direction of the ordering of the church. The laity (the royal priests), the ministers, are not just supposed to sit in the pews and serve on committees.

P: Father help each of our churches return to being churches where every member is a minister (a part of the royal priesthood) and the pastors are the spiritual leaders. Love, Dick

Y: I will yield the temptation to do the work of the church just because I am the Bishop but will seek the laity to claim their biblical places of being priests or ministers in each church.

Companions In Christ® Training Event Promotes Spiritual Growth for Adults

The Rev. Diane Luton Blum

A 1-day leader training event for Companions in Christ is set for August 11 at The Upper Room, 1908 Grand Ave, Nashville from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The training provides leaders with an in-depth experience in Companions in Christ resources and trains them in the distinctive leadership skills called upon when leading formational groups. For information, call the Companions in Christ training office at 1.877.899.2780 x7525. Facilitator for the training event will be provided by Tennessee Conference minister Diane Luton Blum*.

The Companions in Christ family of resources from Upper Room Ministries brings a transforming small-group experience to congregations. Most in-depth Christian studies offer knowledge about scripture, prayer, or other areas of faith. Companions in Christ invites participants into a deeper experience of the Christian life. As the journey unfolds participants discover classic and contemporary spiritual practices that form rather than inform the participants and encourage them in inner and outward expressions of their faith.

Participants familiar with Companions or new to the resource will find great value in a training experience. The Companions family has expanded to include The Way of the Child, Helping Children Experience God, a 39-session resource, and Compañerismo en Cristo, a Spanish-language version of Companions in Christ.

Authors of the Companions series include Stephen D. Bryant, editor/publisher of Upper Room Ministries; Gerrit Scott Dawson, senior minister of First Presbyterian Church in Lenoir, N.C.; Adele J. Gonzalez, Assistant Director of the Office of Lay Ministry in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami, Fla.; E. Glenn Hinson, author and retired professor of spirituality at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, Va.; Rueben P. Job, a retired United Methodist bishop and former editor/publisher of The Upper Room; Marjorie J. Thompson, author and Spiritual Director of the Companions in Christ initiative in Nashville, Tenn.; and Wendy M. Wright, professor of theology at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. The Author of The Way of the Child is Wynn McGregor, certified Christian educator in the Presbyterian Church, USA.

It is estimated that 10,000+ small groups from a variety of denominations and locales have experienced Companions in Christ since its release. The transforming impact this resource has in congregations caused one clergy to say, “this resource may be the future of the church”.

Those who attend the leader-training event will receive Companions in Christ resources essential for initiating Companions groups in their church.

To register on-line click on the following address:

http://www.upperroom.org/companions/eventsone.asp

Upper Room Ministries is an ecumenical organization that produces resources for encouraging deeper spiritual formation, including The Upper Room daily devotional guide, distributed to over two million people in 44 languages, five other magazines, a line of books, and programs for youth and adults.

*Diane Luton Blum, an ordained United Methodist minister, has served as a
parish pastor for most of the past 30 years. In the past 10 years she has
been blessed to be a participant and leader with ministries of spiritual
formation within and beyond the local church. She has provided leadership
with programs like the Upper Room's Academy for Spiritual Formation, The
Walk to Emmaus, and she has been involved with the development, testing and
training initiatives for the Companions in Christ resource. Her sabbatical
studies (2004-2006) included certification in the UMC as a minister of
spiritual formation, and the interfaith program in Spiritual Guidance
through the Shalem Institute. She combines her primary vocation as a pastor
with a ministry for individuals in spiritual guidance and for groups in
retreat leadership. For 30 years she has shared life and ministry with her
husband, Jeff, whose ministry has been focused with persons in jails or
prisons. They are the parents of two young adult sons. They enjoy
swimming, sailing, birding and gathering with circles of family and friends.