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In 1971, I was a young college student beginning to consider
what life had to offer beyond girls, money, and fun. I had been coerced into
driving a carload of youth to the Joplin District Conference. (Something I would
not encourage a 20-year-old to do today!) I admit it; I was out of touch with
"church life." The conference was in the process of electing a new
district president. I leaned over to my friend sitting next to me and said,
"Who is that? I don’t recognize him," referring to an older
gentleman sitting along the side of the sanctuary.
My friend replied, "That old relic? He’s the new
caretaker for the campgrounds, and we’re about to elect him district
president." That was my introduction to Noble Gault, who would become my
mentor and my friend.
I was sitting next to Noble in the High Priest Quorum in 1986
when a document was read to the quorum. As President Tyree was reading the
paragraph on what we now refer to as the "ordination of women," Noble
gripped my knee so tight with his hand I thought my circulation had been cut
off. With tears streaming down his face, he leaned over toward me and said,
"I’ve waited all my life for this moment." In that instant, all
self-doubt was erased and with clarity and purpose, I knew how I would respond
to the prophetic voice among us. Noble died a few months later.
My college friend was right. Noble was a relic. A relic is
something that is a link to the past. It is steeped in culture and geography. It
points to a particular place in time, yet it remains timeless. It tells a story.
Held in the light of present and future, relics often invoke wonder and mystery.
They are precious and priceless. They sometimes provide clues to value systems,
universal understandings, and theological perspectives.
At other times, relics lead us into an everyday world of joy
and sorrow, work and rest, pain and healing. Relics enrich our lives. Relics
spark the surprise of discovery and the enthusiasm for adventure. Relics lead us
into worlds where we would otherwise never venture and introduce us to people,
places, eras, and ideas that change our world view and broaden our understanding
of the here and now. Relics link the lessons of the past to our hope for the
future. Relics speak to us on an emotional, intellectual, spiritual,
theological, cultural, and physical level. Because of their unique link, relics
are always relevant.
Noble served in my life as a precious link to the message and
ministry of Jesus Christ. He was a witness of the timeless and timely story of
the gospel. He sometimes filled me with wonder through the prophetic
imagination, while at other times grounded me in the mud and muck of everyday
life as we traveled the district, shared in hospital ministry, fixed plumbing,
built cabins, and repaired campground equipment. Through Noble’s
encouragement, I developed a lifelong love for the exploration of scripture and
the discovery of the divine in unexpected places.
We need more relics like Noble.
When I hear faithful ministers express a sense of loss of
direction and focus because they are no longer serving in a key administrative
position and wonder, "What do I do now?" I find myself thinking that
the church needs a corps of seasoned ministers who will serve as relics within
congregational life: a people linking the mission and message of the gospel to
the everyday lives of our people—mentoring, nurturing, leading, engaging.
Visioning men and women can become wellsprings out of which new generations of
ministers are born and cared for, encouraged and challenged, strengthened and
tempered to carry forward the story of what God has done and is doing in Jesus.
I would like to relate this relic image and how it can inform
the ministry of the high priest to trends I am seeing within our congregations.
It has been my privilege to participate in a wide range of
discussions over the past two years in my role as director of Congregational
Ministries, with congregational leaders, young adults, jurisdictional officers,
and members and friends at reunions, high priest gatherings, and congregational
meetings. I have also tried to research a number of resources in an attempt to
analyze, understand, and project how we might best respond to the needs and
challenges before us as a faithful expression of the mission and ministry of
Jesus Christ in our world today. Here are some observations from conversations,
researched studies, and anecdotal data that I believe speak to the quorum
today.
- Relic high priests are needed in every congregation to identify, recruit,
coach, encourage, and nurture faithful, authentic discipleship among the
members and especially the priesthood, linking the calling ministry of
Christ to our day and time.
There is reluctance on the part of many to serve in key
leadership positions within our congregations. Many young adults express the
opinion that active priesthood ministry is too demanding and unmanageable; the
boundaries between personal, professional, and ministerial expression are
blurred and the variety of leadership roles available within the local
congregation are so broad that they bring unreasonable expectations and
confusing standards of evaluation. They lament that with a lack of mentoring and
training, faith formation, and leadership skill development, there is little
motivation to volunteer—and even when they do, their gifts are not appreciated
or accepted by the congregation. This parallels a study sponsored by the
Association of Theological Schools regarding a concern for the competence of
women and men entering ministry who do not have the talents, skills, aptitude,
or knowledge to become effective leaders. Research found that "students
came to seminaries with low levels of religious literacy and with high personal
therapeutic needs."
- Relic high priests are needed to mentor young adults in outward
expressions of servant ministry and inward reflection on life-giving themes
linking the servant leadership model of Christ to current ministry practice.
Congregational members who desperately want to support the
ongoing mission of the church sometimes feel that young adults lack maturity,
are unwilling to take responsibility for their own actions, have poor leadership
and interpersonal skills, and fail to keep traditional ethical norms and
boundaries. Some have expressed despair at their lack of grounding in scripture
and doctrine. Others have rightly expressed discouragement for never having been
mentored or "trained" in servant ministry and priesthood function.
Let’s face it, leaders within congregations often are not efficient and
effective models of decision making, communication, gift enhancement, and
leadership development. Other denominations face the same concern. The
Presbyterian Church U.S.A. recently cited concern for "the unacceptable
failure rates on standard ordination exams, especially in biblical exegesis,
theological competence, and church polity."
- Relic high priests are needed who are willing to see congregations,
communities, and cultures with "new eyes" and cultivate
relationships of inclusion and compassion as seen in the prophetic vision
and pastoral style of Jesus as he modeled inclusivity, affirmation, and
compassion.
While we preach a gospel of inclusion and compassion, the
worth of all persons, and the giftedness of all, our practice tells a different
story. Leadership within the church is increasingly reflecting the abilities and
gifts of women, but statistical data will confirm that as a movement we are
still struggling with embracing and nurturing leadership irrespective of
ethnicity, generation, sexual orientation, culture, or economic background.
- Relic high priests are needed who understand the sacrificial nature and
divine mandate of responding to the call of God in our world today and will
passionately link congregations and congregants to the cross in whose shadow
we stand.
In conversations with leaders and priesthood, I often hear
expressions of ambivalence and burnout regarding the demands of ministry. I
would estimate that fewer than 30 percent of us view our function and work in
ministry as vitally important, significant in the lives of those around us and
in the life of the church, and as role models for those beginning their ministry
and leadership. While serving as stake president in three different
jurisdictions, I would regularly ask pastors to share challenges and concerns
that impacted their ministry. Pastors frequently thought they were mismatched in
their role, had difficulty motivating priesthood, felt poor support from family
and friends, placed upon themselves grossly unreasonable expectations, despaired
at the amount of pettiness and in-fighting within congregational families, and
were often blocked by controlling members. Yet these pastors often tirelessly
engaged in pastoral and administrative ministry while advancing demanding
careers, caring for families, and participating in community leadership.
Congregational pastors and leaders need seasoned ministers around them who
nurture, encourage, instruct, protect, and counsel through their own selfless
giving to the cause. Being commissioned in Doctrine and Covenants 104, I am
surprised that I do not see more high priests serving in congregational
nurseries, engaging in Aaronic ministry when appropriate and, as necessary,
seeking out youth and young people for friendship and support, actively
embracing and promoting the organizational mission and goals of the church
worldwide, and volunteering for congregational and community teaching and
training opportunities.
I have been richly blessed in the opportunities for ministry
that have been mine while serving in the Community of Christ. I will confess
that it is my intention to "continue always to be aware of the need to
render unreserved and fully accountable service-—good measure, pressed down,
and shaken together, and running over" until my one-hundredth birthday.
Then, like Jethro of old, I think I may return to my homeland. And if my
great-grandkids call me a relic, maybe that won’t be so bad.
(2003)
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