“The Unfunded Mandate of the Church”

March 11, 2008

Last week’s Emergent Cohort here in Nashville was a fantastic discussion of ordination in the Christian church and the different approaches that are taken.  The sharing of ideas and thoughts in regards to certain people being “set apart” was fascinating to me.  As someone who has worked vocationally in the church and in ministry, I don’t wrestle with the idea that God has set me apart.  In essence, that part of who I am has been long decided, whether I work at a church or not.  (And I don’t mean for that to sound cavalier or flippant about that.) 

One of the key things shared about how the Emergent conversation and churches that are emerging have further embraced some of the things that the Protestant Reformation began.  Long has the Protestant church embraced the notion that all believers are a part of the priesthood of Jesus, that we are all ambassadors for the cause of Jesus and his work in the world.  In the emerging conversation that idea has been embraced even more.  Some churches elect to not have employed ministers, instead having everyone see their ministry as a tentmaking proposition.  Those that have had to have employees have opted that everyone is employed equally, meaning the people who clean the facility are paid the same as the person who shares the sermon.  And this idea intrigues me because, as Dixon stated, it is the “unfunded mandate of the church.”  Basically it is an idea we give credence on paper, in talk and little in effort.  Let’s face it, we have create a system again that values more gifts than others.  And it bugs me.

Sometimes in my work in the church, I have theological disagreements with people.  Sometimes even pastors.  But I somehow count for less than those around me.  The other side of the coin is that my sinful side makes it so that I think some tasks are “beneath” me.  So what happens when the system becomes flawed?  We damage people over the sake of the organization. 

You can read some about how that is working right now in regards to a decision by the clergy of the Tennessee Conference over the laity.  We affirm the laity in the United Methodist church as being called to minister the Gospel, but then we sometimes make it so that they are unable to participate in decision making processes, visioning and major structural changes.  It is indeed an “unfunded mandate” and one day I hope I can look back on my life and ministry and see that I was a part of the group that helped bring some change into the life of the communities that I get blessed to be a part of.  Especially frustrating is that this situation is hurting to the young adults and youth who make up the Conference Committee on Youth Ministries, people the most likely to embrace the idea that they are called to ministry, regardless of clergy status or structure.

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