Five Key Concepts of Ministry – My Cannon

I listened to Natalie Angier’s book The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science on CD while driving to and from visiting family over the most recent Thanksgiving holiday. Early in the work, Angier asked something like “What would you identify as the five key concepts from your field? What is your field’s cannon?”

The question first forced me to think about what my field is. I hold a Master of Divinity degree, generally recognized as the basic requirement for ordained ministry in main line churches. I and many of my seminary alums would agree, however, that our seminary education prepared us more to be theologians, and even biblical scholars, than pastors engaged in parish ministry.

After over ten years of parish ministry I earned a Doctor of Ministry, generally recognized as the highest level of professional education relevant to pastoral ministry short of the more academic Ph.D. While some Doctor of Ministry programs focus on preaching, counseling, or spirituality, mine focused on Reformed Theology, perhaps the most academic of the various Doctor of Ministry programs offered by the seminary where I worked on and earned it. Working on that degree reinforced my self-identification as a theologian.

In addition to having served in both full time and part time pastoral ministry for over thirty years, during those part time years I also served six years as part time staff for a church regional governing body. I also taught as an Adjunct two semesters at a small Roman Catholic Liberal Arts College where I taught courses in Theology and ten semesters at a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) related Liberal Arts College where I taught courses in Religion and Philosophy.  My adjunct teaching experiences reinforced my self-understanding as a theologian.

This leaves me still pondering the question - what is my field? Is my field theology or ministry? I find it hard to separate one from the other. My theology informs my practice of ministry and my practice of ministry informs my theology in a cyclical dialectic. That is the perspective from which I answer Angier’s question about what I identify as the five key concepts from my field, or my field’s cannon.

The first key concept I think is essential to both theology and ministry and that I want worshipers in the pew as well as spiritual but not religious people and those who shun Christianity to know and understand is that the Bible is not one book dictated by God or written by a single author in one place at one time. The Bible is like a little library bound together. It is a collection of sixty-six writings (or more if you are a Roman Catholic) written by dozens of authors from various places and over nearly two thousand years whose original work was later edited by others and assembled together in one collection, a process that took centuries. These writings were assembled first by Jews and later adopted and added to by Christians because many found these writings to be theologically informative and spiritually meaningful.

Related to the above concept is understanding that The Bible was not originally written in the King James English, or any form of English. Most of the writings Christians consider the Old Testament were originally written in ancient Hebrew and  Aramaic and later translated into the ancient common Koine Greek. The Hebrew and Aramaic writings that were later translated into Greek were later translated into Latin. The Greek and Latin were eventually translated in English. That means that when we read the Bible in English that we are sometimes reading a translation of a translation of a translation.

A third key concept is the recognition that while there are certainly unique beliefs that separate Christians from Jews and from other people of faith, beliefs such as the affirmation that the mystery of God is best experienced, understood, and experienced as a Trinity, and that  Jesus is God in the flesh, Christianity is one of many world religions. As a religion or system of belief, Christianity shares many ideas and concepts with other world systems of belief or religions. Christians share with Jews and Moslems the core belief that there is only one God, and we believe in the same God, the God of Abraham and Sarah, although we have different understandings of what the God of Abraham and Sarah calls us to do and be. Some Christians have found affinity with Buddhism, although some would consider Buddhism more of a philosophy than a religion.

A fourth key concept is the interdisciplinary approach to ministry. Parish ministry is certainly informed by the Bible, but it is also informed by the history and tradition of theology and the church as well as the disciplines of philosophy, psychology, and sociology. The Apostle Paul often drew upon Greek philosophy in his writings. Augustine and other early Christian writers relied so heavily upon Plato that they can be said to have baptized Plato. Thomas Aquinas was influenced by Aristotle. Most parish pastors would probably agree that their counseling practice is as informed as much by Psychology as the Bible and Theology. Sociology has helped me understand the human dimensions of the Church and how congregations and even denominations have been influenced by the economic, educational, political, and racial ethnic background of their members.

Finally, even though Christians believe that the church is the body of Christ, that body often seems to be torn asunder by various expressions we call denominations. While some consider our plethora of denominations an affront, I think it is a gift. If we think of the church as the place we come to be spiritually fed and nurtured, then we might consider the universal church as a spiritual restaurant. I prefer Wendy’s, but when there is no Wendy’s around, I will satiate my appetite at McDonalds, Taco Bell, Arby’s, Chick-fil-A, or any other number of franchises or independent establishments. Even though I prefer Wendy’s, sometimes I tire of a single with fries and want to eat something else. It is all food. It is all nourishing. But I also trust that wherever I eat that the kitchen is observing sanitary practices and has passed its health inspection. Just like there are some eating establishments I would not eat in because of health inspection violations and unsanitary conditions, some congregations can be unhealthy and even dangerous. Stay away from them.  Find one that serves a varied menu of spiritually satisfying  and religiously healthy entrees.

All Saints Day on Sunday for the First Time in Eleven Years

This year All Saints Days falls on a Sunday. That has not happened since1998, eleven years ago. (Thanks Krystin, for providing the year.)

All saints Day, along with World Communion Sunday, is one of my favorite days in the Church’s Calendar. I look forward to both of them, even more so than Easter or Christmas, perhaps because neither has been commercialized. May they remain to be ignored by Madison Avenue.

By “saints” I do not mean those few officially canonized by the Roman Catholic Church but rather, and at least, all those Christians who have completed their baptism by dying as a confessing Christian and who have thus entered the Church Triumphant. The New Testament, however, especially the writings attributed to Paul, seems to speak of all confessing Christians, including those still living, as “saints.” While in the New Testament “saint” is a synonym for being a follower of Jesus, or in other words, a Christian, in my mind, however, one is not a “saint” until after death, at least for the purposes of All Saints Day.

My quandary this year is whether or not to go back at least two years since this will be the first time as Designated Pastor of North Church Queens (photo of building, right) that All Saints has fallen on a Sunday and last year we did not hold a special All Saints Day worship service. To do so would mean picking up only one additional name. I guess the answer is a no brainer.

Who is Jesus?

In Mark’s Gospel there is a story about Jesus asking his disciples who people said he was. You can find the narrative in chapter 8 verses 27 through 30. The disciples told him that some were saying he was John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others one of the Prophets. Jesus then asked the disciples point blank “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered “You are the Messiah.”

There is a similar account in Luke chapter 9 verses 18 through 20 where Peter responds "The Messiah of God." In a parallell account in Matthew chapter 16 verses 13 through 16 Peter replies “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

This morning I asked a couple younger worshippers at North Church Queens who Jesus was. The youngest responded “The baby of God.” Another answered “The Son of God.” Before returning to the pews, the younger worshippers assisted me by handing out 3x5 index cards to all the other worshippers at North Church Queens as I asked worshippers to anonymously write on the index cards their answer the question, in ten words or less, “Who is Jesus?” After a few moments the younger worshippers collected the cards and returned them to me. Here, in no particular order, are some of the answers that were returned.

“The Messiah, our greatest Teacher, and God’s Earthly Reflection”
“The Son of God”
“Jesus is the Messiah, Son of God, who came and died for us to save us (world) of our sins.”
“The son of God, our Savior on this earth”
“The Son of God, our Savior”
“Son of God & Holy Spirit & Son of Man”
“Our Savior, Son of God, way to Eternal life”
“God, as he came to walk the earth as a man.”
“The Son of God, our Redeemer, our Savior”
“Jesus is our Savior & the Creator of Heaven & Earth”
“God, Father, Son, Redeemer, Holy Ghost, Giver of life”
“Jesus is our Savior; the Son of God.”
“Son of God, our Savior, Teacher of the Holy Word, Preacher”
“Jesus is the Son of the Father and the Son of Man, our Savior”
“Jesus is our Savior, Redeemer, and friend”

This is how some of the worshippers at North Church Queens answered the question “Who is Jesus?” But who do you say that he is?

Farewell and Godspeed, Charles

I and six other Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Ministers of the Word and Sacrament recently gathered for lunch at the home of colleague in ministry and friend Charles Brewster (photo right) to say farewell and which him Godspeed. Charlie recently retired as the Pastor of the multicultural First Presbyterian Church of Forest Hills and he will soon be moving to Dallas, Texas, where he plans to eventually move into a Presbyterian retirement facility.

Several of us would usually gather at Charlie’s home once a month for fellowship and lunch. Our time together would usually focus on catching up with one another’s lives and ministries, talking about national as well as New York State and City politics, talking shop (theology), and commiserating about our dysfunctional New York City Presbytery. After an hour or so up conversation we would move from the living room to the dining room to enjoy a light lunch. Then we would all go on our way.

Until recently Charlie and I served together on New York City’s Committee on Ministry and would regularly sit next to each other at committee meetings, sharing notes, ideas, and impressions as the meeting progressed. Since he has a long history in the Presbytery and I am a newcomer, Charlie has been instrumental in helping me make entry. His command of Biblical Greek has been legendary, evidenced by his nearly constantly carrying a Greek New Testament around with him wherever he went. Since his retirement he has also filled in at the pulpit of North Church Queens a few times when I was away.

Charlie has truly been a valued colleague in ministry and I will miss his local presence. Farewell and Godspeed, Charlie.

Modern Day Urban Shepherds?

Yesterday in the weekly lectionary study and discussion group I attend, we wrestled with, among other things, the relevancy of the Shepherd imagery in a modern urban setting. The text we were considering was John10:11-18 and Jesus’ statement “I am the good Shepherd . . .” Far removed from rural America, not to mention Scotland, Ireland or New Zealand, and in farther away from rural Palestine, most modern city dwellers have never seen a real life sheep except in a zoo. So what to do? What contemporary image carries some of the same meaning as that of a shepherd?

Some of the images to replace that of a shepherd that we discussed were Dog Walkers, Child Care Workers, and Home Health Aides, as well as Firefighters, Police Officers and School Teachers. More specifically we reflected upon Captains of airliners who set their planes down in rivers and check to make sure all the passengers have disembarked before they are the last person to leave the plane, and Captains of cargo ships who allow themselves to be taken hostage by pirates in order to protect the lives of their crew.

What other images work for you?

A Big Apple Gospel

Forty years ago Clarence Jordan made his folksy, vernacular, contextualized translation of the New Testament known as the Cotton Patch Gospel set in the contemporary American south.

After moving from rural West Virginia to Urban New York City in late July 2007, I started thinking about a folksy (hip?), vernacular (concrete and steel vs. earthy?), contextualized translation of the New Testament I call The Big Apple Gospel. So far I have finished only one verse, Mark 10:25.

"It is easier to drive a vehicle through the Queens Boulevard Underpass on the Jackie Robinson Parkway during rush hour than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."

What do think? Contribute your own folksy, vernacular, contextualized passages to a Big Apple Gospel by adding a comment.

A friend among my colleagues in ministry

When Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Ministers are ordained and installed, one of the questions they are asked is “Will you be a friend among your colleagues in ministry, working with them, subject to the ordering of God’s Word and Spirit?” I have never been a “Lone Ranger” sort of minister and have always sought to work collaboratively and collectively with other Presbyterian clergy as well as clergy from other denominations. I have actively participated in local Ministerial Associations and cooperated with neighboring clergy to offer ecumenical worship services. Another way I have tried to be a friend among my colleagues in ministry is by welcoming them into the community when they move in and wishing them farewell and Godspeed when they leave.

Two other colleagues and I recently said farewell and Godspeed to my friend and colleague Blair. The other colleagues were David, the Pastor of a nearby Missouri Synod Lutheran Church; and Andy, the Pastor of a nearby Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregation. I have known Blair, David and Andy less than eighteen months, but they are still my friends and colleagues.

Over the past eighteen months the four of us have met over lunch on numerous occasions: to say farewell and Godspeed to our Russian Orthodox colleague, plan for community emergency preparedness, plan for the ecumenical community Thanksgiving service, to shoot the breeze, and to say farewell and Godspeed to Blair.

Even though I have known Blair less than a year and a half I have been blessed by knowing him as a friend and colleague. I even had the opportunity to preach in Blair’s pulpit last Thanksgiving because the Episcopal Church hosted the Community Thanksgiving Service and as the new kid on the block it was my turn to preach. In the brief time I have known Blair I have come to appreciate his theology, experience his spirituality, and respect his ministry. I have heard him talk about the trials and the blessings of his ministry and through him have gained a better understanding of the community as well as the Episcopal Church.

Blair will soon be retiring from a nearby Episcopal Church and moving out of the area. That is why Andy, David and I were treating him to lunch at a local Italian restaurant. We wanted to hear about his plans for the future and to let him know we cared and that he would be missed. I think that is what it means, in part, to be a friend among one’s colleagues in ministry.

Farewell Blair. Godspeed.