Priesthood
One of the hallmarks of the Protestant Reformation was what Martin Luther called "the priesthood of all believers." Luther and others were responding to what they saw as abuses among the leadership (priests and pope) in the Roman Catholic Church of the time, seeing instead in Scripture the model that all believers in Christ are, in fact, priests to each other. All are in ministry by virtue of their baptism. The Old Testament concept of needing a priest to intercede before God on our behalf was done away with in Jesus Christ, so that Peter says we are all a "holy priesthood" (1 Peter 2:5).
Down through the ages, we have affirmed that as protestants. We believe that all are in ministry. Some are in "specialized" or "particular" (ordained) ministry, and some are in "lay" ministry, but all are in ministry, and no one ministry (if it's making a difference for Jesus Christ) is more important than any other. We affirm that. In our local church, we even put in the bulletin every week that the "ministers" are the entire congregation, while there are two particular people who are serving as "pastors." We affirm the priesthood of all believers.
Or do we?
I had a pastor friend a few years ago tell me that his observation is, in the church, we tend to hire people for the things we don't want to do. So if we have trouble, for instance, getting people to volunteer to work with youth, we'll hire a youth pastor. If no one signs up to work in the nursery, we'll hire a child care professional. And so on. And we've developed an idea that anything that's "official" must be done by the pastor. A person in the hospital may have twenty-five visitors from others in the church, but if the pastor doesn't come, the church doesn't care. I even had an experience in my first appointment where I, as an associate pastor, visited someone in the hospital who promptly asked me when the pastor (meaning senior pastor) was coming.
Do we really believe in the priesthood of all believers? Or have we become content to let a few do "the real ministry" while we sit back and allow ourselves to be spectators?
Do we really believe that all of us are ministers to each other, as Scripture indicates and as our tradition proclaims?
If we do...then how will we live that out?
Down through the ages, we have affirmed that as protestants. We believe that all are in ministry. Some are in "specialized" or "particular" (ordained) ministry, and some are in "lay" ministry, but all are in ministry, and no one ministry (if it's making a difference for Jesus Christ) is more important than any other. We affirm that. In our local church, we even put in the bulletin every week that the "ministers" are the entire congregation, while there are two particular people who are serving as "pastors." We affirm the priesthood of all believers.
Or do we?
I had a pastor friend a few years ago tell me that his observation is, in the church, we tend to hire people for the things we don't want to do. So if we have trouble, for instance, getting people to volunteer to work with youth, we'll hire a youth pastor. If no one signs up to work in the nursery, we'll hire a child care professional. And so on. And we've developed an idea that anything that's "official" must be done by the pastor. A person in the hospital may have twenty-five visitors from others in the church, but if the pastor doesn't come, the church doesn't care. I even had an experience in my first appointment where I, as an associate pastor, visited someone in the hospital who promptly asked me when the pastor (meaning senior pastor) was coming.
Do we really believe in the priesthood of all believers? Or have we become content to let a few do "the real ministry" while we sit back and allow ourselves to be spectators?
Do we really believe that all of us are ministers to each other, as Scripture indicates and as our tradition proclaims?
If we do...then how will we live that out?
As long as we have a consumer driven mentality in the North American church we will very rarely find those who are willing to pay the cost to invest their lives in others to "wash their feet" as ministers of Jesus. At a resent conference one of the speakers who held his "Worship Service" in a theater accounted that environment for drawing 95% consumers and only 5% disciples. I'm not so sure if it is the environment or just the spirit of the age when people believe they can receive Jesus as Savior and see His Lordship as an option they add the their religious vehicle.
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