Just as for clergy, so too people who are members of a church need to be made aware of the significance of their call. They are not a lower class of Christians who are dependent on the upper class of Christians known as clergy. From this perspective, it needs to be said to a member, you are called to be among the saints. Because of this “…with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.” (Ephesians 1:18-19) Together we must realize that “…speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:15-16)
It is neither the clergy who brings the Word from on high to them nor they who bring the Word to the clergy. Rather, the lay members are challenged to join the clergy in seeking to discern the will of God as it finds expression within their congregation. This is not an over against task but a communal effort to listen to someone who is beyond all of them but seeks to find expression among them.
Consider what this might mean for officer training. The task of pastor and officers is not to make a “successful church” but to learn how to exegete what God is saying through the congregation. This requires becoming familiar with both the Scriptures and the history of the congregation so that they might be laid alongside of each other. It also requires developing a greater skill in listening to the members even as the members are encouraged to learn to listen to what God is saying in their relationships.
The expectation is that Christ is addressing us in all that happens within the Body from individual relationships to corporate decision making. It is also assumed that the main arena of ministry is not where or when the community gathers but out where God has placed the members in work, play, and home.
It is not any easier to discern what God is saying through the Body than it is through Scripture but in both cases it is very important to be asking the question, “What is God saying here?” How is Christ addressing me in my situation? We are less in the task of protecting the purity of the church or the future survival of the church than we are in learning how to say, “Not my will but yours be done.”
