2001
Thomas Leighton Day
Kings and Stool Pigeons: Authority for Ministry
The Christian church has continued the work of Christ around the world for many centuries. When Jesus walked the earth, he empowered many others to do the same ministry as he was doing, reconciling people to God and one another. He established the Apostolic model so that the future church would be effective in continuing the ministry. It seems, however, that the first century model for carrying out the purpose of the church has been replaced with an older model found in the Old Testament; the model of having a king go out before the congregation and fight their battles. The church today, however, has replaced the kings with clergy, and the expectation is the clergy will preach, teach, feed, pastor, counsel, and pray for the rest of the congregation. The future of a congregation, therefore, depends upon the ability of the clergy to handle as many tasks for as many people as possible. This model of ministry greatly hinders a church not only in reaching unchurched people in its community, but also providing an avenue for spiritual growth within the congregation. Dependency upon the clergy for sole leadership has also put the crunch in a vulnerable situation. It is similar to the dependency the passenger pigeons had with their leaders who came to be called stool pigeons. Their dependency upon the stool pigeons brought about their extinction. This thesis has looked at five churches who consider themselves to be churches following the Apostolic model of empowering as many people for ministry as possible. These churches are varied in size, socio-economic background, geographic setting, age, and denomination. Three of the five churches are from the Episcopal denomination. All of these churches have recognized the need to move away from the model of having a king lead them. How they have accomplished this and to what degree of effectiveness they have achieved, varies with each church. The conclusion looks at why the church should move toward the lay oriented model of ministry, and what are some possible consequences with it stays planted in the model of kings and stool pigeons.