Reader Ministry Today by + Graham
THE DEVELOPING MINISTRIES OF CHRIST IN THE CHURCH - AND THE PLACE OF READER MINISTRY TODAY
(A revised version of the CRC Chairman's address 27th March 2004)
In many dioceses the number coming forward for Reader training remains buoyant. But with the growth of other forms of lay ministry, some Readers find themselves unsure what is distinctive about their ministry. It was with this in mind that I addressed the Reader Ministry officers of each diocese at Nottingham University in April. Readers need to know how their ministry differs from other lay ministers and why their ministry is important. Uncertainty about this is just one factor affecting the recruiting of younger Readers.
To set the discussion in context we start with a view of the historical development of ministry patterns in the first centuries.
From Churches in Large Houses to Large Churches
‘And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.’(NIV) I Cor. 12.28
This is a strange way to describe varied ministries in the Church. Why put first, second and third and then a number of other gifts and ministries? According to Brian Capper , following Harnack, the first three ministries are put in order because these were the itinerant ministries which needed to be supported: apostle, prophet and teacher. The remainder of the list are a selection of the ministries that were essentially local. Included in that list are the gifts of leadership, (more literally, piloting, but often translated as gifts of administration) and of helping others. Brian Capper suggests that in a house congregation of about two dozen people, these two gifts may reflect first the host who was the president of the eucharistic meal and the natural leader (so leadership/piloting), and, secondly, the helpers who assisted with the meal.
When the Church outgrew congregations in homes, with congregations of several hundred souls in a central gathering, the hosts then became the college of presbyters and the helpers became the deacons. We know that in these growing town churches there were large numbers of deacons and this explanation fits. As the churches became larger units, the services became more formal in style so they were led by those designated for ministry, ie. the large number of presbyters and deacons. Lay ministry was marginalised. To complete the picture, it is at about this time that we find the well known writing called The Didache telling the prophets and teachers to cease being itinerant and settle down in the local (and larger) congregations.
Towards bishops, priests and deacons
So following Capper’s analysis, as the Church expanded, the presbyters and deacons became the focus of local ministry, alternatively called the bishops and deacons, as in Philippians 1 and I Timothy 3. Timothy clearly has an apostolic and itinerant role and he appoints bishops/presbyters and deacons in the local church. So the ministry pattern is now developing as apostle (itinerant)– bishop/presbyter (local) – deacon (local). The teachers, prophets and evangelists have ceased to be itinerant and are settling into the large town congregations. Teaching the faith becomes a central role of the presbyters who now combine the roles of the president of the eucharist and teacher. Subsequently bishop and presbyter became separated as the bishop takes the apostolic role and becomes the itinerant focus of mission and unity. Working with him are the local presbyters and deacons in the congregations. Sometimes a distinction is drawn between teaching elders (presbyters) and governing elders. ITim. 5.17.
From this analysis we draw two principles:
1. Flexibility is appropriate in the development of ministerial roles.
2. Of the five major ministries it is the pastoral ministry which must remain local.
Apostles, prophets, evangelists and teachers can be itinerant, but not the pastors. The ‘pastor’ must be local and there every Sunday. This is because the pastor represents the care of Christ, the Good Shepherd, who lays his life down for the sheep and whose voice the sheep hear. My way of putting this is: ‘Every congregation needs a shepherd, but that shepherd need not be ordained or paid’. The other ministries can be and have been itinerant. But, from the beginning, the small congregations in the houses had the host/leader as their pastor present every week.
This is of particular significance in Cumbria where many of the churches are small: congregations of 8 to 15, for example. These congregations are worshipping in buildings designed for 100 or more. Instead of worshipping in a way suited to the small numbers, perhaps in a circle where everyone can easily take part, they worship in a style suited to a congregation of 100 or more, all facing forward, in a formal style led by one person. We need to put the process into reverse and recapture the appropriate style of worship for small numbers, perhaps moving back to houses. Readers could play a major part in this either as pastoral hosts or as itinerant teachers.
The Priority of Gifts in the Exercise of Ministry
According to the New Testament, Christian ministry flows from the gifts of God. These gifts are widely distributed across all the members of the Body and are described in various passages: (Rom.12.4-8; ICor. 12.4-11; 27-31; Eph. 4.7-16; IPet. 4.8-11)
The emphasis in these passages is not on order and hierarchy, but on organic interplay of the different gifts and ministries. The gifts are both ‘spiritual’ and ‘natural’ and there is no sharp distinction. I Corinthians 12. 27 mentions miracles of healing in the same breath as leadership and helping. Every gift for ministry is both spiritual, that is, touched by the Spirit; and natural, since the nature God gave us is to be spiritual and spirit-filled people.
According to Ephesians 4, it is when every gift in the Body of Christ is working properly that the whole Body builds itself up in love, into the stature of Christ. So there is an important third principle:
3. The Church’s ministry is expressed not by functions in hierarchical order, but in an organic unity of people using their God given gifts.
Sadly, the Church has a long history of defining its ministerial work by function and hierarchy. People see themselves not as a vital part of a living body but as in a hierarchical order, something like: bishop, then priest, then deacon, then Reader, churchwarden other lay people, etc. This inevitably leads to some people feeling second or third class in the work of God. The New Testament principle is that at the heart of the Church’s vision must be the recognition, release and development of all the gifts God has given, working together in a collaborative unity. If everyone serves in the way that they are most gifted, they get the greatest sense of fulfilment. They are then less likely to feel that their ministry is not as important as other ministries. This has important implications for how Readers should think about themselves in relation to other ministries.
Five Foundational Ministries in a Healthy, Growing Church
There are five foundational ministries which are given by the ascended Christ so that the Church grows into Christ’s stature. They are apostles; prophets; evangelists; pastors and teachers (Eph 4.7-16). All Christian ministry is Christ’s ministry; it is given by Christ and serves his glory in the world and the Church.
All may teach a little, as, for example, in a family, but only some have a teaching ministry in the Church. Designated ministries in the church must match gifting. Therefore gifts must be tested before a course of training commences. Otherwise someone may train for a ministry for which they are not gifted. This shows the importance of lay people preaching, under supervision. Those involved in Christ’s ministry must know where their gifts lie and how their gifts relate to their ministry authorised by the Church.
So we find two more principles:
4. Parishes will not have a basis for healthy growth unless all five foundational ministries are in place.
5. Gifts must be discerned and tested before training.
If every church needs the five foundational ministries for it to grow and flourish, this is very different from our ‘one vicar’ approach. We see rather that every church needs a team reflecting the five major ministries and Readers should play their part in this, according to their gifts.
It is not surprising that in our long years of a settled parochial ministry of a local and geographical kind, the Church of England’s clergy developed as primarily pastoral in their gifting and ministry. In Cumbria, during the Foot and Mouth tragedy, the clergy excelled in their pastoral ministry and we received much commendation for it. However, speaking generally about the Church of England as a whole, the ‘one vicar’ pattern has led to the pastoral ministry taking huge precedence over the other four foundational ministries.
Where are the other ministries, the ones that were originally itinerant: the teachers, evangelists and prophets? Some clergy are better teachers than pastors; some are good at both. The ‘one vicar’ approach is not the right way to offer all the foundational ministries. Some Readers may make very good itinerant teachers.
Public Authorisation – Does the Church Need Such a Pattern?
Alongside the conspicuous use of the Body metaphor for gifts and ministries, there are several examples of authorisation in the New Testament. ‘Deacons’ were authorised to serve meals to widows (Acts 6.1-4). At the start of Paul’s apostolic mission commissioning hands were laid on him and Barnabas, interestingly by prophets and teachers, and not by apostles (Acts 13. 1-3). Presbyters were appointed by Paul and Barnabas with prayer and fasting (Acts 14.23; Titus 1.5), and teachers are to be appointed by Timothy (2Timothy 2.1-2).
There are other important reasons why we need to authorise certain ministries.
1. In public ministry people need to know who acts with the Church’s authority.
2. Such ministries are a public sign of God and the Church.
3. Authorised ministers serve as examples of godly life and ministry for others to follow.
4. The Church’s authorisation gives confidence to help people use their gifts and exercise their ministries.
5. Authorisation gives protection against self-chosen ministry which the church cannot support.
But it is very important also to see what are the drawbacks of authorisation.
1. It can discourage those who are not authorised just because they are not authorised.
2. It leads to possession of ministry by those authorised, as in clericalism, thereby disempowering others.
3. It leads to inflexibility: following rules take precedence over discernment of particular gifts and ministries.
How do we avoid these pitfalls? If we proceed to authorise some ministries and not others how can we avoid returning to the dysfunctional hierarchical pattern rather than the organic pattern of gifts and ministries?
The best way is for those in authorised positions, such as Readers to see themselves as enablers of the growth of similar ministry in others not yet authorised, and not, as often happens, as those who alone should practise the ministry.
Steps Towards Authorisation
It can be helpful to summarise clearly what the steps should be towards authorisation.
STEP1. The response of the Church and its members in obedience to Christ’s commands to share the gospel and serve the world. Gifts emerge not by sitting waiting for them but as we follow the commands Christ has given us.
STEP 2. The discernment of people’s gifts through giving opportunities for service.
STEP 3. Where gifts are consistently shown, that particular developing ministry needs support.
STEP 4. Finally, the Church must give authorisation for public ministry where this is appropriate.
Obedience, discerning of gifts, developing ministries, and finally, authorisation. Sadly, what has often happened in the Church is that we have jumped straight from obedience to the call, to selection, training and authorisation without giving scope for gifts and ministries to develop and be seen.
So here is our final principle:
6. The release and extension of the Ministry of Christ is the overarching aim.
Just as in the first Christian centuries patterns of authorisation changed, so today our patterns need to be flexible, always seeking to serve the ministry of Christ for this generation. The question for Readers is not ‘How do we make Reader ministry continue as we have known it’. It is ‘What are the best patterns for Christ’s ministry in the current generation.’ This is consistent with the emphasis in Mission-Shaped Church.
Reader Ministry: Our hopes for Its Future
So, in the light of our principles what do we want to say about Reader Ministry today?
1. Reader Ministry currently offers a very great deal to the Church.
A Reader brings to the congregation where they serve extensive training –theological and practical. This training has a primary focus on equipment for preaching, teaching and leading worship. Originally a Reader was someone who read the service. Now Readers are trained preachers whose experience is primarily in the wider community, the world of work and business. In the tradition of teachers being itinerant, Readers who are trained and authorised preachers should be available across a Deanery or diocese.
What the Order of Readers offers to the Church of England is coherence across the Church of England and parts of the Anglican Communion. Licensed Readers may serve across all parishes in a diocese. They are transferable across dioceses and in the Anglican Communion.
All these points are important and of great value today. They show the advantage of Readers. None of these points applies in the same way to those who are authorised through the development of diocesan lay ministry schemes (see Appendix).
2. The Training of Readers gives Potential for Diversification of Reader Ministry
We are seeing a growing return to flexibility in the actual ministries Readers undertake. For example:
(a) Funerals. In most dioceses Readers may be permitted or licensed to take funerals, after appropriate training. This widens the pastoral base of Readers, who are already experienced at taking public services.
(b) Chaplains. Readers are increasingly being appointed as chaplains in Hospitals (with training), chaplains in Airports, Stores, City centres, Cadet forces and Prisons.
(c) Pastoral Care of Congregations Some Readers are now given authority over congregations, working under a priest-in-charge, a welcome development when the Reader has pastoral gifts. This is an obvious way to proceed if small congregations are to have their own local pastor. While it is well-known that parishioners can have reservations about receiving pastoral ministry from lay people, I have seen that these reservations can be overcome in the course of time if people are clearly offering ministry according to the strength of their gifts. The local ‘shepherd’ person for a particular village or congregation can become accepted if it is seen that they are clearly gifted for the task.
(d) Fresh expressions of Church With the recent report Mission-Shaped Church there is now much talk about encouraging new congregations, congregations which meet the needs of different people groups. People associate today more by the networks to which they belong rather than by the locality where thy live. New styles of being Church are springing up. It was exciting at the Readers Conference in March to find an eagerness amongst Readers to be part of these new ventures. This could give new scope for their teaching, pastoral and leadership gifts.
Diversification is to be welcomed as an important way of developing the scope of lay ministry. However the primary focus on catechetical work is likely to remain. The recent report on Reader Training ‘Equipping the Saints – The Moderation of Reader Training 1999-2003’ emphasises in its recommendations that as much attention in initial Reader training should be given to their role as teachers and trainers in the Church as to their preaching.
3. How Might Readers Relate to the Growth of Other Lay Ministries?
Most dioceses now have forms of authorised lay ministry other than Readers. There are Hospital Lay Chaplains, Evangelists, and Pastoral assistants. Rochester, for example, has a foundation year, before diversification into tracks for evangelists, pastoral assistants and Readers.
There are Leaders of Worship or Communion by Extension. Monmouth has around 80 of these, only some of whom are Readers.
Willesden and Carlisle have Commissioned Ministers. Many of these start with doing pastoral or evangelistic work under supervision and are not required to do a long training course before they start. Some lead worship and preach. Their gifts are clearly discovered before they train; then they train ‘on the way’. But these commissioned ministers have no authorisation whatsoever beyond the parish. This is simply a more ‘apprentice’ type of route for discovering and promoting the gifts given by Christ for his ministry.
Readers should rejoice at this blossoming of lay ministry and not feel threatened by it. Their role is still very significant. But we cannot stand still. The patterns for authorising and ordering lay ministry must change to support the developing Ministry of Christ.
It is not right to think in terms of hierarchy and, therefore, of importance. The vision must be to work as an organic whole. Reader ministry has a great deal to offer alongside other typical Diocesan lay ministries, as shown in the Appendix ‘Patterns of Authorised Ministry’
4. The problem of recruiting younger Readers
There is a problem and a number of factors feed into it. Many people in the 20s -40s are overworking and have no space in which to train. Also there is a perceived trend towards informal patterns of worship and leadership and away from hierarchy. The growth of other patterns of lay ministry may be a factor.
To address this I suggest proactive recruitment and vocations advice in the dioceses and patterns of training that are realistic for busy, overworked people. A national conference for Readers under 40 is also being planned in 2006.
5. The problem of Readers who are under used.
This issue never seems to go away. How then should we approach it? There are important questions which need to be asked about an under used Reader, such as: ‘What are the person’s ministerial gifts?’ ‘Are those gifts best used in traditional Reader roles? Or is there an opening that makes better use of the person’s gifts?’
Clergy who are used to doing most of ‘the ministry’ themselves need encouragement and training in using the gifts of others and supervising the development of their ministries, and in collaborative working. Some dioceses like Carlisle are offering courses for incumbents in order to address this.
6. Future Patterns of Reader Training
The new Regional Training Partnerships (RTP’s) must be helped not to squeeze Reader training to fit patterns of training for ordained ministry but rather to ensure the best availability and quality of initial Reader training in every region, as well as training for other lay ministries. Because of their natural involvement in human networks, Readers are good candidates for training in the new patterns of being Church (‘emerging Church’ as some are calling it).
The sense of the organic interplay of the authorised ministries of Christ is best preserved by doing as much training as possible together with other ministries (clerical and lay). This requires flexibility and discernment on the part of those responsible. It is always easier to put people through one standard package of training that leads to one product, in other words to make people fit the system.
The Moderation Report recommends strengthening CME provision for Readers by assessing their needs, proper resourcing for books and travel and a balanced programme of training. It is to be hoped that this can also be done in association with other ministries, clerical and lay.
Conclusion
In conclusion, our culture is changing, and the Church has to change. We need to place ourselves, ready for God, not holding on tightly to our old patterns. Rather, we must be ready for new forms of church. We stand offering to the Church all the present strengths of Reader ministry, both for ‘continuing church’ and for ‘emerging church’. Personally, I believe that Reader ministry will not only survive, but do well. It may well look different. It might even change its name!
