Theological Statement, Part 2 - Jesus & the Holy Spirit
Theological Statement, Part 3 - The Bible
Theological Statement, Part 4 -The Human Condition
Theological Statement, Part 5 - Salvation
Theological Statement, Part 6 - Eschatology & Ecclesiology
Theological Statement, Part 7 - The Ordinances
(Painting: "In the Church of Aussee," by Emanuel Stockler, 1882)
The role of the
laity – Having
explained the place and function of the church in a previous section (Theological Statement, Part 6), it might simply suffice to say that
the role of the laity is “all of the above.” I believe in the priesthood of all
believers, that “ministry” is not something reserved for a special class of
people, but is the proper prerogative of all Christians. As members of the Body
of Christ, the mission of the laity is the same as the mission of the church.
They are called to exercise their spiritual gifts to build up the Body of
Christ, to work diligently, to pray continually, to speak the Good News to any
who will listen, and, in short, to manifest in themselves as much of the
ministry of Christ as the Holy Spirit gives them power to do.
The role of the
minister – The
minister is a person who has been called and equipped by the Holy Spirit to
exercise and symbolize the pastoral and teaching ministries of Christ in the
church. The primary vocation of the minister, then, following from Christ’s own
ministry and his commission to Peter, is to love the people of the church (Jn.
21:15-17). The minister, in participation with the laity, cares for the
spiritual needs of the flock, prays for them, encourages them, reproves them
when necessary, helps to guide their leadership and decision-making processes, and
offers teaching from the Bible. The minister acts as a lead worshiper for their
congregation, administering the ordinances and showing in their life and
conduct the clearest example of holiness of which they are capable. In all
these things, though, the minister recognizes that “their church” is in fact
not theirs at all, but God’s, and that they are merely a humble caretaker of
what God has already done, and a midwife of what God is continuing to do.
Relationship
to other pastors and churches – I consider it important to be in regular
collegial fellowship with other pastors, both within my denomination and with other local
pastors. Pastoral ministry has enough challenges, and I have enough
limitations, that I count myself in need of the prayers, encouragements, and
advice of my fellow ministers. As much as we are able, I also encourage our
church to be in regular and intentional relationship with our associational
sister churches, so that we may benefit from one another’s strengths and one
another’s prayers. We also seek to actively partner with many other local
churches, both Baptist and otherwise, to work together to expand the Kingdom of
God in our area. Any church that holds to the biblical basics of orthodox
Christian doctrine (and I include in this category all those churches that hold
to these basics in the form of the Apostolic and Nicene Creeds) I consider to
be a fit partner for brotherly dialogue, prayer, and cooperative ministry.