ORGANIZATION/ORGANISM

Some people often think that a congregation is just another membership organization in the community – perhaps a charitable or non-profit group, a social service agency, an historical, liturgical, or musical preservation society, or a social club. These people think of the congregation as an institution or an organization.

Instead, seen through its spirituality, a congregation is primarily an organism, a living entity with institutional and organizational aspects. It is, first and foremost, the spiritual center for its locality.

AGENT OF JESUS CHRIST

In fact, a congregation is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. The members of the congregation, its buildings, its ministries within or outside the congregation – indeed everything they are and do as a congregation – are the outward and visible signs of Jesus Christ at work in the world. They are the agents – the incarnation – of the risen Lord in their locality and in their moment of time.

Jesus Christ accomplishes his purposes in the world today through the members of congregations, who receive this work through their baptisms.

Before Easter, people experienced Jesus of Nazareth as a human embodiment of God – God incarnate in Jesus Christ, in the flesh. The experience was primarily physical, utilizing the senses.

After Easter, people experienced Jesus Christ as a spiritual embodiment of God – God in Christ now incarnate in the members of congregations, in people who are faithful followers of Jesus Christ. The experience is primarily spiritual, utilizing worship, the liturgical sacraments, preaching, music, prayer, Bible study, reflection, and meditation, to name a few significant aspects of Christian spirituality.

THE BODY

Saint Paul developed the most compelling metaphor for the spirituality of a congregation in several of his letters, most completely in the twelfth chapter of his First Letter to the Corinthians. He compared the congregation to the human body and called the congregation the body of Christ.

Consider all the diverse parts of the human body – hands, fingers, thumbs, legs, feet, toes, ears, nose, eyes, and organs of all kinds. No two parts are identical. Some of the parts work together in support of one another (four fingers); others work together in opposition to each other (four fingers and thumb). Yet, they all work together.

All the cells of the human body are distinct and constantly changing; a person is not the same now as five years ago. Yet, that person’s body continues to function with a consistent purpose and appearance.

The parts of the human body are distinct and interdependent; different and unified.

Think about the routine tasks you do and how your body accomplishes them with all the parts working together. That is the way a congregation is guided by its spirituality as the body of Christ.

THE TEAM

An athletic team, such as baseball, soccer, football, or basketball, is another metaphor for the spirituality of a congregation. A number of people with different skills and backgrounds function cooperatively as one. We call it teamwork; it is what enables a team to win games and have the satisfaction of accomplishing its purposes.

The spirituality of a congregation unites people with different skills, backgrounds, experiences, ages, and other diversity to function cooperatively as one. It is being the body of Christ; it is a spirituality that enables a congregation to be productive and effective and have the satisfaction of accomplishing the purposes of Jesus Christ in its place and time.

The members of a congregation are the team on the playing field; the priest is the coach on the sidelines.

As with the human body, two central systems (among others) are essential for a congregation to act as the body of Christ. They are the pathways through which the Holy Spirit functions.

COMMUNITY

The circulatory system of a congregation is its sense of community. This lifeblood provides nourishment to all the members and strengthens them for their common work. A sense of community comes from conversation, worshiping together, visiting with one another, working with others on projects within the congregation, working together serving the poor and needy in the locality, eating together, caring for one another, learning together, and the like.

In a word, the spiritual circulatory system of a congregation is “participation.”

It is the task of the priest, working with the vestry, to build a single, unified community in the congregation (although in larger congregations consisting of multiple and somewhat autonomous cells), by connecting people with one another, by increasing participation by all the members of the congregation in:

·        The Sunday ministries – leading worship in a variety of ways, teaching Sunday church school, attending education programs for children and adults, enjoying times for fellowship and refreshments;

·        Social events and recreational activities – dinners, picnics, outings, small group suppers, musical and other special events, and the like;

·        The work of the ministry areas of the congregation – worship, education, congregation life, pastoral care, administration and personnel, communications, finance, stewardship, and building and grounds;

·        Outreach to the people of the locality, the nation and the world and cooperation with other churches and other groups for community service to the poor and those in need and for evangelism to those who do not yet know Jesus Christ nor the community of the body of Christ in a congregation.

CONNECTED TO CHRIST

The other central system of a congregation, its nervous system, connects all the members of the congregation to its command center, its brain, Jesus Christ. The head of the body of Christ is, of course, Jesus Christ. The members obtain their commands and instructions from him through worship, prayer, and bible study. 

In worship, a significant number of the members of the body of Christ assemble at one time for the Liturgy of the Word (hearing God’s word in scripture read and preached) and the Liturgy of the Holy Communion (receiving the spiritual nourishment of Christ’s body and blood). Both liturgies overflow with prayer and praise.

In prayer, the members tell God what they need and receive a response, which may be different from what they thought they needed.

In Bible study, they read, examine, and discuss, with the help of a facilitator, a section of scripture to discover how God’s word speaks to them in their time and place, just as it spoke to their predecessors in their times and places. The Holy Spirit makes God’s word come alive for them, just as it did for those before them.

Worship, Bible study, and prayer address and meet the individual spiritual needs of the members of the congregation as well as unify them for their common work as the body of Christ.

In addition, Bible study and prayer in small groups provide unifying and energizing power for congregations who seek to be more fully the body of Christ in their localities.

HEALTH

Like the human body, a congregation can contract physical, emotional, and spiritual diseases, suffer injuries, engage in behaviors that are detrimental to its well-being, and endure events and circumstances that threaten its existence. The health of a congregation is both precious and fragile. Sometimes a congregation experiences signs of poor health and does not recognize them until they become much more severe. Such signs are declines in membership, attendance, giving, participation, energy, enthusiasm, and spirituality.

One function of congregation development is identifying and diagnosing these signs of poor health and prescribing remedies along with training and coaching in implementing them. In effect, an expert congregation developer is a “physician for congregations” whose goal is to restore a congregation to full health and effective, productive functioning.

The interim period between installed rectors is an opportune moment for such congregation development. An interim specialist has the training and experience to make the most of the opportunity, which has been called the "prime time for renewal” of a congregation.

The spirituality of a congregation as the body of Christ requires nothing less than optimum health for a congregation. Its members individually and corporately are the body of Christ; Jesus Christ is depending on them to be his body in their place and time and to accomplish his purposes. The congregation cannot “call in sick” when the agents of the risen Lord are required to make Jesus Christ present to people and to minister to the needs of the world.

Copyright © 2007 Theodore W. Johnson

10/8/2007

www.interimpriest.com