Most of us have a mental picture of apathy-soft, sluggish, undependable. But what does commitment look like? Especially commitment to Christ and to the church?
Recently California pastor John MacArthur sparked heated debate with his book The Gospel According to Jesus, in which he insists that salvation does not occur apart from a living, visible commitment to Christ’s lordship. His critics contend that lordship, or obedience, grows out of a relationship with Christ, but salvation does not depend upon a person’s efforts to live up to biblical standards.
I won’t try to resolve the issue here, but as a Chicago baseball fan, I suspect the answer will be found in the Cubs’ infield-somewhere between Law (the third baseman) and Grace (the first baseman).
In church ministry, we often cover a lot of territory between the foul lines. We learn to live with the reality that people’s intentions rarely are matched by their follow-through.
My wife, Susan, has served as our church’s director of children’s ministries for almost five years. She’s been heartened by many capable and committed teachers and club workers. But, like Christian education ministers everywhere, she’s struggled to find enough of them.
Why do some people do less than their best? Why do lethargy and unreliability infect church members? In some cases, it’s a lack of will. But there may also be other factors. Not long ago, I was with a church leader who began listing some-as seen through the eyes of laity. Here are just a few:
Confusion: “I’m new here, and sometimes I look blank because I honestly don’t understand what the pastor’s talking about. Some of this Bible stuff is pretty deep, and I have no idea what it means for me ‘to minister.’ “
Different goals (unregenerate): “I’m not here for religious reasons as much as to meet nice people. I just want a venue for enjoyable relationships.”
Different goals (regenerate): “I’m really concerned about (pick one) the family/social justice/soul winning/intimacy/revival, and I can’t seem to find many kindred spirits. This church seems to have a different agenda. I feel alone.”
Lack of ownership: “Nothing I say or do seems to have much effect. ‘They’ (the board, the Old Guard, the pastoral staff, or some other group) call all the important shots.”
Lack of vitality: “The rest of the world is popping with action, but the pace/style/music/language here seems a hundred years old. The same old routine each week makes me drowsy.”
Lack of appreciation: “I knocked myself out last year for (pick one) VBS/the nominating committee/the Christmas pageant, and who noticed? No one. I realize I’m not supposed to serve God for compliments, but was my effort worth anything to anybody?”
Pace of life: “By the time I earn a living and care for my family, I don’t have much leftover energy. I’d like to get more enthused about church, but I’m tired just getting through the day.”
You could probably add to the list. This issue of LEADERSHIP addresses the roots of apathy and commitment and presents the stories of pastors who have responded creatively and effectively.
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Pastor and LEADERSHIP contributing editor Eugene Peterson introduced me to philosopher-farmer Wendell Berry, who often writes on themes pastors can identify with. Here’s a sample from his book The Gift of Good Land:
“Charity is a theological virtue and is prompted, no doubt, by a theological emotion, but it is also a practical virtue.” It cannot be practiced “by smiling in abstract beneficence on our neighbors. … It must come to acts, which must come from skills.”
Berry asks, “How can you love your neighbor if you don’t know how to build or mend a fence, how to keep your filth out of his water supply or your poison out of his air? How will you practice virtue without skill?
“The ability to be good is not the ability to do nothing. It is the ability to do something well-to do good work for good reasons.”
I realized Berry’s assessment fit commitment as well as charity. Commitment is not simply a mental attitude; it’s developing an ability to further the cause you’re committed to.
In that context, I’m pleased to announce the promotions of two committed individuals whose skills as writers and editors have helped LEADERSHIP address the needs of church leaders. Jim Berkley and Kevin Miller have been named senior associate editors.
Besides skillfully helping our authors tell their stories, both Kevin and Jim are shaping other resources.
Since he’s serving as a lay leader in a newly planted church, it’s appropriate that Kevin is taking point responsibility for LAY LEADERSHIP, a publication for use in training board members and key volunteers, as well as What’s Right with the Church and the other bulletin inserts from Christianity Today, Inc.
Jim is heading up the Preaching Today cassette tapes, the LEADERSHIP Desk Calendar, and the discussion guide for LAY LEADERSHIP. A ten-year veteran of the pastorate, Jim serves as parish associate in his current congregation.
I have benefited, as I trust you have, from the practiced commitment of these two colleagues.
As novelist Graham Greene once observed, “If we really believe in something, we have no choice but to go further.”
Marshall Shelley is editor of LEADERSHIP.
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