This post...the Sermon, the Pastor, and Sunday Morning Costumes...
The Sermon: Protestantism's Most Sacred Cow - before I dive into Viola's thoughts on the sermon, allow me a few discretionary moments to speak on my own. I've been on an 12 year journey into and through ministry. I can't begin to state the number of times I've heard these type phrases (not necessarily about me, but in general); "He's an impassioned speaker!" "He has such a great delivery!" "He has a way of speaking to people that is unreal!" You'll notice all example began with "he"...I have grown up in the Southern Baptist tradition remember. ;>) The point is this...whether it is a youth ministry event speaker, a conference speaker, or a Sunday morning preacher, you rarely if ever hear anyone talk about how incredible someone shepherds the flock or tends to the needs of their congregation or lives with kingdom mindedness...its all about the speaking. It's as if a person only needs to have great oratory skills to make a kingdom impact...but I digress. Viola has this to say about New Testament examples of preaching...it was comprised of different messages to different audiences; it was sporadic, not scheduled; it often revolved around specific needs or issues; it was extemporaneous and often lacked structure; it usually encouraged and welcomed feedback instead of its hearers being limited to a "sit and get" mentality. Viola notes that sermon delivery as we are accustomed to today has its roots not in the early church, but in Greek culture and philosophy. It was the Greeks orators who were set apart by their placement and dress and Aristotle is credited with the 3 point structure so many of today's preachers are taught in their seminaries. Around the 3rd century active, participatory church meetings began to die out, and church services began to emerge. During the same time, pagan leaders were being converted to Christianity (which is a good thing) and brought with them the structure and status of professional 'teachers'. The drawback to this infusion is church meetings moved away from a participatory, all inclusive expression to a sit and get methodology. In the early days of Roman Catholicism, the Eucharist or Lord's Supper was center stage of the church service. With the Reformation, Luther again moved the sermon to center stage. John Calvin argued the preacher was the "mouth of God". As the Puritans moved forth, they sought to mimic Calvin's expository preaching style (verse by verse) and raised further the sermon in importance. Viola believes the elevating of the sermon has harmed Christianity in the following ways: 1) it makes the preacher the "virtuoso performer" of the service, the hearers become "muted spectators" instead of active participants of the meeting; 2) the sermon actually "stalemates spiritual growth" by suffocating participation and encouraging passivity; 3) it creates an "excessive and pathological dependence on the clergy", by creating the image of the preacher as "religious specialist" and reducing all other persons' involvement; 4) instead of equipping the saints, it "de-skills" them...Viola suggest preaching and teaching in the NT actually sought to lead the church to be able to function "without" the presence of clergy; 5) Viola believes today's sermons are often "impractical" with speakers spouting as experts on things they have never experienced. IMO, which is what a personal review is, I tend to agree with Viola in theory that the sermon as we know it today has not really fulfilled what Christ intended for His believers. In today's consumer driven church mentality, people by the 10's of thousands file into buildings on Sunday mornings, sit back and wait for something to be delivered to them, nod their head accordingly (or shake it no if need be) and then file out having been unchanged, unchallenged, and in many ways not transformed by the Spirit and Word of God. Some of this lies within the responsibility of the hearers...too many of them are truly seeking what God would have in store for them. However, in recognizing that it falls upon us who are delivering the message to seek what God would have us to do in response to their lackadaisical attitude. Jesus surely encountered many who did not really care what He had to say...but He continued to push until He hit the right button.
The Pastor: Obstacle to Every-Member Functioning - "I majored in Bible in college. I went to the seminary and I majored in the only thing they teach there: the professional ministry. When I graduated, I realized that I could speak Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and the only thing on earth I was qualified for was to be pope. But someone else had the job." Anonymous
Viola makes these following statements in regards to the word 'pastor' in the scriptures...it is only used once in the NT (Ephesians 4:11...in the English Standard Version, which is touted as the closest word-for-word translation we have 'pastors' reads 'shepherds' in English); in the Ephesians passage it is plural, not singular indicating there were many pastors in the Ephesus church; the word 'poimen' which is translated to pastor or shepherd is not about an office or title but about a function within the church. Early church leaders such as Ignatius, Clement of Rome, and Tertullian were the first to espouse or put into place hierarchical structures within the local church of leadership. This occurred late 1st century into the 2nd century. Over the centuries their ideas evolved into bishop/presbyter (priest) led churches. When Constantine elevated Christianity to the official religion of the Empire, the pastor/clergy position took on a new head of steam. Civil power was afforded to members of clergy, and Constantine issued a mandatory yearly salary to all members. They were exempted from paying income tax (which, by the way is a great thing in my opinion ;>) ), and they were exempt from mandatory civic duties (such as serving in the army) as well as being free from trial in secular courts. Under Constantine, leading in the church became less about a calling and more about a career choice. During the Reformation period, Luther, Calvin and others rallied around restoring the biblical idea of the priesthood of all believers. This was only a partial restoration according to Viola, as they continued to elevate the idea of clergy being called and ordained as opposed to being open to anyone. In the Reformer's eyes, "ordination was the key to having power in the church." Acts of contempt or ridicule toward a pastor were treated as serious offenses, as if they had been directed toward God Himself. Viola states today, the single pastor position in church divides the church into "1st and 2nd class Christians" and "suffocates our functioning" in the local church. It makes the pastor a "giant mouth" and transforms the church member into a "tiny ear". Additionally, this position places undo stress and pressure on the pastor. Depression, burnout, and emotional breakdown occur at abnormally high rates among pastors. The need to be "perfect" can drain any mortal dry. In Viola's words, the pastor position as it is in today's church "fosters dishonesty" among pastors, as their church members expect them to "always be cheerful, completely spiritual, and available at a moment's call." They also "expect that he will have a perfectly disciplined family" and should "never appear resentful or bitter". Anne Jackson wrote a book titled "Mad Church Disease: Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic" which hits these points Viola has made right on the head. If you are reading this post, and are a church member or minister, I highly recommend her work.
Sunday Morning Costumes: Covering up the Problem - the practice of dressing up for church is a relatively recent phenomenon according to Viola. In the late 18th century, dressing up for social events was only done by the very wealthy. Common folk had 2 sets of clothing...work clothes, and another set for going into town. With the advent of mass textile marketing and production, the middle class were born and to demonstrate their new status, they would "dress up" like the wealthy. Interestingly, John Wesley wrote against wearing expensive or flashy clothing in church. Even early Baptists condemned fine clothing teaching it separated the rich from the poor. However, mainstream Christians continued to wear their 'best' whenever they could. In the late 19th century, Horace Bushnell, a Congregational minister in Connecticut, published an essay titled "Taste and Fashion" in which he espoused traits like sophistication and refinement, including matters of dress, were attributes of God and Christians should embrace them. Church members now wore their formal clothing not merely to honor God, but to emulate Him. Viola believes "dressing up" for church violates these basic NT principles...1) it reflects a false division between the secular (worldly) and sacred as we have access to God's Spirit at all times, not just on Sunday morning; 2) it presents the message to those outside the church that those inside the church "have it all together" when in reality it "fosters the illusion that we are somehow good because we are dressing up for God"; 3) it "smacks against the primitive simplicity that was the sustaining hallmark of the early church." Early Christians did not dress to exhibit their social class. Quite the opposite, the NT is filled with exhortation that social class is abolished in Christ and His church. James rebukes the church in chapter 2 of his letter for showing favoritism among classes. Today, though many churches have 'loosened' the dress code for worship, in many areas of the country church appearance is more important than church involvement.
As a pastor of a church plant, I am acutely aware of the potential of those who may join the church to be more enamored of me then they are of Christ. I am not stating they should be, nor do I believe that of myself. In this culture however, many people are more attracted to a pastor/leader then they are a movement of God. At the recent Verge conference, Ed Stetzer made this statement, "We tend to build churches around dynamic personalities. This may work for a while, but will fail in the long run." My desire for Springwater is that it will be a church that will celebrate MANY anniversaries in the Surprise, AZ community. For that to occur, it cannot be built around me. I am grateful for Viola's thoughts and research concerning the pastoral position and what it is biblically. His are not the only thoughts I've read on the subject, and prayerfully, they will impact how I lead and shepherd the church. Next post, we tackle Music Ministers, Tithing & Clergy Salaries, and the Lord's Supper & Baptism. Au revoir!