And for lunch today, I had...

conversations. Okay, I first have to get this out of the way. I had lunch today with Cliff Kirkpatrick and with Allan Boesak. Just the three of us. Sitting around a table in the dining room at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary. I have known and admired Cliff for a few years, and had the honor of introducing him at the annual COM/CPM Training Event sponsored by the Synod of Lakes and Prairies in January 2007. I have followed the life, teachings, and preaching of Allan Boesak for decades. His outspoken, non-violent opposition to the South African system of apartheid was an inspiration to me. To sit at table with him today... to share ideas as brothers in Christ... to laugh together... to shake his hand... it touched my soul.

I described for both of them the thrust of my sabbatical ponderings: i.e., we simply must find a new way of being and doing church other than the corporate model of each congregation having its own building, running its own programs, overseen by its board of directors (the Session), and implemented by its CEO and mangers (the Pastor and staff). When I asked Allan about possible models that we might draw from in South Africa, he shrugged his shoulders. "We are in the same unstable boat as you, because we inherited the same European model of how to be the church as you all did. And we are struggling to find new ways just as you are outlining." So they struggle with the costs of educating their pastors... how small, and especially rural, congregations can ever afford to hire pastors... the necessity of pastors being tent-makers (bi-vocational is the new term for this old, biblical term referring to someone who has a "regular" job that pays the bills, but also serves as the pastor of a (usually) small congregation).

When I asked Cliff what he knew of the Church in the global south, he immediately thought of the Presbyterian Church in Kenya - which, I believe, is the Presbyterian Church in East Africa. He said he knew of a congregation there of 5,000 members... who had one - yes, one - pastor! The bulk of the ministry of that congregation was carried out by the elders. In addition to preaching and sacramental ministry, the job of the pastor there was to train, equip, and encourage elders in their ministries. On holidays, everyone understood that that was when the elders gathered for a meeting of the College of Elders to study, pray, and worship together. Cliff gave me the name of John Chapman, our denomination's Mission Liaison contact person with the church in Kenya. I'll be getting in touch with John soon to follow up on this.

I've thought of something like a College of Elders - or a Lay Institute of Theology - for a long time. Our Director of Christian Education, Kris Adler, and I have talked about this on and off for a few years. Our Book of Order is clear about the responsibility of elders in ministry, and in developing their gifts and calling for ministry. The proposed new "Form of Government" is even more explicit about this. This may be a model worth exploring more.