wfn.org | Church leadership will fall increasingly on laity, bishop says

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Nov. 23, 1999  News media contact: Tim Tanton·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-21-71B{632}

NOTE: This report may be used as a sidebar to UMNS story #630. File
photographs of Bishop Neil Irons and the Rev. Hal Brady are available.

HOUSTON (UMNS) - Lay members will play an increasingly vital role in leading
the church in the next century, according to a United Methodist bishop and
several pastors who are experts on growing congregations.

"The 21st century is the time when the ministry of the laity (will be)
recognized ... in terms of taking responsibility for Christian life and work
in great varieties," said Bishop Neil Irons, president of the North American
section of the World Methodist Council.

The church will need well-trained clergy members, but clergy who can help
the laity find out what they need to do and help discern God's will for
them, he said. "I think it's going to be an enormously exciting time."

That is a reality that will affect the entire Protestant church, he said.

The importance of the laity was stressed several times in sermons and
workshops at the WMC's Millennium Event, Nov. 18-21.

Churches that are growing now are taking the laity very seriously and
helping them hear God's call to exciting things, Irons said in an interview
with United Methodist News Service.

"We're at an interesting crease in Christian history," he said. "That's true
for the Methodist/Wesleyan churches. We are having to make some major
changes that this culture is forcing us to make if we're going to be
relevant rather than a fascinating religious footnote on the 20th century."

The question facing the church is whether it can develop the kind of
congregational life to the people around it who know nothing about Christ,
he said. That means what the church does must be meaningful to people who
have no history with Christianity, he said.

"We are having to open ourselves to new ways of making the faith available
to others, and that means trusting God in radically fresh ways," Irons said.

Some of the workshops at the Millennium Event focused on specific ways that
churches can reach out to new people and be more effective in ministry.

The Rev. Warren Hartman, a retired Board of Discipleship staff member, led a
workshop on "Ministry in Post Y2K." During an interview, he noted that there
is a "shift of gravity" occurring in Christianity away from traditional,
old-line churches. Independent churches are on the rise.

"In light of the emerging trends, the independent churches and community
churches are coming in, in lieu of denominations," he said. "Independent
preachers like Billy Graham and others ... have a respect and a credibility
which many of the churches in the past used to enjoy."

As a counter to that, the denominations have increased their emphasis on
programs such as the "Disciple Bible Study," Walk to Emmaus, and
interdenominational programs, he said.

"The big thing is a rise of the laypersons in their quest for spirituality,
and they're finding it in a number of different ways," Hartman said.

"We need to keep changing," he said. The church must be convinced that it
has the answer, be alert to what's happening around it, and be ready to
serve as a bridge between the emerging trends and the traditions of the
faith, he said.

Lay members today have the best opportunity ever for providing leadership in
the church, and the clergy's task is to equip the laity, said the Rev. Hal
Brady, pastor of the 2,600-member St. Luke United Methodist Church in
Columbus, Ga. He emphasized the importance of the laity in his worskhop on
"Church Renewal and Revitalization."

North America is "moving from a society dominated by clerics to a society
where the laity dominate the church," according to research cited by Brady.
Three forces in that shift are the rediscovery of the Bible, essentially
making everyone a minister; a looming void in clergy leadership as large
numbers of ministers retire in the next 10 to 15 years; and changes in
church staffing that will result from dwindling discretionary income among
the middle class.

Brady listed effective leadership as one of 14 factors that make a vital
congregation. Others include a magnetic worship experience, vital prayer and
prayer ministry, an evangelistic attitude, a clear sense of mission and
opportunities for service. 

A willingness to take risks is also a factor, he said. "I don't think the
church is ever going to be renewed in this culture unless it is willing to
take risks, because there is a generation coming up that is going to make
the church a museum if we're not careful."

The Rev. James Cowell, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Fort
Collins, Colo., shared a lengthy list of nuts-and-bolts ideas in his
workshop on "Making Your Congregation a Welcoming Place." Those ranged from
traditional activities, such as holding an "Invite-a-friend Sunday" or a
coffee hour for fellowship, to more modern approaches, such as maintaining a
church page on the World Wide Web and providing audio-videotapes for
visitors.

Whatever changes may be facing mainline denominations, no one was wringing
their hands at the Millennium Event. The workshops led by Brady, Cowell and
Hartman underscored the fact that the church is adapting to the changes and
finding new ways to tell its story.
# # #

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://www.umc.org/umns