Layman column: Equipping the saints
By Carmen Fowler, March 19, 2009
One of the great blessings of living in a time and culture of free ideas is that we can think differently about things. Have you ever sat in a pew and wondered “Is this it?” Have you ever sat in a church meeting and wondered, “Is this really why God called me to Christ and endowed me with the power of His Holy Spirit? Am I missing something? Is there something more?” Consider with me the possibility that Martin Luther had those kinds of thoughts. Consider that one day he got to thinking “differently” about significant things.
Carmen Fowler
President of the Presbyterian Lay Committee and executive editor of its publications
Luther began to think about “how” a person becomes a Christian, an authentic disciple of Jesus, the Christ. He tested his own experience, he sought the assurance of salvation through the “means of grace” offered by the Church, and he found no satisfaction in the rigorous requirements of the piety of the day. So, he goes back to the Book. Then, as if reading Romans for the very first time, with eyes that see and a mind illuminated by the Holy Spirit, Luther understood that people are justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. From this central doctrine, Luther saw several trajectories of necessary reform. Reform was needed in the understanding and practice related to the Sovereignty of God, the Scriptures and tradition, the sacraments and liturgy, and yes, the priesthood.
You and I know it as the Reformed tenet of the Priesthood of all believers. But in 1517 it was a revolutionary proposal that the ministry of Christ belonged to the fullness of the Body of Christ and not to just the few who were “ordained.” Luther contended that the historic sacerdotal notions of a priest who stands between God and the people of God, with powers for bringing God to people and the concerns of people to God, are contrary to the reality that Jesus Christ alone is the Great High Priest (Hebrews 7-10), the One all sufficient mediator, and the everlasting intercessor. Luther asserted that since Pentecost, the ministry of Christ belongs to the full Body of Christ. That means that when a person comes to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and is endowed by God with the power of the Holy Spirit, that individual is both empowered and gifted for ministry as a part of God’s ongoing work in the world.
It is what Greg Ogden calls the “Unfinished Business” of the Reformation.1 Indeed, it is God’s intent that through the life of the Church every individual disciple would then be fully equipped for every good work that God has prepared in advance for them to do. There is a Biblical mandate for each of us and all of us to grow up in every way into Christ who is the head; for each one of us, as integral and essential parts of the body, to be connected to and coordinated by the One who alone is the Head; and for all of us to do the work that we are uniquely called and equipped to do in order that the work of God be accomplished in the world. Ephesians 4 captures it beautifully. We, however, have failed to live it out.
The Biblical concept of “equipping” is “mending;” as in the mending of nets. When Jesus calls James and John (Mark 1) it is with an eye to the fact that they are already fishermen who know the value of mending nets. It is important to fix what is broken before you cast again. Certainly firm foundations of faith must be laid and maintained and yes, there are skills that are needed and training in righteous living is required. That is the threefold nature of equipping: to restore, to lay and maintain essential foundations, and to train for ministry. It is to that business that we now press.
The Presbyterian Lay Committee exists to inform and equip Christians to live more fully into their calling as everyday disciples. In the past, the Lay Committee has worked diligently to keep you informed, and it will continue to do so. It is my passion that you would also be fully equipped. To that end, I invite you to join me here in The Layman, at The Layman Online, and at our regional events where you will be encouraged, strengthened, connected with others who share your calling and passion for ministry, and more fully equipped to participate in the ongoing work of God in the world.
There is indeed unfinished business to be accomplished as the ministry of Christ is returned to the people of God, the full Body of Christ, of which each of us is a vital member. I look forward to working alongside you as each of us does our part to advance God’s Kingdom work.
Carmen Fowler is president of the Presbyterian Lay Committee and executive editor of its publications.
1. Ogden, Greg. Revised edition of The New Reformation, Unfinished Business: Returning the Ministry to the People of God, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan. 1990; 2003.