At times, I think that the western church has lost sight of the people that Christ used to launch His ministry here on earth. Most would have assumed that Jesus would have pulled the best that the Jewish faith had to offer. Certainly this would have included some of the Pharisees. He might have wanted to tap some up-and-coming talent from the religious training facilities – Jewish boys at the time were enrolled in training that included memorization. Over time, those that excelled were kept on, while others had to choose alternative careers.
Instead of pulling leaders from among the theological elite, Christ chose to work with men who honed their skills in other professions. He had a well-rounded group of fishermen, tax collector and even a physician. But Scripture does not lead us to believe that they had any special ability to preach, teach, or shepherd others. What they did share in common was their sense of faith and ultimately the calling that they had on their life. In each case, what made them unique was that Jesus called to each of them to join Him.
I do not want to devalue the importance of seminary education or other ministry degrees. For those that are able to attend and be a Kingdom leader, the church is better for it. However, the church has put itself into a paradigm that only the top students coming out of theological institutions are qualified to pastor the church. In many positions in the western church, a bachelor’s degree isn’t going to open any doors. The paradigm reflects that a minimum of a master’s is needed to hold a leadership position in the church and a doctorate if you really want to make some career headway. Some colleges and universities profile how well they can place their students in church positions around the country. Let me reiterate, having seminary graduates or leaders with other ministry degrees is not a bad thing. What we as a church need to be careful of, though, is that we do not put ourselves in a box thinking this is the only way.
Imagine you were working with a young person who grew up in the inner city. As is common in many impoverished urban settings, they most likely encountered broken communities. They may live in a community that is experiencing 3-4 times the national unemployment average. It is not uncommon for these areas not even to have grocery stores or medical facilities serving them, let alone an infusion of business. Amongst the urban poor, it is not uncommon to have minimal graduation rates and city services that are spotty at best. So in working with this young person you begin a discipleship process. As this person develops deeper in their relationship with Christ, it becomes evident that they are receiving a call into church leadership; maybe even to pastor a church in their community. What is your response?
The church’s common response would be for them to finish their education. This means first achieving a high school diploma if they do not already have one. The next step would be to attend a four-year college. Preferably, the church would argue that this should be a Christian college, but if all that they can afford is secular, it will still be accepted. Following college, it is crucial that this individual attend seminary. Then, once they have graduated from seminary they will be fully qualified to lead others in Christ in their community. Not only is this approach unrealistic – to take off 6 years of their life and come up with $250k+ – but it is unbiblical.
If we desire to seek transformation in our urban communities, if we want to see racial reconciliation truly take root, if we want to empower poor folks, it can only be done through the church. We have experienced decades upon decades of social reform efforts, government programs, subsidies and donations. But none of them are rooted in the only thing that never changes: Jesus Christ. To witness lasting, sustainable change in these communities it needs to come from the church. Only by the power of the Holy Spirit will transformation work. And it is not going to take place through work from the outside church. The church needs to be a part of the community and rooted in the transformation.
At World Impact, our ministry is engaged in providing low cost alternative theological education for would be church leaders. We partner with Christian leaders who are called to the city but need some additional assistance in getting their programs launched. We pull together urban pastors to break down their silos and work together to collectively transform their community. We incorporate our nearly 50 years of experience as a ministry to help train others interested in church planting in urban communities. We facilitate church planting amongst the urban poor in some of the most broken communities across the country.
As part of the western church, we need to confidently reengage the path that Christ used in choosing His disciples. We need to shift our paradigm and recognize that there is more than one way to build Christian leaders. We need to be willing to meet people where they are racially, socially, and economically and engage them in building the local church. Then, and only then, will provide an opening for the Holy Spirit to take hold of and flourish. This in turn will lead to lasting transformation.
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