Faith
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Thinking the Faith, Praying the Faith, Living the Faith is written by the PC(USA) Office of Theology and Worship.
Thinking, praying, and living the faith is at the core of ministry in the Office of Theology and Worship. In the following videos, learn more about what thinking, praying, and living the faith means to the leadership of the Office of Theology and Worship. Discover why it matters and what difference it makes in our lives, work, and worship.
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Helper or Accuser?
In our house we have a scale. For weighing people. Like, say, me. Which means that I can stand on it and find out something. Like, say, how much (or much more, or little bit less) I weigh. Today.
I’ve been thinking about that scale these days as I have worked on publishing “A Pastoral Rule.” It was produced by one of the groups I work with in my ministry here in the Office of Theology & Worship, the Core Cluster of the Re-Forming Ministry program.
The Core Cluster met over a period of five years. It was pastors, governing body leaders (they were that back then), and professors meeting three times a year to think our faith in Jesus Christ together. In the course of this long theological conversation, the Core Cluster read Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together and began to wonder: what would a pastoral rule for PC(USA) pastors look like? Well, the only way to answer that question is by giving it a try. And the result is now shared with all who are interested, “A Pastoral Rule.”
As I read the drafts, I had two significant reactions. On the one hand, I saw this developing document as a help, energizing me to follow these disciplines, these practices, because I knew they would make me a better pastor. It was like the energy I felt in Bonhoeffer’s book.
But there was another reaction, pushing in the opposite direction. There were moments when I found the developing rule long, hard to get through, energy-draining, a burden. I began wondering how to make it shorter, peppier, more manageable. And found myself in a dead-end. “A Pastoral Rule” isn’t really that long at all. It’s a lot shorter than Life Together, and Life Together is short.
No, what makes “A Pastoral Rule” feel long is that its content is so demanding. It asks a lot of me. That makes it a tough read. In committing to adopt the Rule I know there are parts of it that I’m committing to having an intention to live, without yet being able to see how that will work out in practice.
Which is why I began thinking about that scale. That scale measures something: how much I weigh. Today. Which actually is not the problem, as I stand there. What I read is just some number, after all. The problem is that my doctor has given me a rule about how much it is healthy for me to weigh. My doctor didn’t set the rule on his (in this case) own authority: the rule has been developed as a result of many studies, over years. My doctor has made clear to me the problems that develop when I violate the rule and let my weight get too high. And the advantages of keeping weight within a certain range. The scale works with the rule to tell me something important about my well-being. Not everything, but something.
Sometimes the measuring tool appears to be an accuser. I wonder who reset the scale. I step off and step on again (you never know!). The scale is not perfect. But it gives me some information that I can choose to use to work toward good health (most days I’m able to make that choice).
My hope for “A Pastoral Rule” is that there will be some who will be able to use it as a measuring tool, a ruler by which to measure basic markers of pastoral health. For those of us putting it to work, may God bring people into our lives who can help us see the ruler as a measuring tool and not the accuser, helping us chart progress (like the marks for children’s height on that wall in the kitchen) rather than naming us “Failure” or “Slacker.”
I invite you to read “A Pastoral Rule,” and to consider: is this a tool that could help you sustain faithful ministry? Consider committing to follow it for a year. If you're ready join those who've made that commitment, let us know and we'll add your name to the community of those who have made this commitment (instructions for letting us know are near the bottom of the page here).
- Posted at 1:39 p.m.
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