Developing an Eager Church
George Mallone
An equipping ministry demands a change of attitude in both full-time staff people and the church as a whole.
—George Mallone
Sandy called me with a simple request: "George, a friend of mine is in the hospital. Would you go and share some comforting words?"
I'm all for hospital visitation and helping a friend, but at that moment my ministerial priorities outweighed my ministerial guilt. Mustering up my courage and attempting to be as empathetic as possible, I said, "Sandy, my job is to equip you to do the ministry, not to do all the ministry myself. It is your job to visit your friend. There are three ground rules for hospital visitation: don't sit on the bed, don't stay too long, and pray and read the Word with your friend before you leave. When you have done these things, call me back, and I'll share some more tips."
You can imagine how I felt when the conversation ended. All afternoon I wondered if I had done the right thing.
Am I being lazy? What am I getting paid for? Am I a pastor or not? Don't pastors march hospital hallways every visiting hour?
But after a few hours, new thoughts began: I'm committed to the full employment of every believer. Putting that into practice may create a few awkward moments in relationships with people, but if I love them, teach them, and have confidence in their ministry, someday they will be off the spiritual welfare rolls and be full, active partners in ministry.
Benjamin Franklin once commented that we were better off not knowing two things: how sausages and decisions are made.
Another thing we are better off not knowing: the number of pastors who proclaim the priesthood of all believers but in practice function by sola pastora ("pastor alone").
Given our usual seminary experience, this is not ...
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