*The following article is an abridged version of chapter 12, Biblically Based Job Descriptions – the Role of the Laity, from The Intentional Church, by Randy Pope. You might also be interested in reading a related article, The Role of A Pastor: Equipping People for Ministry.
The expression “Every member a minister” has gained wide popularity among churches, but we have also been reminded that a description is less than an accomplishment.
Many churches that print the claim “Every member a minister” on their weekly bulletin would be hard-pressed to describe what that phrase actually means.
The first Reformation gave the Word of God back to the people of God. Today we need a second Reformation that gives the work of God back to the people of God. That will not happen until the laity accept their role as ministers.
The only way the pastor and staff of a church can fulfill their rightful job descriptions is for the laity to fulfill theirs. The roles are inseparable and interdependent. Like two sides of a coin, one cannot exist without the other.
What are the responsibilities of laypeople in the church?
Four primary responsibilities ought to be included in a biblically oriented job description for the laypeople in the church:
1. To discover and develop their spiritual gifts.
Every church ought to have a vehicle to systematically introduce believers to the teaching of God’s Word regarding spiritual gifts. The availability of these tools has greatly enhanced the possibility of equipping, but not if they are left unused.
2. To view themselves as the primary ministers of the church.
This description is almost as easy to say as “Every member a minister.” The truth is that the laity will not see themselves in this way until the leadership in the church persistently sees them that way. The laity should be considered the primary ministers of the church and must be willing to deliberately lay claim to that role.
3. To spend the time needed to be equipped adequately to use their spiritual gifts.
Gifts take time to develop. Much effort must be invested in learning to steward these gifts well so as to maximize one’s impact with their usage.
4. To commit the time necessary to use their gifts in ministry.
To have the necessary gifts and even to be proficient in their usage is of no value if there is no time available to put them to use. Time must be scheduled for such. Let’s look in detail at the second great responsibility of the laity, to view themselves as the primary ministers of the church. How can this transition take place?
Recognizing your gifts (and recognizing your weaknesses)
From time to time, especially in the early years of our church, I received calls from pastors of churches outside of Atlanta telling me of members of their churches who were in Atlanta receiving special medical treatment at Emory Hospital.
These pastors would ask if I could be their members’ pastor while they were in Atlanta, visiting them and ministering to them as often as possible. These pastors were unaware that such a visit from where I live would take the better part of a half day.
Unable to meet this need personally, I nevertheless always responded by saying, “I can’t promise you that I will minister to them, but I can assure you that I’ll have someone who is adequately equipped do so.”
One pastor responded to this answer by saying, “Well, if it’s not an ordained clergy, don’t waste their time. My member will not accept the ministry of someone not ordained.”
Can you believe it? Those church members don’t even know me! That pastor greatly underestimated the power of peer ministry. Many of our laity are far more gifted and qualified to do pastoral care work than I am.
In fact, I freely admit that if someone needs pastoral care and gets me as their pastor, compared to these other more gifted laypeople, they get ripped off! Though I know I have the heart of a pastor, I don’t have many of the gifts related to crisis pastoral care.
I don’t hold hands well with people when they hurt. I don’t cry well with those who cry. I could go on and on. God did not give me the gift of mercy. When I walk into a hospital room and see a tube in someone’s throat, my first thought may well be one of empathy, but my first response might be to question whether the tube is really needed!
Many years ago, I used to visit every woman in our church who had a baby. Not only did this create much work for me, but very stressful work at that! I know this may sound odd to you, but figuratively speaking, I would drive around the hospital parking lot several times, mustering up the courage to perform my obligation.
Perhaps you are thinking, Grow up, Randy. How can you be hesitating over the easiest and most pleasant kind of hospital visit? But my response to those who would think this way is as follows:
How would you feel if someone gave you an assignment of having lunch with someone you have never met, with the specific purpose of sharing Christ with him? Assume that you are told that this person is intellectually more capable than you and, in fact, a near genius. You also discover that this person is rude and downright mean, expressing hatred toward Christians and always looking for a good debate to put down Christianity.
I imagine that some of you reading this would perhaps, figuratively speaking, drive around the restaurant parking lot several times before going in—if you even went in at all.
You see, God has made me in such a way that when I have that challenge facing me at the end of the week, I wake up each morning counting down the days to this upcoming highlight of my ministry week.
The point is that God has gifted us all differently, and we must respect and work according to these differences.
What I see in church after church are multitudes of God’s people with amazing gifts for ministry sitting idle while a handful of “professionals” try to do too much of what they are not particularly gifted to do. We need to give the work of God back to the people of God!
Example: Laity Providing Mercy Ministry
I once received a request to visit a man who was a patient at Emory, and I gave my typical response that I would find someone who is equipped to provide the ministry needed.
I called a friend, Joe, to ask if he could help me because I knew his life experience would be valuable for this patient. He graciously volunteered to help in any way that he could. I explained to Joe that I needed him to go to Emory and be a minister to a man dying of cancer.
Joe’s immediate response was to say that he would have no idea how to perform such a ministry. I explained that his lack of preparation was my fault because I am an equipper of the saints and I had failed to do my job!
I asked if he would agree to do his job as a minister on the condition that I would first do mine as the equipper. He agreed. After giving Joe some simple equipping and encouragement on what to do and how to perform his ministry, I sent him on his way to Emory.
Later that day Joe rushed into my office and exclaimed, “Randy, you told me this man was dying, but you didn’t tell me that he’s probably going to die in the next few days and that he’s not a believer! Randy, you’ve got to get to that hospital and witness to him before he dies.”
I hope that by now my response won’t surprise you. I said, “Joe, did you know you don’t have to be ordained to share the gospel?” He responded, “I have no idea how to share the gospel.”
I explained, once again, that that was my fault. I am an equipper and had failed to equip him for one of life’s most important responsibilities as a believer. I asked if he would be willing to do his job on the condition that I would be willing to do my job. He reluctantly agreed.
After a crash course on sharing his faith, Joe made his way back to Emory. He shared the gospel with this man and visited him daily until the man died. Now there’s no story of salvation to report, but Joe’s response was significant.
Catching me outside the auditorium after a service, Joe said to me, “Randy, I’ve been thinking and have come to the conclusion that you should never go to hospitals to do pastoral work.” I asked him to explain.
He answered, “Be honest. How many times would you have visited this man with cancer? Once?” I agreed. He said, “That’s all that could be expected of you. There’s one of you and many sick people. But for me, no one expects me to do pastoral work at the hospital. So I can concentrate on one person and give him more attention than you could.”
I agreed. Then he added in his own humorous but sincere way, “And besides, I think I probably did a better job than you could have done!” I loved hearing this and was delighted by how this experience had impacted his life.
The Cost
Having described the responsibilities that are part of the job description of the laymen in the church, we now look at the costs laypeople must be willing to pay in order to make all of this work. Jesus had some pointed things to say about the importance of counting costs before embarking on discipleship (Luke 14:25–33). In a similar sense, laity must pay the following costs:
1. Allow the pastor and staff to be equippers.
It is not good enough to endorse the principle and then to hold oneself out as the exception to the rule. We must encourage our pastor and staff to be equippers. A congregation requires a great deal of patient training to reach this understanding. The old habits of direct pastoral care resist change. Wise laypeople will go out of their way to encourage equipping efforts undertaken by their pastor and staff.
2. Readjust fellowship and leisure habits
This relates to making time available. Some believers have their discretionary time so filled with fellowship activities, Bible study groups, hobbies, and sports that there is no time available to serve other people in their time of need.
We certainly want others to be free to come to our aid during our times of crises. So, likewise, we have to make the time available to be ministers to our friends in need. Believers need to be trained by their leader’s example and teaching to maintain a clear distinction between busyness and effectiveness.
3. Follow God-ordained leadership with an attitude of trust.
The elders and staff give overall direction to the ministry in which laypeople are called to serve. Without an attitude of submission on the part of the laity, the service rendered will always be selective, dependent upon the degree of agreement with that overall direction.
That does not mean that leadership can ride roughshod over their flock—laypeople’s views are valuable and as often right as wrong. Laity should never be taught that they should remain quiet without strongly expressing their opinions about the direction of their church’s ministry.
This third cost is difficult at times. Some who disagree with leaders choose the option to divorce God’s church over disagreements about decisions made. (Please note that I don’t believe that changing churches equates to divorcing the church. But changing churches over disagreements may be unwise and often indicates a lack of willingness to submit to God-given authority. By using the term divorce I am referring to terminating relationship with God’s organized family over the decision of one church.)
Unfortunately, too many laypeople choose a second option in their relationship with the church. They resent decisions that don’t go their way. They proudly express their determination to “stick it out,” even as they carefully nurse their anger, hurt, and bitterness. It often becomes their mission to make life miserable for the leadership of God’s church. God abhors such attitudes (Proverbs 6:16–19).
God has called His family to take a third option—a humble option. God exalts the humble and gives grace to those who practice healthy submission within the church. Life within a local body of Christ offers plenty of opportunities for the practice of mutual submission (Ephesians 5:21).
Conclusion
It is amazing to think of the potential unleashed in the family of God when each elder, deacon, pastor, staff member, and layperson not only discovers and implements the use of his or her spiritual gifts, but uses those gifts in the role to which God has called him or her. Clarifying such roles or job descriptions will ultimately be a blessing to God’s people and an advantage in the advancement of His kingdom.
For many church members, discipleship can be their primary form of ministry. At Life on Life, we help local churches around the world follow Jesus’ model of discipleship. If you want to equip your church and build a discipleship movement, then consider joining one of our Info Calls to learn more about our training and coaching process.
You can also read the full chapter and discover a real-life example of a lay person stepping into mercy ministry by getting a copy of The Intentional Church, by Randy Pope.