God's Call to Churches

The Scriptural Case for Congregational "Call"
Almost all Christians have at least a vague sense that God calls them individually to some work in the world and to some work in the church. The Biblical record and historical tradition for God's call to individuals is strong. It also shows that there is no one form that a call must take. It can be mystical or miraculous--like Moses' burning bush, Paul's light on the road to Damascus, or Isaiah's vision in the temple. It can be muted, as Elijah's still small voice following the whirlwind, earthquake, and fire; or it can be as mundane as Jesus' simple request, "Follow me."

For Christians today, Paul laid out a framework of gifts that may form the basis for our individual callings. It is critical that churches nurture members in discerning their gifts for ministry as a way of helping them discover their call. The most vital churches are those made up of prayerful individuals to whom God has revealed a mission for their lives.

Yet the concern here is not with individual callings. Much has been written about that and many resources are available to assist people in their discernment process. What drives this enterprise is the conviction that God also extends particular calls to congregations.

To be sure, convictions by themselves do not guarantee truth. The only place for authoritative backing for such a belief would be in scripture. While much evidence exists there for God calling individuals to specific service, God's intent for individual congregations is less clear. Some of the reason for this is that, from the long perspective of Judeo-Christian tradition, the concept of individual groups of believers is a relatively new one. The Old Testament speaks at length about first the Tabernacle and later the Temple; however, the word synagogue does not appear there. Indeed, a principal theme of much of the Old Testament is that worship should be centralized in Jerusalem. In the New Testament, the synagogue had developed into an important setting for teaching and worship, and it is the synagogue upon which the idea of individual Christian congregations is based. However, there is no scriptural indication of God's intent for synagogues, and there is little direct mention of God's plan for individual churches.

The use of the word "church" in the New Testament refers primarily to the entire collection of believers constituting the Body of Christ, the Church. Paul's list of God's gifts to the church indicates that each gift is to be fully represented in the Church, resulting in a complete body. What is difficult to tell is whether that is also the model for single congregations.

Is God's intent that each church be a self-contained microcosm of the Church, complete in itself, or that they be analogous to individual members of the Body of Christ, with individual characteristics, gifts, and a unique call to God's service? Without answering the question directly, the New Testament contains acknowledgements that not all churches are the same. The ecclesiastical letters address individual differences in each of the congregations. In the Book of Revelation, the seven churches each are given messages tailored to their particular strengths and weaknesses. Unfortunately, there is not much else to go on.

Contemporary reality shows that, whatever God's intent, the fact is that the Church of the twenty-first century is made up of very individual bodies of believers. Congregations (as well as denominations) have personalities, tending to gather together believers with similar gifts, interests, and theological perspectives. Today, a complete Body of Christ--one with all the spiritual gifts fully represented--can best be observed by looking at all of Christendom together, rather than at a single church or denomination.

Upon reflection, this is not surprising even if, as may be the case, God's ideal is that each body of believers fully represent the reality of God in its own membership. Humans congregate in groups of similar individuals in the pursuit of whatever enterprise they undertake; and so long as honest efforts are made to make room for all, the resultant families of believers can be of service in the furthering of God's will in the world. Furthermore, a case (albeit a tenuous one) can be made that God does not want any single group of humans to be spiritually self-contained. God stopped the builders of the Tower of Babel to save them from hubris. Perhaps the humility of limitations is another of God's gifts to the church.

What does this mean for congregations contemplating their future? If the church is analogous to an individual, then it should be attempting to discern its call to service in the world. The general call for the Christian church is clearly the Great Commission and the motivation is the Great Commandment. However, it is in the details of how each of those is pursued that the serious thought and prayer must be applied.

In the same way that an individual feels energized and empowered when his or her "call" is discerned, a congregation is transformed upon discovering its unique role in the world. The strength and reassurance that results from a clear sense of its particular mission spills over into all aspects of church life.

The Gift of Limits
"No one can do it (have it) all." That acknowledgement of human finitude is not open to question; and that truth should be a source of gratitude. Knowing that all cannot be done grants permission to focus on a smaller set of things which can. Limitations are freeing. Individual churches (like many individual believers), because of their out-of-context understanding of Paul's affirmation that "I can do all things", think that they are expected to do it all. That leads to a diffusion of resources (time, talents and money) and, inevitably, to the lack of much real accomplishment. Limitations promote effectiveness.

God did not tell Noah to take every animal on the boat--"just" one pair of each unclean and seven pairs of each clean. David defeated Goliath because he only had a sling. (Saul's sword and armor weighted him down so much he couldn't move.) Jesus' rich young ruler could not follow his Messiah because possessions interfered with his relationship with God.

Knowing that limits exist, the church must be a good steward of the gifts that it does possess. To be prepared, the gifts themselves must be discovered and acknowledged. To be faithful, the specific services to which they are to be put must be discerned. To be effective, the processes through which they are to be utilized must be developed.

The Theology of Planning
My bias is one that favors planning. I have, with considerable help from my wife, gradually learned the benefits of serendipity; but a congregational diet that consists mainly of serendipity is one which will often produce anemia and heartburn. There is much to be said for systematically seeking and carrying out God's will.

Moses learned one very bitter lesson about process evaluation and the value of listening--really listening--to God. In Exodus 17, God told Moses to strike a rock with Aaron's staff to bring forth water for the thirsty Israelites. He did and God's chosen people had their thirst quenched. Moses heeded God's specific call and the people had their need met. In Numbers 20, God told him to speak to a rock to accomplish the same thing. Moses struck the rock--twice for good measure. The water came and, again, the people's need was met. However, God called Moses' action dishonor and lack of trust; and it was for that reason that Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land.

Pity poor Moses. He had a history with rods. One had become a snake in Pharaoh's court, had turned the Nile to blood, and, the first time, had been God's tool for bringing forth water from a rock. Who would not feel a little inclined to lean on experience and "what had worked before"? Yet God meted out what is arguably one of the Bible's most severe punishments for Moses' indiscretion in this case.

The lessons of this story are myriad. Of particular interest here is the fact that God's people continually need to be discerning what God wants them to do as well as how God wants them to do it. The fact that God has led them to a particular task and process in the past does not mean that that will remain the path God wants them to take forever.

Spirit-led planning in a church is a discernment process that helps the congregation discover the specific what and how of God's will for its life.

Background for Planning
A God of Order
Being a planner by nature, I have always taken comfort in God being a God of order. Of course, I have only recently realized that the Biblical passage that I thought (incorrectly) said "God is not a God of chaos but of order." really concerned the issue of speaking in tongues during worship. Nevertheless, I take comfort in the witness of creation that God's approach is an orderly one. Even the mathematical and scientific discoveries that come under the label of Chaos Theory reveal an underlying order in apparently random acts of nature.

Limits and Choices
The practical benefits of limits--freedom from the unbearable responsibility to be all things to all creation and the potential for enhanced effectiveness--have already been pointed out. In addition, throughout the Biblical record, God has been most powerfully revealed in response to limitations: manna in the wilderness, the widow's oil and meal, the wedding that ran out of wine, five loaves and two fishes. The love, majesty, and mystery of God have consistently shown forth through the limitations which God's people experienced.

If limitations are an important element (and perhaps even a God-given gift) of the human condition, then the work of the church needs to acknowledge that "or" and not "and" is the focal point of decision-making. This does not mean that the church is relegated to the status of a secular institution, without the benefit of grace or God's miraculous presence. It means that the church recognizes God's desire that resources and energies be focused on the particular activities to which the Spirit specifically leads it, rather than being ineffectually spread over the infinite needs of creation.

Hearing a Call
Just as is true with an individual, before a church can seriously enter into detailed planning for its future, it must discern what is its particular call. This must be prepared by an intentional period of prayer and reflection entered into by the entire community. It is the Spirit of God that will illuminate the process, and it is toward the Spirit, whose still small voice can be heard by a community just as by an individual, that the church must focus its attention during this time.

As a church embarks upon this process, advice given to individuals about discerning a call can prove helpful. Fredrick Buechner has said, "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's hunger meet." He has articulated the same idea in a more explicit way in the following: ". . . the kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work a) that you most need to do and b) that the world most needs to have done." It is probably not an accident that this is an exact reflection of the process used for planning in the secular world. First the mission is considered, then an internal and external analysis is carried out, and only then are the specifics of what is to be done discussed. If the Spirit guides a church in self-reflection and a consideration of the needs of the world in which it exists, the points of intersection will likely mark the path toward which God is calling that congregation.