1. BEING A CHANGE AGENT IN THE NEW CULTURAL REALITIES
OF MINISTRY TODAY
In an increasingly shrinking world with information overload and a transient global pop
culture, most constants have failed. Metanarratives which formed the cornerstone of cultures
have been abandoned in favor of pop psychology, self-help books, and fantastical mythical tales.
We are living in a post-national, post-rational, post-literal,
post-scientific, post-traumatic, post-ethical, post-institutional,
and post-Christian era.1 Ministry today is often shaped by the
economic interests and the value of consumerism rather than
by the gospel of Jesus Christ. When consumerism is allowed
to become the god of today’s church it naturally follows that
the guiding vision for ministry will reflect a consumer friendly church tempted to substitute the
temporal power of consumer appeal in exchange for the surpassing power of the Cross. There are
however, amazing opportunities available. Postmodern society is looking for authenticity and
community rather than just a good show and snappy programs. Understanding these cultural
realities for my ministry in the 21st century and how I understand my role as a change agent
require proper prospective on church history, discovering what good ministry looks like, what
pitfalls to avoid and how I can engage people to grow from passive consumers into participating
disciples.
Early Christians saw themselves as ‘resident aliens’ or ‘settled migrants.’2 Their true
identity uniting all believers was their citizenship of heaven. It was in this singular milieu of
1 A. K. M Adam, What is Postmodern Biblical Criticism?.(Minneapolis: Fortress, 1995) 22.
2 Rowan, Williams, Why Study the Past?, (Grand Rapids:WilliamB. Eerdmans PublishingCompany,2005) 33-34.
Postmodern society is
looking for authenticity
and community rather
than just a good show and
snappy programs.

2. corporate identity that their actual roots and loyalties resided rather than in the cities and cultures
in which they physically resided. Over and over history teaches what happens when our earthly
citizenship comes to the foreground. Christianity becomes merely a religion in which power is
kept in the hands of the powerful. We fight amongst ourselves on battlefields
that have long since been abandoned by the enemy rather than learning from our
mistakes and pressing forward. All too often churches are decades behind the
culture because we unwittingly do the same as we have always done, afraid to
try something new or, heaven forbid, try something from a different Christian
tradition. “One of the characteristics of good leadership is the capacity of the
leader to connect a group’s historic past and ideals to new dreams for the group’s future.”
Jaroslav Pelikan was right when he said “Tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the
dead faith of the living. And, I suppose I should add, it is traditionalism that gives tradition such a bad
name.”
With history in mind, my focus can shift to being a good minister today. Good ministry
can be described first in terms of pastoral health. The most common reason people leave ministry
is due to a denomination or congregation being unsupportive or that there was conflict with
church officials. A close second is burn out, discouragement, stress or feeling overworked.
Despite preaching and pastoral care being ranked highest for both enjoyment and normative
importance, pastors across denominations agreed they spent the most time in an administrative
role which took the largest amount of time and was considered least important.
Ben Merral argues that pastors spend the majority of their time on urgent but
unimportant tasks. Important and urgent tasks tended to create an emergency
mode where important but not urgent tasks were sacrificed for expediency.
However, it is the important but unurgent tasks that are key to effective
Tradition is the
living faith of
the dead,
traditionalism is
the dead faith
of the living.
Good ministry
must
fundamentally
be relational.

3. ministry. Brad Braxton exhorts commitment to personal holiness to be the first principle of good
ministry. “Too many ministers have anemic devotional lives, chaotic family lives, and barren
preaching ministries because of an inability to set and maintain priorities.” Two-thirds of all
pastors preach to a congregation of 100 or less and more
often than not the pastor is expected to do everything. This
has the duel effect of creating a lone ranger approach to
ministry and more likely burnout. On average a lone pastor
doing everything can lead up to 120 people, however, 75% of
people attend churches with medium to large size
congregations. Successful ministry requires a team approach.
Good ministry must fundamentally be relational. We are social creatures made for
relationship with one another and communion with God. I believe some kind of small group
format is the best place to foster meaningful relationships as well as creating faithful disciples for
service in the world. Small groups in principle, are a wonderful concept
for meeting these needs but 90% of the time they are done completely
backward. The primary focus should be about getting to know people
and developing relationships on a deeper level, not primarily studying
the Bible. This is one of the great stumbling blocks to traditional Bible
studies. No one is going to share honest intimate details of their life unless genuine concern and
love are present. Kathleen Cahalan states that good ministry does not fear to name sin: it
proclaims the brokenness, destruction, and misery that we heap upon ourselves. Instead of a
traditional Bible study, perhaps prayer should be the initial focus of the group. Few things are
more powerful than praying fervently with another hurting, broken person and honestly
When internal ministry,
pastoral care and discipleship
are accomplished in
community, the pastor is
freed to focus on vision and
leadership for the community.
Hospitality should
always press us
outward to make the
circle of care larger.

4. admitting one’s own failings and fears. Only in this context of genuine community will Bible
study become real and useful.
When internal ministry, pastoral care and discipleship are accomplished in community,
the pastor is freed to focus on vision and leadership for the community.
Christine Pohl said, “Christians can live out a vision for transformation,
justice, and peace. Sustained by grace, we can focus less on control,
management, and measurable results, and more on modeling and
mentoring lives that are lived in response to grace.” Now the focus can
shift from internal care to external service and hospitality.
Hospitality should always press us outward to make the circle of
care larger. Good ministry requires crossing significant social boundaries and a simultaneous
affirmation of certain distinctions. These distinctions are more internal that external. We are to
be a light that reaches out to everyone, however, the distinctions we choose to define ourselves
with often create barriers rather than bridges. My biggest struggle is with being genuine, it is
hard to admit to being merely human but if we can be honest about our struggles we allow for
genuine transformation. “. . . be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable.
This is truly the way to worship him. Don't copy
the behavior and customs of this world, but let
God transform you into a new person by changing
the way you think” (Romans 12:1b NLT). Jesus
brought a message that spoke to the deepest
longings of the human heart to become not simply
conformed to a religious subculture, but transformed by the Sprit into new creatures. When
Jesus brought a message
that spoke to the deepest
longings of the human
heart to become not
simply conformed to a
religious subculture, but
transformed by the Sprit
into new creatures.
When we try to hide our failures
behind whitewashed hollow words
or deeds reaffirming how religious
we are that we lose the right to
enter into honest dialogue

5. spiritual transformation fails or ossifies we tend to establish external markers to prove our
righteousness. However, these ‘identity’ markers can become signs of exclusion. They are highly
visible, relatively superficial practices whose
purpose is to distinguish between those
inside a group and those who are outside. We
harp on extraneous issues that may be important
but are not at the heart of the Gospel. When we
allow ourselves to be transformed by the Holy Spirit, and Jesus lives and dwells in us and we
live in communion, as genuine children of God, then the world will know us by our love not our
religion.
We won’t be perfect, but if we can humbly admit our failures we will earn far more
esteem. It’s when we try to hide our failures behind whitewashed hollow words or deeds
reaffirming how religious we are that we lose the right to enter into honest dialogue. I believe our
responsibility is to introduce people to the love of God not indoctrinate them into our religion.
“Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves,
measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us” (Romans 12:2, 3 NLT).
To be a successful change agent requires compassion and sharing of my own
disappointments, failings and struggles. Otherwise what does Jesus save us from? If we are to be
Christ with flesh on we must start from where people are at. For the past five years, my wife and
I have lived in the city of Milwaukee, the forth poorest and most racially divided city in the
United States. Understanding the cultural realities of the central city has meant not trying to be
the white savior but to simply listen. Not to judge, but to try to understand and relate to real
needs. The Gospel is about enriching life in every facet and although it can be argued
If we are to be Christ with
flesh on we must start
from where people are at.

6. philosophically that feeding souls is more important than feeding mouths, at VBS this year the
economically impoverished kids, who rarely get three meals a day, listened much better and
learned more about God’s love because their stomachs were full. I completely agree with Felicia
Thomas, “Being a change agent is mostly a matter of being open and friendly, of listening and
sharing, of praying and seeking, of dining and dancing, of laughing and crying together.”

7. Reference Page
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Carder, K. (2001) Market and Mission: Competing Visions for Transforming Ministry. Available
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Carroll, J. (2002) The More Things Change....": Pastoral Leadership for the 21st Century.
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