Reflections
CRITICAL COMPARATIVE BOOK REVIEW
By Steve Cook
This paper reviews and critiques Greg Ogden’s book, The New Reformation: Returning the Ministry to the People of God with Darrell Guder’s book, Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America.
Underlying Theology
A careful study of both books reveals at least three common theological understandings. First, there is a call to return to the original mission of the church, namely an outward missional orientation. Both authors make a compelling case that the church in North America has lost this original focus. The renewed focus is again on an outward focused mission.
Second, the Holy Spirit has been “rediscovered.” Both authors point out that the analytical, problem solving, and programmatic orientation of our churches has run its course. A strong challenge is made to allow “space” for the Holy Spirit to do a new work in our midst. Ogden captures this new openness to the work of the Spirit when he says, “God is raising up at the grass roots a Spirit-filled people who see themselves as ministers . . .” (Ogden, 1990: 25)
Third, a fuller understanding of God’s people as ministers is emerging. A very strong case is made by both authors that the dominant mode of pastoral work in North America, while not being un-Biblical, is certainly sub-Biblical. Ephesians, chapter four clearly states that the work of pastors is to equip the people for the work of ministry, not to do the entire ministry themselves.
Philosophy of Ministry
A careful study of both books reveals at least the following seven common philosophies of ministry dimensions.
First, the church needs to move away from the entrapment of institutionalism and move toward recapturing its original mission. That is, to move from a focus on maintenance to a focus on mission.
Guder sums up the current state of church life with these words, “As our church organizations have centralized, they have become oriented to productivity, efficiency, success, statistics, and public relations, and this orientation has often proved detrimental to the church’s missional identity and calling.” (Guder, 1998: 253) To this I would add that a management approach to running churches should be seen as a means to the end (mission) but never should usurp the purpose of the church. Ogden adds “The institutional church resembles a corporation with the pastor as its head. Locked into a hierarchical structure, the clergy are ensconced at the pinnacle of the pyramid. They are the ‘experts’ in religion.” (Ogden, 1990: 19) Church structure needs to enhance, not hinder, mission. Ogden astutely observes that popular lexis sums up the situation we are facing quite well when he says, “ . . . you ‘go to church’ much the same way you might go to a store. You ‘attend’ a church, the way you attend a school or theater. You ‘belong to a church’ as you would a service club with its programs and activities.” (Guder, 1998: 80) While “sacred space” is clearly a priority in scripture, both authors make a good point that the church need to move from its current fixation on a “place” and recapture the essence of the “movement” it once was. Or, to use Ogden’s words “church as organism.” (Ogden, 1990: Chapter One) By this he means an animate, vibrant church that has many similarities to a living organism. As the church in North American moves from a position of institutional power and influence in the culture, it need not feel marginalized. The church may be able to do its best work in a more subversive, organic, and missional fashion.
Second, the church in North America has clearly become encumbered by a solo senior pastor motif. The pressing need is to move from a dependency model of ministry to that of an equipping model. Both authors assert that, “A far healthier model views the pastor, not as a caretaker of those who can’t fend for themselves, but as the equipper who encourages and provides a context to train all God’s people for ministry.” (Ogden, 1990: 95) In summing up his thoughts in this area, Guder writes, “ . . . we must overcome current notions of solus pastor leadership. The corporate, Spirit-empowered leadership described in Ephesians transcends clergy-laity difference. In the missional community all are ordained to ministry in their baptism . . .” (Guder, 1998: 200)
Third, the church must move lay people from passive involvement to active ministry. God is doing a new work in our churches by truly equipping people for ministry – a bottom up view of the church. Ogden pointedly remarks that the days when, “Laypeople passively warm a pew and place money in the offering plate to create the context for pastors to perform their ministry” (Ogden, 1990: 19) are over. He goes on to say that “The New Reformation seeks nothing less than the radical transformation of the self-perception of all believers so we see ourselves as vital channels through whom God mediates his life to other members of the body of Christ and the world.” (Ogden, 1990: 12)
Fourth, the church in North American needs to grow beyond its current state of bifurcation. By this, Guder and Ogden would assert that the church gathered (Ecclesia) and the church scattered (Diaspora) are not nearly as integrated and interconnected as they need to be - that a sacred and secular way of thinking has permeated our philosophy of ministry and this affects what we view as important in life and what is not. The challenge is to live our lives as one integrated whole - that the purpose of the church gathered together for worship, edification, and encouragement is to be sent out into the world to do the work of ministry and reconciliation. Or as Ogden says, “As shock troops we are called to be diaspora – scattered – ministers, sent from the locus of the community of believers into the world.” (Ogden, 1990: 201)
Fifth, we are seeing a paradigm shift from a programmatic “solutions” orientation in many North American churches to a radically different way of viewing the purpose and method of being and doing ‘church.’ Guder states outright that, “The basic thesis of (his) book is that the answer to the crises of the North American church will not be found at the level of method and problem solving.” (Guder, 1998: 3) Further emphasizing the need to get back to a missional focus in ministry Guder writes, “ . . . it has taken us decades to realize that mission is not just a program of the church. It defines the church as God’s sent people.” (Guder, 1998: 6)
Sixth, both books cry out of the desperate need for change in the entire church scene in North America. Mainline churches have been in decline in both quantitative measurements and effective ministry for many years. Many evangelical churches are not far behind. Ogden, provides one caution before churches take the giant leap of change, “Before we begin, we must ask ourselves, ‘what price am I willing to pay?’” (Ogden, 1990: 121)
Seventh, both authors make a strong case that in order to implement this radical change, a new kind of church leader will need to lead the way. That new kind of leader is the equipping pastor. The primary focus or goal “ . . . is for all believers to accept before God their responsibility to be stewards of their gifts and call in order to make a contribution to the health of the whole body of Christ.” (Ogden, 1990: 163) Guder asserts that the key to the formation of missional communities is their leadership.
Additionally, Guder writes, “ The Spirit empowers the church for mission through the gifts of people. Leadership is a critical gift, provided by the Spirit because, as the Scriptures demonstrate, fundamental change in any body of people requires leaders capable of transforming its life and being transformed themselves.” (Guder, 1998: 183)
Paul’s definition of the function of leadership ‘to equip the saints for the work of ministry’ emphasizes the formation of God’s people so that they can ‘lead a life worthy of the calling to which (they) have been called (Eph. 4:11).” (Guder, 1998: 199) And what is the ultimate test for this new kind of equipping pastor/leader? Ogden quotes Gene Getz when he writes, “We are successful only as we are used by God ‘to equip the saints’ to function in the body; we are successful only when the body grows and develops and ultimately manifests the ‘more excellent way’ – the way of love and unity.” (Ogden, 1990: 152)
Model of Equipping
While both Guder's and Ogden’s books have much in common with regard to underlying theology and philosophy of ministry, there are some places where their respective models of equipping differ in substantive ways. Each has chosen to use different metaphors to describe the ideal biblical church community.
First, Guder refers extensively to the reign of God. By this he means that the reign of God or Kingdom of God is a given (Guder, 1998: 96), and that the current manifestation of God is the living missional church. (Guder, 1998: 100) The church is to represent God’s reign as its community, its servant and its messenger. (Guder, 1998: 102). Guder states that, “The church’s task of announcing the reign of God will mean moving beyond the four walls of the church building, out of the safe group of people who know and love each other, into the public square. The missional church will be in the world with good news.” (Guder, 1998: 137)
Second, Guder also refers to the church as a holy nation. By this he means that the church is literally “an apostle to the world.” (Guder, 1998: 113) Asserts Guder, “In contrast to contemporary understanding of the church as voluntary association, chaplain to society, or vendor of religious goods and services, one of the most important understandings of the church in the New Testament is a political one: the church as holy nation.” ( Guder, 1998: 117)
Third, Guder has coined the terms “bounded and centered-sets.” By this he means that the traditional membership or bounded-set way of defining church affiliation is being replaced by centered-set organizations that do not define membership and identity as the entrance points into a church. Rather, centered-set churches invite people into a relationship or a journey toward a set of values and commitments. (Guder, 1998: 206)
Fourth, Ogden on the other hand prefers to refer to the ideal biblical church using the term, “organism.” By this he means that the church should be similar to a living organic body. That the church is nothing less than, “a life-pulsating people who are animated by the indwelling presence of Jesus Christ.” (Ogden, 1990: 29)
Final Thoughts
Are Ogden’s second reformation/organism motif and Guder’s missional motif one and the same? While this paper shows that there are many places where their respective underlying theologies and philosophy of ministry are similar, and while I have pointed out a few places where there are differences, there is one remaining place where I believe there is a major difference. That is, having read both books thoroughly, and having taken Ogden’s own course, based on his book, and having implemented much of what he has suggested in my own church, I believe Ogden’s focus ends up mobilizing the laity primarily for ministry within the confines of the traditional church. By this I mean if not within the church building itself, then certainly within the ‘authorized’ ministry scope of the church.
Guder, on the other hand, builds a strong case for a much broader missional approach to the life and purpose of a local body of believers called a church. Under his model, the mission or ministry of the church is anything that the people of God are called to do, wherever and whenever that may be. This, I am coming to believe, is a more accurate picture of the equipping church.
Guder sums it up well when he says, “Thus our challenge today is to move from church with mission to missional church.” (Guder, 1998: 6)
Steve Cook is Associate Pastor of High Point Church in Madison, Wisconsin, and the MDL web manager.
Print
Email
