becoming

In one of the ending chapters, Peterson expressed what he sees as a positive change between his congregation and him, after he returned from a year of sabbatical leave:

A recent incident, seemingly trivial, illustrates the profound difference that keeps showing up in a variety of situations. About twenty-five of us were going on an overnight leadership retreat. We had agreed to meet in the church parking lot at 5:45 to car-pool together. I made a hostpotal visit that took longer than planned and arrived five minutes late — to an empty parking lot. They had left me. Before the sabbatical, that would never have happened; now that kind of thing happens all the time. They can take care of themselves and know that I can take care of myself. Maturity.

We are both, the congregation and I, experiencing a great freedom in this: neither of us neurotically needs each other. I am not dependent on them; they aren’t dependent on me. That leaves us free to appreciate each other and receive gifts of ministry from each other.

Eugene Peterson, The Gift — Reflections on Christian Ministry, p.151.

What do you think? How would you feel when something like that happened to you as a pastor? Reading Peterson’s words, and looking at how Apple’s share slump on Steve Job’s temporal medical leave, one has to wonder how counter-cultural pastoral work can be, and must be.

No, as pastors, we are not called to build an empire — at least not one that circles around ourselves. If your congregation cannot survive upon your departure or your extended leave of absence, it could only mean one thing — that those people have been following the wrong person all along.

May the neighbors’ words to the Samaritan woman be a constant reminder to all of us who are leading, shepherding and teaching:

We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world. (John 5.42)

Let’s remember how Small Talks are necessary in our pastoral work, and what kind of theology are we living if we are to undermine them.

Art is involved here. Art means that we give ourselves to the encounter, to the occasion, not condescendingly and not grudgingly but creatively. We’re not trying to make something happen but to be part of what is happening — without being in control of it and without it being up to the dignity of our office.

Such art develops better when we are convinced that the Holy Spirit is “beforehand” in all our meetings and conversations. I don’t think it is stertching things to see Jesus — who embraced little children, which so surprised and scandalized his followers — also embracing our little conversations.

Eugene Peterson, The Gift — Reflections on Christian Ministry, p.115-6.

But I do it [running a church] in the same spirit that I, along with my wife, run our house. There are many essential things we routinely do, often (but not always) with joy. But running a house is not what we do. What we do is build a home, develop in marriage, raise children, practice hospitality, pursue lives of work and play. It is reducing pastoral work to institutional duties that I object to, not the duties themselves, which I galdly share with others in the church.
(p.59)

Eugene Peterson, The Gift — Reflections on Christian Ministry, p.59

My use of language in the community of faith was a mirror image of the culture: a lot of information, a lot of publicity, not much intimacy. My ministry was voiced almost entirely in the language of description and of persuasion — telling what was there, urging what could be. I was a great explainer. I was a pretty good exhorter. I was duplicating in the church that I had learned in my thoroughly secularized schools and sales-saturated society, but I wasn’t giving people much help in developing and using the language that was basic to both their humanity and their faith, the language of love and prayer.

But this is my basic work: on the one hand to proclaim the word of God that is personal — God addressing us in love, inviting us into a life of trust in him; on the other hand to guide and encourage an answering word that is likewise personal — to speak in the first person to the second person, I to Thous, and avoid third-person commentary as much as possible. This is my essential educational task: to develop and draw out into articulateness this personal word, to teach people to pray. Prayer is Language I*. It is not language about God or the faith;  it is not language in the service of God and the faith; it is language to and with God in faith.

Eugene Peterson, The Gift — Reflections on Christian Ministry, p.92-93

* Peterson described Language I as the language of intimacy (like those between parent and infant). Language II is informational (news), whereas Language III motivates (e.g. advertisement).

Such powerful reminder from Peterson:

But prayer is not a work that pastors are often asked to do except in ceremonial ways. Most pastoral work actually erodes prayer. The reason is obvious: people are not comfortable with God in their lives. They prefer something less awesome and more informal. Somthing, in fact, like the pastor. Reassuring, accessible, easygoing. People would rather talk to the pastor than to God. And so it happens that without anyone actually intending it, prayer is pushed to the sidelines.

And so pastors, instead of practicing prayer, which brings people into the presence of God, enter into the practice of messiah: we will do the work of God for God; fix people up, tell them what to do, conspire in finding the shortcuts by which the long journey to the Cross can be bypassed since we all have such crowded schedules right now. People love us when we do this. It is flattering to be put in the place of God. It feels wonderful to be treated in this godlike way. And it is work that we are generally quite good at.

Eugene Peterson, The Gift — Reflections on Christian Ministry, p.43

Author, poet, pastor and professor Eugene Peterson talks about the importance of story. Peterson is joined host Dean Nelson in Part 2 of the 2007 Writers Symposium by the Sea, sponsored by Point Loma Nazarene University. Series: “Writer’s Symposium By The Sea” [4/2007]

[HT:littleho]