7:55 AM Equipping is not delegating. Think about it. Pastors who think they are equipping may only be delegating.

• They enlist the help of other members but only to assist them do their own ministry.
• They focus their training not on lay ministers but on pastors-in-the-making. (Think pastoral internships.)
• They regularly express from the pulpit their hope that some members will hear the “call of God” to go to seminary and enter “fulltime Christian ministry.”

Pastors should be:

• Acknowledging and honoring the contributions of each member.
• Training every member for fulltime ministry.
• Encouraging the participation of others in pastoral functions such as teaching and serving the elements at the Lord’s Supper.

Fundamentally, church structures must be participational rather than representative or professional. That is, church structures need to consider the ministries and gifts the Head is already prompting in the Body. A good example of this might be the Family Finance Workshop Becky will be teaching in September and October on Wednesday evenings at The Hill. The elders decided to minister to the congregation during the economic downturn by means of this resource. Becky is a layperson without any formal theological training, yet God’s grace has been manifested in her life and in the successful career she had as a financial planner in California. Such a course in finances is a reminder that we have the structure in place in our churches to use non-professional ministers in ministry. All we need to do is use it.

(From Dave Black Online. Used by permission. David Alan Black is author of Energion titles The Jesus Paradigm, Christian Archy, and Why Four Gospels?.)