The Next Lay Minister
Learn the three steps required for reality ministry for tomorrow’s Catholics
Photo from Photos.comImagine you are kicking back on a Thursday night with the remote in hand, a snack on side table, and a full slate of reality TV ahead of you. American Idol or Survivor? The Amazing Race or The Simple Life? And then, something else, something fresh and strange comes across your screen: The Next Lay Minister.
We won’t see this show in the next edition of TV Guide, but we might need this kind of program more than ever. While much of reality TV is neither “real” nor as spontaneous as we might think, its contestants capture our heart and soul. We root for the candidates and talk about them over lunch the following day, all the while text-messaging our votes for our favorite vocalist. We get into it! Something about reality TV obviously strikes a chord with the American mindset.
Three simple things lie at the heart of the success behind reality shows:
- an understanding of what the audience wants,
- solid preparation of the candidates, and
- an opportunity to win the payoff.
These basic steps are strategically planned and thoughtfully navigated as one flows into the next. What would it look like for Catholics to approach their parish and school ministry in the same way?
Knowing your audience
The Catholic “audience” for a lay minister is twofold: those who are baptized and living a life of faith, and those who are waiting to believe. Surprisingly, the latter are often overlooked. Pastors and church staffs are so overburdened with maintaining the flock that outreach can take a back seat. One priest I know put it this way: “We are so busy herding that the role of shepherding gets forgotten.” For generations, Christian leaders have been crying out for greater attention to those who are not in the pews. Pope Paul VI said in 1975, “All Christians are called to this witness (of the Good News), and in this way they can be real evangelizers” (On Evangelization in the Modern World). We know that evangelization is important and should be a hallmark of our faith, but we often fail to carry it out. Sometimes we also fail to carry out our ministry with those in the pews. Do we fully understand their wants and needs, and do we challenge them to live more fully as a disciple of Christ?
George Barna, in his book Revolution (Tyndale House Publishers), outlines the characteristics of today’s wave of believers. Gathering information from 3,033 adults from around the nation, Barna believes that today’s Christian generation is more fervent than previous ages and yet more diverse from other Christians in their day-to-day practice of the faith. It should be noted that Barna’s research is primarily aimed at Protestant Christians. Called revolutionaries, these Christians are living the faith with passion and zeal. The data doesn’t lie; believers are putting their faith into action.
- More than seven out of every ten revolutionaries are actively serving in their local community.
- The average amount of money donated by revolutionaries in 2005 was $2,990, considerably more than non-revolutionary believers.
- Almost two out of every three revolutionaries (64%) study the Bible every day.
- A majority of revolutionaries (54%) has a quiet time with God each day. Again, this is nearly 20% more than non-revolutionary Christians.
- About six out of every ten revolutionaries (57%) experience “intimate, personally stirring worship of God” on a daily basis.
- Most revolutionaries (56%) frequently commit their time and energy to helping disadvantaged people in their community. This is over 15% more time than nonrevolutionary believers.
- More than four out of five revolutionaries (82%) had shared their faith in Jesus Christ with a nonbeliever in the preceding 12 months.
While these findings seem on the surface overwhelmingly positive, there is an underbelly. Critics of Barna point out that the local church often gets the short end of the stick. While the trend is toward a more personal expression of the faith, Kevin Miller’s review of Barna’s book is critical and begs the question, can one be a churchless Christian? (“No Church? No Problem,” ChristianityToday.com). Weren’t the earliest Christians essentially a community of believers who changed the world? The research is interesting but not surprising as Protestants have for centuries seen local church membership and even Sunday worship as optional.
From a Catholic point of view, what can be learned from Barna’s Protestant research? Are his revolutionaries the same as Catholics in the pew? Not surprisingly, some parallels can be made between Barna’s new wave of believers and contemporary Catholics who are navigating life with the help of a traditional expression of faith.
Colleen Carroll in The New Faithful: Why Young Adults are Embracing Christian Orthodoxy (Loyola Press), demonstrates that Catholic and Orthodox believers in their 20s and 30s are living out their faith with as much zest as do Barna’s revolutionaries. Carroll writes, “Once committed to orthodoxy, these young adults do not quarantine their faith. It infuses every aspect of their lives, guides every major decision they make, and affects nearly every interaction they have at home, work, school, church, and in the culture at large” (p. 18). While the data isn’t as precise as in Barna’s polling, Carroll’s case is convincing. Many young adults today are serious about their faith and want lay ministers who can nurture and challenge them to go deeper.
Preparing your candidates
If more and more of the younger faithful are passionate about their faith, what sort of preparation would our next wave of lay ministers need? Would our show include the token diversity that we have come to expect from reality TV ? In truth, our candidates would have to be racially diverse, including a balance of women and men, and would have to be multi-generational. We would see a good sampling of the Body of Christ.
Our candidates would of course have to love the Lord and maintain an energetic relationship with Christ. Their personal study of Scripture and communication of its message would be clear and down to earth. Their love of the sacraments would be evident, and respect for the magisterium would be clear and consistent. These lay ministers would be contagious.
With that aside, our candidates would also have to be skilled in areas previously thought to be exclusive to the secular realm. Time management, personal productivity, long range planning, and strategic visioning are all essential in today’s lay leaders. One look at Christianity Today’s Web site and its emphasis on pastoral leadership clearly shows that today’s leader must be organized for the road ahead. Perhaps this is why more and more lay ministers are pursuing MBA programs and signing up for professional development courses in communication, project management, and finance.
Jason Womack in the April/May 2006 issue of Today’s Parish Minister argues that a Christian leader must be able to manage workflow in order to be effective. He must collect information smoothly, process it thoughtfully, and then organize the work in front of him. Says Womack, “Fr. Sam doesn’t have to let his hectic schedule master him, and neither do you.” This is why the next lay minister would be as comfortable in the business world as he or she would be giving a talk on a retreat.
The United States bishops have supported this new reality of laymen and women who are working for the church. In their latest document on lay ministry, Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord: A Resource for Guiding the Development of Lay Ecclesial Ministry, the bishops affirmed that the approximately 30,000 paid men and women who work for the church are of great value and require a new paradigm for both professional training and theological understanding on the part of the larger ecclesial community. Called by God to serve the church in a part- or full-time basis, these Catholics serve within the broader ministry of the diocesan bishop and more proximately the local parish. There are no “lone ranger” lay workers in the church but rather adequately trained laity who work and minister within the parameters of both diocese and parish. The next lay minister would be a true team player who would respectfully and confidently use his gifts for the sake of the mission of the church in the world.
Winning the prize
As each reality TV show ends with some incredible prize, our show would feature a different sort of reward. Our candidates, competing not so much for glory and fame, would pursue the ability to help lead the next generation of Catholic faithful. To be sure, this reward is full of headaches, challenges, and obstacles. There will be moments of doubt, discouragement, and scarce verbal affirmations of success. Interview any priest today about their “job,” and they will paint a complex picture of vocation wrapped up in the necessary responsibilities of being a Christian leader in a complex world. As a youth minister, marketplace representative, or director of religious education, the next lay minister will be prepared for the task at hand and will help our bishops, priests, and deacons navigate the murky waters of the 21st-century world. As Christ himself said, “Much is required from those to whom much has been given” (Lk 12:48). TP
*This article appeared in the February 2007 issue of Today’s Parish.
Michael K. St. Pierre is the director of Franciscan Youth Ministry at Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore, Maryland. He has worked in parish and school youth ministry for ten years and lives with his wife and two children in northern Maryland.
