Very truly I tell you, unless a
kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a
single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves
their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this
world will keep it for eternal life. - John 12:24-25
Over the nine years that I have
attended GPYM, I have watched Friends wrestle with what continued
existence would mean. Is GPYM primarily a family reunion - an assembly
of "good people" who like one another? Does the Yearly
Meeting primarily exist as a connection with Quaker institutions on
the East Coast? Does GPYM have something unique to say to its own
context in the American heartland? Could the Yearly Meeting be a base
community for a shared life of radical discipleship and loving action
for liberation and justice in the Great Plains region?
During my time attending Great Plains,
it has seemed like the default mode for GPYM is to operate as a place
of comfort, security and self-affirmation. The Yearly Meeting
provides a sense of identity and connection with the wider Quaker
world, a touchstone in a region with few Friends of like mind. Often,
the posture of folks in Great Plains Yearly Meeting has been
fatalistic - resigned to the sleepy decline of our Christian
fellowship.
But we were not left without a witness.
Over time, I have seen God prodding Friends to choose a path of
renewed life and vitality as Christ's Church. God has raised up a
number of prophetic ministers who have called the Yearly Meeting to a
deeper engagement with our shared experience of Jesus Christ, and his
call to be salt and light in the world. These
prophets have not always been well-received, but their ministry has
had a clear effect over the long haul.
This year, the clerk of the Yearly
Meeting brought a proposal that she be financially released
(Quakerese for "hired") for part-time service to the Yearly
Meeting. She explained that she felt called to dedicate a substantial
portion of her time to nurturing Meetings throughout the region and
helping to spur the development of new leadership that could help to
sustain the work of the Yearly Meeting in the years ahead.
In 2009, after a season of traveling ministry among Friends in the Great Plains region, I had laid a
similar concern before Great Plains Yearly Meeting. At that time,
however, Friends were not ready to provide support for such an
out-of-the-box proposal. GPYM's Ministry and Counsel minuted,
"Our Yearly Meeting simply is not yet at a place where we can
corporately affirm an apostolic ministry" (M&C 09-17). Three
years later, however, the ground seems to have been cleared enough
that Friends are seriously considering supporting just such an
apostolic call.
Jesus teaches us that the way to
everlasting life is through apparent death, and that by
clinging to what we already have, we deny ourselves the riches that
are to come. Have we reached a place where we
are ready to die to our comfort and nostalgia - to bury that which
once was so that we can reap that which God is bringing into being?
What does it look like for the Church to die to itself, and to be
raised again, clothed in Jesus Christ? Are we willing to let go of
the dirty rags that we cling to in order to put on the fine linen of
Christ's wedding banquet? Can we embrace the self-death that leads to
overflowing life in the Spirit?
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. ... - 1 Corinthians 15:42-44
2 comments:
resoodrDear Micah --
Thanks for this... I suspect that other Yearly Meetings may be in similar predicaments... but being released for service is quite different from serving as a "hireling". As long as the distinction among GPYM is clear, and the purpose is nurture into the Life of Christ's Spirit rather than the structural status quo, all will be well.
It is difficult to discuss the topic of supporting individuals in ministry among Friends. I as a paid pastor feel that by having the income from the Meeting, I can actually serve more because I am not bound as tightly to other sources of income. As Friends we should honestly discuss this topic, our culture has shifted from an agricultural based society to urban. Along with that comes less self employed individuals. To support a life devoted to ministry these individuals must find income some where, if it does not come from the Meeting/Meetings they serve it will come from secular sources. The secular sources do not care what your call to ministry is they only care if you will be around.
I enjoyed the time I spent in the Great Plains Yearly Meeting community, I feel they hve a more accurate testomony of Christ Centered Quakerism than many forms. I believe that all Friends need to honestly look into this issue though. Ministers can only serve when their fnancial obligatons are met. Most ministers I know are not out to get rich as the hirelings of Fox's day were. They are only asking for what they need to get by. The amount of time needed to serve as a clerk of the Yearly meeting and to visit the various Meeting is steep, and the financal obligation is also steep.
As a pastor in a meeting I use all my vacation time at my other job for church events, usually I use more days than I have in vacaton so I am unpaid during that time. I do this because I love Christ and the Friends testomony of faith. Financially I could not take on any greater role in the Yearly Meeting than I already do, because of my income.
It is one thing to keep staffing costs low to invest in ministry. The flip side is that often ministry is done when we have time, to offer financial assitance to people we recognize and encourage into ministry is freeing up time for them to do the ministry they are called to in a more effective way. If the overseers are doing their jobs they will not be losing money to a hireling but investing in future leadership.
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