The curse of the expert

The leadership of the organisation had finished the discussion, there was a great need to pray for God's will not to be done. Although they came from different traditions, they was a singleness of purpose. Two or three got their diaries out to arrange a day for a prayer meeting, not easy with busy lives and responsibilities. One of the others looked somewhat bewildered, 'Why don't we just pray now?' He asked

There were two approaches to prayer, one complicated the other simple. One influenced by rooting prayer in everyday life, the other by the great praying saints of the past. Rees Howells, the founder of the Bible College of Wales, prayed ten hours a day, six days a week for nine months before the was able to receive an answer to his prayer. He and many others are wonderful examples of lives submitted to God. However, are we inspired by these 'great' saints or do they set a standard that we struggle to meet? Are they always a blessing or can they somehow be a curse?

A few years ago, I was asked to preach at a rural chapel, the minister was away on holiday and I filled his preaching slot. A couple of the members were going to lead the service and they were quite nervous about their responsibilities. Just before the meeting started one of them came up to me and said, 'I am so pleased, a visitor has just turned up and he is a professional worship leader and he has agreed to lead the service.'

After the meeting, very well led by this godly man I considered the morning. Bringing in a 'professional' to lead the meeting meant that we had a well-crafted and expertly led service. But we also had a congregation that had been shown that expertise is what is valued. That it is better to have a professional leader than to train and release the whole congregation into ministry. That, to be blunt, most of us are simply not up to the task

The priesthood of all believers has, for a long time, been in effect the priesthood of a few. Whether in Anglican or Catholic Churches or in non-conformist settings (pointy or non-pointy as we call them) there is a often a clear demarcation line between the experts and the others

I am all for leadership, I support the concept of ministry gifts, but not in a way that has led to the de-skilling and restricting the ministry of countless 'non-expert' disciples of Jesus. Paul in Ephesians says this:

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Ephesians 4:13

I think that it is therefore reasonable to suggest that the purpose of ministry gifts is not to do the ministry but to equip God's people for ministry! It is the body of believers that should do the works of service leading to Christ's body being built up resulting in unity and maturity

Experts doing all the important roles demonstrates the opposite to the above and if not checked can become a curse to the church