What is Christian Mnistry (Second Proposal)?

Christian Ministry as Communitarian:

Henri Nouwen is right in saying that the second temptation in doing Christian ministry is to be spectacular. If a priest-minister is after for fame and applause, he tends to work alone. This attitude in ministry is a no-no. No wonder, ministry ought to be in the context of the community.

Jesus was not alone in his ministry. He engages in healing, preaching, doing miracles and eating with sinners always with His chosen twelve. In fact I just realize now that Jesus’ public ministry does mean he did his ministry to people alone. Rather, he and his collaborator-apostles went public. And nowhere in the Gospels where you can find Jesus doing his ministry alone. Can you?

In addition to that, Jesus entrusted his continuing mission to the community (Matt. 28: 18-19; Jn. 20: 21-23). And the Holy Spirit came upon the community who went out from hiding and preached the Good News at Pentecost day (Acts 2). Earlier to that, the twelve (or the seventy two) had their ‘on-the-job’ training two by two. (Lk. 9: 1-6; 10: 1-16).

What do I mean by this? My point is, the more we become ‘irrelevant’ in the world, the more we, as Christian ministers, should strengthen our life in the community. For the effectivity and meaningfulness of our ministry come from our witness of love for one another. Before we minister to people outside, we must minister to one another. This is how Nouwen described ministry as a mutual experience (p. 42). Indeed, charity begins at home!

Our community gives relevance to the ministry we are doing. In human parlance, we support one another. And just I have stated that Christian ministry presupposes that Love which impels every priest-minister, love also presupposes community. When Nouwen observed that ‘priests and ministers are the least-confessing people in the Christian community’, it is because the old paradigm of ministry is still existing. Ministry before is one-way traffic. But I say, based on the author’s impression, Christian ministry today is a ‘two-way’ traffic.

What does this new paradigm imply? Henri did not develop well this particular idea. And I would like to continue from where he ended. Nouwen still perceived in his book that Christian minister and Christian faithful are still clearly distinct. The former ministers and the latter receives. However, for Nouwen, the mission is given to the community. And yet, outside the community are the recipients of the mission. For me I push on further. There is no such thing as outside the community. All of us belong to the community and in it, we minister to one another. The distinction is not real; it is only hypothetical.

The author’s proposition of confessing our sins to one another would not become a true sense of word, if there is still within us that real separation between the ‘clergy’ and the ‘laity’, between the ministering and those to be ministered. We are all ministers to one another and we all need to be ministered by each one. We are a community of Christian ministers. And outside this community, there is no one to minister to.
I don’t say remove the leaders of the Church. I don’t say the successors of the apostles are now irrelevant. What I mean is, leadership in the Church should be taken as a service. That is not new to us of course. But what is new is, the church leaders take the lead in living the Gospel ideals – to love as Christ the Good Shepherd did. Truly, Christian ministry is Communitarian.