Curious Christian

A lot of people talk about Christianity and the church as if it’s monolithic. But in truth there is plenty of diversity between and even within different traditions. Is that a good thing? Ironically, even that can be subject to debate.

One area of diversity concerns the so-called clergy-laity divide. That is, the difference in status between pastors and paritioners, priests and plebs. Some traditions maximise it. Other traditions minimise it. Me? I align with traditions which minimise it. I have found that can be confusing for people who’s familiarity with Christianity is limited to traditions that maximise it. Indeed I have been mistaken for a pastor more than once. I am not. Yes, I teach, I have even taught teachers, I have led communion many times, and should the situation call for it, I would baptise as well. But the traditions I am most influenced by do not consider these the exclusive province of ordained leaders. They commission the community as a whole to do these things.

As a consequence I do have a high sense of personal responsibility for the spiritual growth of the church and of myself. If I am not growing, whose responsibility is it? The exhaulted clergy’s? No, at least not in full. I believe that, the more mature the Christian, the more the responsibility lies with them. And so what kind of leaders do I respect most? Those who lead by example, who show deep awareness of their own need for continual growth and who continually stretch themselves.