Members Are Ministers

Cultural changes and social conditions today give evidence of a growing disregard of traditional authority and an increasing distrust of institutions. Relations between pastor and people are changing. In many situations, the practice of top-down leadership appears no longer to be effective. Members Are Ministers identifies the positive change necessary to achieve greater unity and to reduce conflict within the church. This book promotes an approach that generates a greater sense of community, enables a clearer corporate and personal witness to the faith, and reduces the social distances between pastors and people. Above all, it recognizes the Word as crucial for effecting change in our emerging new culture. Paul Goetting works from a biblical base that shapes the Christian ministry of all people through their various vocations, and equips them for a clearer witness to the Christian faith and to issues of injustice. The family, the workplace, the political arena, and the church are seen as the primary contexts for authentic servant ministry of both clergy and laity. ""Combining his decades of experience as a parish pastor and seminary professor, Paul Goetting gives us a savvy, impassioned appeal for the church to do what God continually calls it to do, turn itself upside down by striving to make the ministry of every baptized Christian effective. Why it matters and how to go about it with creative fidelity make for lively reading and faithful follow through."" -Dean Lueking Grace Lutheran Church, River Forest, Illinois ""Drawing upon the theological cross-centered roots of the Reformation and his years of observation and experience in a variety of leadership roles in the church, Goetting proposes that the church utilize its core theology which manifests 'inverted leadership' in a manner that will make use of the gifts of all the baptized, both with respect to fulfilling its vocation to proclaim the Gospel as well as caring for God's creation and tending to justice. The book is a provocative read."" -Bishop Marcus C. Lohrmann Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ""Goetting describes the nasty divorce in our congregations between Sunday and Monday. As one church member witnessed, 'No pastor has ever asked about my work.' Goetting's goal is to invert the pyramid of church leadership so that the people in the pew discover their callings. Goetting draws on the Reformation--along with modern leadership theories--to paint a new picture of ministry. Goetting's real goal is to mess with our imaginations about how a congregation works. Consequently, handle with care. The calls for 'ministry in daily life' are growing. Goetting's contribution to these voices is an important one."" -Rick Bliese Luther Seminary ""Combining theological and social analysis Goetting ably revives the theme of the ministry of the laity in its contemporary relevance."" -Richard Baepler Valparaiso University Paul Goetting (1930-2013) was a Lutheran pastor who served the church through a very active career in three congregations and in seven interim ministries. He also became a professor at Concordia Seminary-St. Louis and Christ Seminary-Seminex. Goetting also held administrative positions for Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Council, USA, both in New York City. He spent six years in two major ecumenical research programs in Philadelphia and Chicago. He was often called to short-term service abroad, principally in India and Africa.