A Concept Paper on Shared Ministry
in the Episcopal Diocese
of East Tennessee

The notebooks are designed to be printed front and back,
three-hole punched and placed together in a binder
preceded by the bishop's letter.

“Shared Ministry” is the name we use in the Diocese of East Tennessee for an understanding of ministry that is also referred to as “Total Ministry,” “Mutual Ministry,” “Baptismal Ministry,” or “Collaborative Ministry,” among others. All of these terms mean the same thing: enhancing the vitality in today's parish communities through commitment to the belief that the ministry of the church is a shared ministry. Emphasizing and empowering the ministry of all the baptized leads congregations to an elevated sense of ownership of their mission and promotes the renewal and revitalization of congregational life. Our diocese's Shared Ministry Formation Committee-along with the Bishop, the Commission on Ministry, the diocesan Office of Lay Ministry Development and others-are all resources to congregations interested in exploring shared ministry.

Theological Basis

Shared ministry is based on a specific understanding of God, the sacraments of baptism and eucharist, and the church: All people are created in the image of God and are called into a relationship with God. All people are called to serve God and God's people; all are called to be ministers working to achieve the purposes of God. All people are provided with unique gifts and talents through the power of the Holy Spirit-gifts and talents given not for the benefit of one group of people over another, nor for the personal advancement or glory of the person receiving those gifts, but for the building up of the Body of Christ.

Shared ministry especially recognizes and respects the contributions and the ministries of all the people of God (BCP, p. 855). Some are called and gifted to serve within the church as ordained ministers (deacons, priests, and bishops). Others are called and gifted to serve both through the church and through their individual vocations and professions. In shared ministry, there is no hierarchy of giftedness or vocation. Those who are able are called to serve, regardless of status. Those who have knowledge are called to teach, regardless of position in the community. Thus, at its heart, shared ministry is an egalitarian approach that seeks to promote a community that is a discipleship of equals, responding to Jesus' comment that he no longer calls us servants, but friends. Shared ministry puts itself in opposition to clericalism, which is an excessive devotion to and support for the power and interests of the clergy.

With shared ministry, the sheep share in the shepherding under the headship of the ultimate shepherd, Jesus Christ. The offices of the church have been given to the church to order and support the work of God, and in particular to equip the saints for ministry. Therefore, the work of deacons, priests, and bishops is in no small part to be the work of empowering and enabling the ministries of all the people of God. Vestries, too, share in this essential work.

The late Bishop Wes Frensdorff, describing the vision of what the church should be in a shared ministry approach, suggested that it is to be a gathering of ministers, both lay and ordained, who are committed to the mission of God, and not a community of lay people gathered around one (ordained) minister. With shared ministry, the church exists not so much for the benefit of its members but for the sake of transforming the world.

In shared ministry the people of God are called forth to serve, and the gathered community celebrates and expresses this calling forth, this vocation, through the sacrament of baptism. Baptism is the outward sign of initiation into the ministering community. Baptism also is the marking of an individual's call and of the Holy Spirit's provision of gifts that empower and support each person in ministry. Through baptism (as well as in their various ministries), the people of God themselves become symbols of God's kingdom breaking into their everyday lives. All ministry flows from and is authorized by the one baptism shared by Christians.

Ordained ministry, then, is not over and above other forms of ministry but flows from this fundamental priesthood of all believing people just as the various lay ministries do.

The eucharist also is an important sacrament in shared ministry communities, both the sign of unity as Christians and the source of strength for ministry. In the eucharist Christians are reminded of the example of the self-giving ministry of the High Priest. From this example, Christians strive to pattern their lives as ministers in His name.

Shared ministry sees the church as the Body of Christ in the world-a body of ministers, laity and clergy, who seek to bring all people and all creation into unity with God through Christ. Shared ministry embodies mutuality in relationships as well as sharing of power, leadership, and decision-making. It reflects the optimism, enthusiasm, and focus on mission of the early church. The shared ministry approach involves all of the people of God in ministry, calling them to work together and to use all the aspects of their lives to accomplish the work of God.

Policy

The Diocese of East Tennessee will strive to assist every parish that feels the call to emphasize shared ministry development built on a ministry support team approach. The function of the ministry support team (sometimes called "ministry development team," "ministry discernment team," or "shared ministry team"), with the clergy, is to energize, engage, and support the ministry of all of the baptized. The team reports to the rector and vestry.

Shared ministry is appropriate for congregations of any size in any setting:

• In parishes able to support a full-time (stipendiary) priest, the goal of shared ministry is to maximize the role of the priest as coordinator and enabler of active ministry for the whole congregation and to minimize the role of the priest as primary provider of ministry.

• In parishes unable to support a full-time priest, shared ministry will be especially beneficial in providing sustained ministries in that congregation's everyday life. Several congregations may decide to explore shared ministry in common, with a view to establishing a cluster ministry, where a priest would serve as having oversight responsibilities among parishes within the cluster.

The ministry support team should be committed to ongoing ministry formation. Following commissioning, the ministry support team should continue to build skills, gain knowledge, increase understanding, develop spiritually, and support one another in the exercise of their shared ministry.

For additional information on shared ministry in the Diocese of East Tennessee, contact the diocesan Office of Ministry Development at 423-698-1222 or rgovan@etdiocese.net.

Suggested Reading

• “Transforming Congregations” by James Lemler, Church Publishing 2008.
• “Calling: A Song for the Baptized” by Caroline A. Westerhoff, Seabury Classics, 2005.
• “I Have Called You Friends …” by Kevin L. Thew Forrester, Church Publishing, 2003.
• “Entering the Household of God: Taking Baptism Seriously in a Post-Christian Society” by Claudia A. Dickson, Church Publishing, 2002.
• “A Theology of Worship” (Volume 12 in the new Church’s Teaching Series) by Louis Weil, Cowley Publications, 2001.
• “Ministry in Daily Life” by William Diehl, Alban Institute, 1999.
• “Letting Go … Transforming Congregations for Ministry” by Roy D. Phillips, Alban Institute, 1999.
• “Discerning Your Spiritual Gifts” by Lloyd Edwards, Cowley Publications, 1988.

These materials owe much to previous work by the dioceses of Northern Michigan and Northern California.