Tear Down this Wall: A Note for Pastors and Laity
By Kent Humphreys
May 2012
Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan stood at the wall in Eastern Europe in June 1987. Following are excerpts from that historic speech:
Behind me stands a wall…a barrier that divides the entire continent of Europe. … armed guards and checkpoints… This scar of a wall …There is one sign that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity… if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
The 12-foot concrete wall extended for one hundred miles and stood as a stark symbol of the decades-old Cold War. Two years later, East Germans issued a decree for the wall to be opened. Families that had been separated for decades were finally reunited.
When I attended Lausanne II in Manila in 1989, my friend, Lee Yih, delivered his memorable “Frogs and Lizards” speech. In it, he compared the ministry of the clergy to frogs, whose food comes to them. He continued by comparing the ministry of the laity to lizards, who go hunting in the nooks and crevices of their world to find their food. It grabbed the imaginations of the attendees, many of whom realized for the first time the significance of the differences between the two groups, and the importance of each.
I again thought of walls, and prayed that the wall of misperception and misunderstanding that existed between the “professional minister” and the “ordinary believer” would finally begin to come down.
This wall was erected within a few hundred years of Christ’s ascension, and still affects us today. Lausanne is about the “whole Church” presenting the whole gospel to the whole world, but the “whole Church” does not feel the primary responsibility to accomplish this. Although there has been progress made over the last twenty years, there is still much to be done. The workplace movement of the late 1990s and this present decade has caused the creation of hundreds of workplace organizations around the world.
During a recent trip to China to visit with pastors and workplace leaders, I saw many of these forming in the major cities. In China, key pastors are helping lead the efforts. But can we identify the restraints that are holding back progress that the Holy Spirit wants to see in us as we come together to minister? Since I have been a business leader involved in this issue for over thirty years, and have led both a parachurch ministry and several businesses, I feel qualified to address some of the issues.
Please understand that a small minority (perhaps one to five percent of the “professional vocational ministers”) do understand the problem and are modeling the biblical paradigm. Another fifteen to twenty percent may think they understand (and may even preach it), but they do not model it. I am convinced that a full eighty percent of “ordinary” believers do not understand their calling as full-time ambassadors of Christ.
Obstacles for Pastors and Christian Leaders
Let us first address some of the reasons why pastors and leaders of Christian groups are hesitant to build bridges and let the walls come down.
- They believe in the “priesthood of every believer,” but have not seen a biblical model of it.
- They do not see the wall they have created that separates the “professional” and the “ordinary” believer.
- They have confused teaching with equipping and modeling.
- They have elevated programs and buildings over relationships, and growing their local church over building God’s kingdom.
- They have allowed walls to exist so that they will not have to be vulnerable to a small group or other individuals.
- They hate to give up control and are intimidated by strong lay leaders.
- They do not understand the difference between leading followers and equipping leaders.
- They enjoy the platform and attention of the crowds.
- They have elevated the teaching of the mind over the changing of the heart.
- They are afraid of partnerships with other churches, other denominations, and even other strong leaders in their own churches.
But these walls would not exist if the “laity” were to exercise their position, go to their pastors, and work together to tear the walls down. However, most “ordinary” believers are quite content to pay and let the “professionals” do the job.
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Kent Humphreys has been a business leader for over thirty years. From 2002 through 2007 he was president of Fellowship of Companies for Christ International (FCCI), an organization that equips and encourages Christian business owners who desire to use their companies as a platform for ministry. He now serves as a worldwide ambassador for FCCI. |
