He Himself granted that some are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. Ephesians 4:11-14
“If we are to embrace such disciplines and practices, then almost all of us require guidance and support. As a result I propose that church leaders, specifically pastors, might think of themselves as “directors of materiality.” I have a hope that we may consider this role as a parallel to the long-standing practice of “spiritual direction” that helps so many of us to embrace the skills, disciplines, and sensibility for our spiritual life. We also require such direction for our faithful materiality.
If we heed the summons of the Epistle to the Ephesians to “equip the saints” for “maturity to the measure of the full stature of Christ,” it follows that it is the work of ministry to evoke the skills and faculties for discernment and action in the arena of materiality. If and when pastors willingly take on the role of directors of materiality, in turn curricular studies may emerge that focus on materiality. In the long run I anticipate that theological faculties that educate clergy will offer programmatic study for directors of materiality.”
Walter Brueggemann in Materiality As Resistance: Five Elements for Moral Action in the Real World (Louisville: WJKP, 2020), 78.
We as Christian workers cannot direct people in the good and right way with regard to materiality unless we ourselves have walked the path. That’s sums up aptly the aim of my exploration: to call God’s servants to grow in the aspect of materiality to help others.
And I have come to learn that this direction sometimes takes shape as asking questions and suggesting practices to raise awareness or invite people tossed to and fro to experience a new way of being and functioning.
It seems that the answer is not to separate from society or follow the flow from society but live differently in the midst of the mess attended to God and care for neighbor. From there our job links to directing others to this path in a spiritual and curricular way.
Speaking of curriculum, this represents just what we did in Colombia. We developed a contextualized curriculum to help workers in the coffee world of Colombia, both indigenous and non-indigenous live with accountability and generosity.
If you want a copy of my trip report, click for English or Spanish. And pray for me as I make a quick trip to Florida. Pray for my father. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer and I am taking a quick trip to go see him and pray for him.