Rachel Ringenberg Miller encourages congregations to unlock their full ministry potential by embracing the shared calling of pastors and church members through the Anabaptist belief in the priesthood of all believers.
Rachel Ringenberg Miller is the denominational minister for Ministerial Leadership for Mennonite Church USA.
In today’s church landscape, it is easy to fall into the trap of viewing the pastor as a corporate director, solo visionary or primary service provider. Yet anyone who has spent time deeply engaged in congregational life knows that true ministry rarely fits into neat, linear boxes. It is beautifully, and sometimes painfully, collaborative.
Recently, I read “Understanding Ministerial Leadership, a Collection of Essays,” published by the Institute of Mennonite Studies in 1995. The essays explored topics such as the inner and outer call to ministry, reimagining the ministerial role, and the description of the ministerial office. One phrase in the foreword, written by Ross T. Bender, stayed with me:
“The ministry of the pastor and the ministry of the people belong together.”1
I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment, and I also believe that leading in such a way as a pastor can be challenging.
To say that the ministry of the pastor and the people belong together is an invitation to embrace what can only be described as “holy chaos.” In an Anabaptist tradition, this interconnectedness is formalized through the priesthood of all believers. We believe that every believer has direct access to God, and that each person is uniquely gifted and called to share in the priestly roles of interpreting Scripture, practicing mutual discipline, offering forgiveness and bearing witness to Christ.
Because of this, Mennonite and Anabaptist churches are often highly participatory and volunteer driven. We intentionally prioritize relational integrity and communal discernment over bureaucratic speed. This raises the questions: What is the pastor’s role? What is the congregation’s role? What does it mean in practice for the ministry of the pastor and the ministry of the people to belong together?
Let’s look at what differentiates the pastor’s role from that of the congregation.
What is the role of the pastor?
The pastor is someone who has experienced an inner call from God and an outer call affirmed by a faith. This is to say that the pastor is called by both God and the congregation to guide them toward the people God is calling them to be. The pastor is not a “regular” member of the congregation but someone who is reading or, to quote Melissa Florer-Bixler from an episode of The Competent Pastor Podcast, “exegeting the congregation.” The pastor has the privilege and honor of getting to know the people of the congregation and the local community in such a way that they begin to develop a sense of how the congregation might extend God’s love into their community.
What is the role of the congregation?
The congregation, then, is a group of people who are committed to following Jesus together and who have called a pastor with the particular gifts and skills to lead and support them in their commitment. Congregations often have an idea of how they wish to spread God’s love in their community, but they need someone to provide leadership (the pastor) to help them follow through. Or, if the congregation is at a loss about how God is calling them to follow Jesus, the pastor can offer insight based on the congregation’s gifts and skills and work with the congregation to create such a vision.
Living into the priesthood of all believers
In the end, distinguishing between these roles isn’t about creating silos of ministry but rather understanding how they complement and strengthen each other.
When a pastor offers theological insight and a congregation brings their collective gifts to life, the true potential of the church is realized.
This dynamic is what it means to live into the priesthood of all believers. The pastor and the congregation each have distinct roles to play, and each role is incumbent upon the other one. The responsibility of being Christ’s hands and feet does not rest on a single leader’s shoulders. It is shared by every member as we seek to follow Jesus.
This work of ministry is rarely tidy. It requires us to choose relational integrity over easy efficiency. Yet, when we embrace this holy chaos, we find our truest rhythm: one where “the ministry of the pastor and the ministry of the people belong together,” moving as one body to extend God’s relentlessly expansive love to the world. As Ephesians 4:16 tells us, “From Christ the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
[1] Ross T. Bender, “Forward” in “Understanding Ministerial Leadership, essays contributing to a developing theology of ministry,” (Elkhart, Indiana: Institute of Mennonite Studies, 1995), ix.