ACL AGM ADDRESS 2005

RECRUITING & TRAINING

THE NEXT GENERATION

  1. The Book of Jonah
  1. A missionary God at work
  1. Mission begins with the heart of God
  1. Missionaries reflect the character of God
  1. Recruitment & Training
  1. Is a Diocesan family matter - a discussion we have to have!
  1. For too long, we have been largely reactive as a denomination in these areas rather than proactive.
  1. I have two (2) strategic points to make this evening …
  1. We recruit to traintrain to recruit.
  1. We Recruit to Train …
  1. Amongst many things, our Diocesan Mission is a call for Christians to consider afresh radical career diversions into full-time Bible-teaching ministries:
  1. It is a call not to an alternative career, but to a diversion from the notion of career itself;
  1. In terms of full-time ministers only, our Diocese will need fifty (50) persons per Region per year for the next seven (7) years to commence training for full-time Bible teaching ministries;
  1. This amounts to one (1) person per parish per year;
  1. Some parishes will, under God, raise up more than one (1) person. Others may take longer to raise up a man or woman for such work. The first is always the hardest – but the first then encourages others along;
  1. There is a need for both specialists and generalists – not only because thereexists a multitude of different Bible-teaching ministries to be undertaken amongst men, women & children, but also because there are a multitude of relational networks along which the gospel message must travel!
  1. The opportunity, of course, has never been greater:
  1. Our churches are becoming more mission-minded. In 2004, I undertook research via our Regional Archdeacons to discover that, since the inception of the Mission in October 2002, sixty-five (65) new congregations have commenced across the Diocese. All five (5) Regions have seen signs of new growth. Sometimes new congregations on church trust property – sometimes on the property of others!
  1. Also, our colleges are gearing for rapid expansion. Both MTC and the AYWCollege are committed to growth and have looked to serious property development ventures. The MTC Council has resolved not to decline any person should he or she be ready to commence study at the College;
  1. Our Diocese has clearly-articulated mission strategies – reflecting a theological and missional solidarity few Dioceses could easily achieve.
  1. And yet … the call is not simply for quantity but quality. There is an ongoing need for men & women with the necessary character, convictions & competencies to pursue training for Bible-teaching ministries. All 3 Cs are critical! One of the great myths of recruitment is that the wavering of standards will attract greater numbers. In fact, over time, the exact reverse is the case.
  1. How do these three (3) Cs relate to each other? There is a symbiotic relationship between Conviction and Character. One’s biblical conviction is given expression in Christian character. And character is founded upon conviction. Together, conviction and character serve to promote and nurture an other-person centredness. This leads to the question as to what competencies are then required to serve others more effectively and lovingly.
  1. We rejoice in the recent growth in candidates for the Diocese of Sydney. There has been a growth from 100 to 140 candidates since 2003 (with no compromise in quality I might add!). This is almost five (5) times the overall number of candidates in the next Diocese in Australia. It has been one of my great joys (& challenges, too) to personally interview these candidates and to hear of the work of God in their lives. In February 2006, I suspect we will witness one of the largest ordination services in the Anglican Communion. About two (2) years ago, I was informed that there were about 3,800 active clergy in Australia though only 200 of these were under the age of 40! We know where most of these people are! The Archbishop of Sydney has appointed a considerable number of Ministry Chaplains (formerly known as ordination chaplains) since 2003.
  1. But, friends, we are seriously warned against complacency - for we need many more full-time workers – ordained and unordained. We have not even scratched the surface of the spiritual landscape in Sydney and, with approximately 25% of our clergy retiring in the next ten (10) years, we need to push forward intentionally!
  1. In the 20th Century, not too far from this very building, thousands of persons joined queues to enlist in the 1st & 2nd A.I.F.. Recruitment is always easier in times of war. In peace-time, millions of taxpayers dollars are spent on publicity for Defence Force Recruiting – persuading people; cajoling people; convincing them. In war, by contrast, a real threat is perceived and sacrifices are made.
  1. Friends, we are to perceive the times in which we now live! Do we now think we are in a time when spiritual conflict is at an end when recruitment into full-time ministry is of no greater urgency than before?
  1. To recruit for training we must change the way we think and the way we go about things:

Our precious student ministers & assistant ministers must be shown their responsibility as recruiters for full-time ministry. They are the ones who have the connections and trust with younger persons positioned for career diversion. It is often these servants that young people will go to for ministry advice. By implication, we must encourage our students to go to take up appointments in parishes where students have rarely been;

Similarly, our committed Rectorsare partners in Diocesan recruitment. Rectors can excite their congregations with the privilege of “letting-go” of capable people for the sake of world mission. Rectors are often best-positioned to challenge older Christians to consider full-time ministry in later stages of life. Peter Costello’s catch-cry “Demography is destiny” has much truth in it and the potential for early retirees to enter full-time ministries is massive. Rectors can also strengthen their connection with MooreCollege where visiting Rectors are welcomed with enthusiasm by faculty and students;

Our dedicatedBishops & Archdeacons must be encouraged in their vital work of recruitment and training. We have the very best Bishops and Archdeacons in our Diocese. These men have terrific opportunities to rally Christians in various contexts and to transform denominational culture. We need to remove administrative obstacles that might inhibit their ministries in this regard. A particular opportunity these leaders have is to help ministers to progress well in their first incumbencies promoting an invigorating optimism for a life of such work. Archdeacons already have a special responsibility for working with the Rectors of our newly-ordained deacons to ensure a good start to full-time ministries and are in close partnership with MT&D in interviewing new candidacy applicants;

Parish Councils across our Diocese serve as Mission Support Councils for the work of the gospel in their areas. Councils now have the opportunity of promoting a ministry-creation ethos rather than simply a ministry-filling ethos. With Rectors, staff projections are encouraged, not only twelve (12) months ahead, but for the next three to five years.

Our devoted Christian parents must be enlisted as fellow recruiters and challenged with seeing full-time Christian service as a very real option for their children. In addition to recruitment events for prospective ministers, why not gatherings for the parents of future ministers where the possibilities are presented before parents?

  1. Our Anglicare researchers have been a terrific asset in strategic analysis in recruitment. They recently informed me that we have just over 10,000 people aged 15-30 years in our parishes => we need 10% of them!
  1. Needless to say, our university and TAFE campuses along with our Anglican schools are recruitment-rich zones. As are all our multi-ethnic ministries! “Demography is destiny” from a human perspective.
  1. We give thanks for the marvelous work of the CLUB 5 Conferences. Many of you will recall that our Archbishop encouraged Anglican clergy across the Diocese to consider as a recruitment & training activity last year.

Therefore, we recruit to train! However, also …

  1. We Train To Recruit …
  1. We recruit full-time ministers from our laity/local churches;
  1. Lay training must be a parallel strategic consideration for our Diocese since:
  1. No lay training in parishes means little recruitment of full-time workers. But worse still …
  1. No lay training in parishes means poorly-equipped Christians across the Diocese. We rejoice in the knowledge that much great work has been done in both structured/unstructured or formal/informal ways. Yet we have only just begun and the promotion of ministry training amongst all Christians is the key to sustained growth in our parishes, congregations & fellowships;
  1. Can I remind us all that Policy 3 of the Diocesan Mission advocates the multiplication of well-trained persons (ordained, lay, full-time, part-time and voluntary) lovingly dedicated to the creation and development of such parishes, congregations and fellowships by proclaiming the gospel;
  1. Another mind-shift is needed for our Diocese in that => local churches are the primary training centres for Christian service. Next year’s local ministry leaders are this year’s trainees. Next year’s parish growth is this year’s training;
  1. We’ll need 50,000 Bible study leaders for the Mission alone;
  1. Of course, for the equipping of our lay people, we need to recognize that theological understanding is critical;
  1. The Moore College External Studies Programmes are our flagship lay education resources in this regard. Yet, surprisingly, preliminary research indicates that it remains untapped by many Anglican parishes;
  1. It seems to me that there is no reason why every theological student should not be teaching the theological foundations of Christian ministry using these resources. Imagine our 300 Anglican students at our Colleges and 200 assistant ministerseach teaching one subject to one group each year? We would have thousands of people training via these programmes! It is within our reach tomorrow to educate and train thousands more lay people via the External Studies programme. We have no time to lose in this regard. Alongside the considerable work that Anglican Youthworks continues to do to train lay people, such efforts will be a source of great blessing.
  1. Thus, we train to recruit into both paid and unpaid ministries. We recruit to train and train to recruit.
  1. Can I remark here that Policy 3 is not meant to be understood simply at an individual level. We are seeking to multiply not only well-equipped lay people across our Diocese, but well-equipped & nurtured marriages and families for effective ministries in our broken & sinful world.
  1. Finally, Recruitment & Training is a mind-set not simply more activity:

Activity leads to programming. But whilst programming has a critical placethe right mind-set leads to denominationaltransformation;

Recruitment & training are to be life-long ventures for us all. We should be always recruiting and therefore also training. We ourselves should be always training with a view to being recruited into opportunities of greater service by God Himself for his glory and for the benefit of his people;

One of the research areas at MT&D at present is the relationship between minister growth and ministry growth. We are highlighting to full-time ministers the link between the two and explaining this relationship drawing upon both quantitative and qualitative research. We have recently re-invented the ministry guidance and evaluation philosophy for those training for full-time ministry with the introduction of annual personal Ministry Development Plans that seek to promote self-responsibility and intentionality in ministry and reduce the likelihood of attrition. A similar approach could be developedby local ministers for developing their lay people annually after experiencing it themselves;

All this, of course, brings me to the role of the ACL. Under God, the next seven (7) years could be plentiful years indeed. Let us recognise this time for what it is. The ACL needs to be as strong in seven (7) years as it is now. Its dedication to encouraging the recruitment and training of the next generation Christians will be critical.

Finally, we cannot but turn to the missionary God in prayer. Conscious of his sovereignty in all things and mindful of our finiteness and utter dependence on his strength.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.”

Matthew 9:37-38