Human Resource And Diversity Issues In The Early Church

Limited Human Resources

Like the Apostolic Church, our clergy are outnumbered. We only have two full-time clergy for about one thousand families. This is not a good ratio. I’ve been there, done that, and lived this horror story by ministering to a twelve hundred family Cathedral in Houston, TX. With a Cathedral this size, I estimate that my brother priests probably need to work eighty-hour weeks just to tend to the most basic needs of the community. Churches cannot grow with tired, overworked, and outnumbered ministers. Father George and Father Paul do a great job here despite the circumstances, yet they need help. There is no possible way that they can connect personally with each parishioner and also reach the masses. In my humble opinion, they are to pray for the faithful, teach the Word of God, and preach to the masses. Why do we expect more from them than the early Church expected from the Apostles? Isn’t this an area where we can all chip in like the early Church? Are our clergy supposed to do everything?

Lack of Unified Action Plan

The Apostolic Church struggled early on because it faced many conflicting needs that diverted its attention. This Cathedral and any organization are confronted with infinite issues but only have limited resources. That’s why well-run organizations develop mission statements and strategic action plans. Mission statements help organizations prioritize and focus their resources so that the most important things get done first. Ventures not critical to the Church should be left out of its mission statement and should be avoided. Looking for guidance, I searched our Archdiocese’s web site for a mission statement and strategy. Unfortunately, I wound up at the Missions Center, not at a mission statement. After further searching I actually found what could be deemed the parish’s mission in the Uniform Parish Regulations (Article 15, Section 4 Page 27). It reads as follows,

The diakonia (ministry) of the Parish will include proclaiming and teaching the Gospel in accordance with the Orthodox Faith; sanctifying the faithful through God’s grace in worship, the Divine Liturgy and the other sacraments; enhancing its parishioners’ spiritual life; and adding to the numbers of the faithful by receiving persons into the Church through instruction, baptism and/or chrismation. In addition, the Parish shall establish educational and philanthropic activities to foster the aims and mission of the Parish and to edify its parishioners in the Faith and ethos of the Church. The Parish shall also engage in such inter-Orthodox, ecumenical and interfaith activities as are consistent with the policies of the Archdiocese.

This sounds great and I’m in full agreement. This paragraph summarizes what the Church is about. Our Church has not changed in two thousand years because our focus is the same as the Apostles. The problem my friends are in the details. How do we proclaim and teach the Gospel? How do we edify our parishioners? How do we accomplish all these things with limited funds and limited resources? This is the challenge. We know what to do, but what is our plan? This is where I’ll leave off, not because I don’t have any ideas, but because my thoughts are not of paramount importance. The resolution of our problems lies in how we bond together in a common Spirit of prayer, understanding, and holy purpose. Remember, it’s never the answer that is important; it is the struggle and the journey that build Christian character. Finally, I would like to explore these challenges at a later date, maybe through another sermon, but today we’ve run out of time.