A Note from Betsey:
Committees on the Way to Discipleship
The architectural focal point of the Upper Room Chapel is an 8' x 7' wood carving of da Vinci's Last Supper. On Wednesdays, I gather with colleagues for worship in the chapel. There have been many opportunities to meditate on this interpretation of Jesus and the disciples. I've wondered about these men: their personalities, their diverse backgrounds, and the tensions among their understandings of why they were together. Other times, I study the picture and wonder which disciple I would be if I had been there. In this portrayal, Jesus is gazing ahead, not focusing on any one of the disciples, and I've imagined all sorts of thoughts he might be thinking. I often think of the picture as a church committee.
In church groups — committees, study groups, mission groups, prayer and worship groups, and others — we usually invite Jesus to be part of the group with our opening prayer. Then, like the disciples in the picture, we participate in our own conversations, attend to our own needs and desires, and leave Jesus to gaze ahead. Da Vinci has painted a story of the human condition. Our good intention is to have Jesus participate. Our good intention is to work with Jesus to transform the world.
Jesus describes the work his "committee" will do in Matthew 10. The original disciples didn't grasp the whole mission, and modern-day disciples continue to struggle to understand. Each of us does a small part of the "big picture" as we are gifted and able. Disciples through the ages have worked with Jesus toward the transformation of the world and the full coming of the reign of God.
In Luke 10, Jesus widens the circle to seventy others. He gives the instructions (verses 1-12), sends them out to do the task, gathers them to hear reports (verses 17-20), then rejoices over their work (verses 21-24). There is no indication Jesus ever met with this group again. They completed their task, Jesus blessed them, and they disbanded.
It takes great courage for faith communities to change the way they work in committees. Many congregations are eliminating ineffective and outdated committees. Some have the courage to form task groups to do a project, then disband the group after a few months. And increasing numbers of congregations are paying attention to the spiritual lives of committee members so that the meetings and the work form faith and increase discipleship. The United Methodist Book of Discipline lists a few committees that are required for legal and structure purposes. Old organizational charts are gone; congregations should organize in a way that moves people toward the mission of transforming the world.
Betsey Heavner (bheavner@gbod.org) is Director of FaithQuest at The United Methodist General Board of Discipleship, Nashville, Tennessee.