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Tasmanian Anglican

August 2003

 

 

 

 


Rod Morris

 

Diocesan Ministry Conference

 

 

Rod Morris will be keynote speaker at the Diocesan Ministry Conference in September. He recently spoke with the Tasmanian Anglican.

T.A. Rod, we are really looking forward to having Karen and yourself with us at our ministry conference in September. Have you ever been to Tassie before?

R.M. Yes, we spent our honeymoon at Coles Bay. We loved the trip on the boat and spent a couple of weeks exploring Freycinet and a little wider afield. We have very fond memories of Tasmania.

T.A. You both have an interesting mix of backgrounds in corporate training/Adult Education and Theology. How has this helped in your work with IFES in Europe and in your role as the course director at the Institute for Contemporary Christian Leadership (ICCL) and congregational pastor at St Hilary's, Kew in Melbourne?

R.M. Our combination of theological training and adult education helps us look at both the content of what we teach, and the educational manner in which it we communicate it.

During our IFES ministry we were looking for ways to encourage people new to ministry. Within the European context where the church has drifted away from its foundations, our focus was on communicating traditional content in new and refreshing ways. It is a similar challenge in my present congregation of mature adults in their 40s and 50s, many of whom have believed all of their adult life. I need to refresh them spiritually, reminding them of the eternal truths of scripture, whilst somehow avoiding the condescending effect of rehashing things they have known and accepted for decades. I am a passionate fan of good biblical preaching, but unfortunately, in the Church we tend to turn everything into a sermon and neglect other ways of helping people learn. This is detrimental to both preaching, because it becomes overused and under-valued, and to learning, because we are often subjected to presentations which do little to engage experienced adults capable of independent thought.

At ICCL the challenge is different. The focus is on leadership promotion, identifying the professional development needs of people in ministry, and arranging courses to meet these needs. With increasing complexity and constant changes in most areas of life, there is much that people in ministry need to master. My function is to facilitate the necessary refreshment, stimulation and instruction necessary for ongoing effective ministry. This means working hard to identify what people really need in order to serve well. We believe the message of the bible is so crucial we must communicate it well. Likewise, the work of ministry is paramount, and hence the need to prepare people effectively for it. In ministry we are always searching for the right combination of appropriate message and appropriate manner.

T.A. What are some of the significant challenges you see facing the church today in terms of leadership? How can we make scripture central to our corporate church life? What issues will you be exploring at our Ministry Conference?

R.M. These are huge issues that we'll explore in depth at the conference. Remember that Christian leadership always involves spiritual warfare, as Satan always seeks to destroy the work of God. Consequently the challenges for church leaders are as many and varied as Satan's tactics, although his two key tactics seem to be undermining the message and destroying the credibility of God's messengers. You only need to read the papers for a short time to see the truth of this!

The challenges in leadership are to maintain our commitment to scripture and retain the clarity and distinctiveness of the Christian gospel; to maintain the energy and enthusiasm needed for the leader's task of shepherding God's people; to keep personal integrity and faithfulness; to stay relevant and to respond to rapid changes in our ministry and in the culture around us.

The world seems to view Christian ministers and the gospel of Jesus with indifference or suspicion and hostility. We must address this and I think the key is to keep Jesus central in our message, our manner, our methods, and our motivation. We must make God's word the heart of what we do, corporately and privately. This is the real cutting edge for us in ministry. It is essential if we are to fulfill our mandate of bringing a message of hope to the world.

Diocesan Ministry Conference 26-28 September, Camp Clayton.

Contact Robyn Chisholm 03 6220 2020