Spiritual Leadership, Part V: The Community

So what is the Areopagus in our time? What is the Areopagus for those trapped in Protestant communions that are riding a rapid decline into immorality and irrelevance? What is the Areopagus for the neo-evangelical who no longer worships in a way that is identifiably Christian? We have a growing fad called the “emerging church,” which is little more than empty platitudes about a Christ who can be anything we want him to be. What is the Areopagus for them? What is the Areopagus for the unchurched and, more likely, the dechurched?

I don’t think there is a universal answer to this question, inasmuch as the answer here in San Francisco is likely different from the answer in Boise, Denver, Seattle, Sacramento, State College, or Dallas. What is certain is that the Areopagus is not found in our own naves. If we are going to extend our spiritual leadership in the community, we will need to step out. We will need to meet others, and develop those relationships. Relationships build slowly. Some of the best ones start out built around common interests.

At the individual level, meeting the parents of friends of our children, learning more about coworkers if we work in a secular environment, finding other adults who like to bicycle or perform community service are great ways to break the ice, and, over time, to establish those first frail spiritual connections. People are often reluctant to get too close to the “preacher man,” but they’ll get close to the friendly fellow who is willing to labor and socialize with them.

Shared social ministry is also a great way to extend spiritual leadership, for several reasons. First of all, the size of the Orthodox community in the United States makes it difficult for us to carry out some kinds of care for those around us. We can do more by working with others. These “others” are often heterodox Christians. They’re heterodox not because they reject the Orthodox as a deliberate act, but because they’ve never encountered an Orthodox person or viewpoint.  These contacts become profitable ways to tell others what the Church believes, to invite them to pray with us, and to manifest the fullness of Christ’s Church to them.

We should not fail to mention, too, that those involved in such community ministry are often people of influence. Bringing these individuals closer to the Church in the sphere of our leadership can have profound effects on our parish and on the broader community as a whole.

I also emphasize the role of our wives. Women go where men cannot go. They have conversations men cannot have. In the early Church, huge numbers of men became Christians through the efforts of their wives. If you have an extroverted wife, she can be one of the greatest ministerial assets you have, because she will introduce you to individuals you would not necessarily have met otherwise. Every one of those introductions is an opportunity to demonstrate spiritual leadership.

Next time: Part VI, Next Steps.

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