“Let it be a dance we do, may I have this dance with you? For the good times and the bad times too, let it be a dance.” Ric Masten
My parents were enthusiastic participants in the 1970’s folk music revival and continue to be active in music and dance circles to this day. So, my childhood involved a lot of folk dance and music. There were a lot of contradances. And I learned to waltz at a young age. I remember my mother teaching us to polka to “Roll Out the Barrel” and later learning the steps and spins of the schottishe. In college I got to try other styles including ballroom dancing and salsa.
There is something in all of these coupled dances that contra dance instructors call “giving weight.” This is where two hands meet and arms both pull just enough, not too much. There is a magic in this holding firm, slight pull, that gives the spin, the move, the energy to come alive. A floppy arm doesn’t work. Nor does it work to pull so hard one’s partner can’t resist stumbling forward!
There is something similar too in paired figure skating, contact improv, even the childhood game of holding hands with someone, leaning back, and spinning until you’re both dizzy.
If both partners don’t “give weight” and pull a little the whole move just falls flat. Or worse crashes into the ground. If someone pulls too hard, their partner can’t keep on their feet and falls. But when the balance is just right, so much more is possible than one body can do alone.
Shared ministry is like this. In congregations with a minister and professional staff you’re sharing power and ministry. Together. In a lay led congregation you’re sharing power and ministry with each other. No one person is solely in charge.
For example, worship can be so much more dynamic and life giving with the shared ministry of a worship team or worship associates who help listen to where the congregation is, help choose topics, find readings a minister might not find on their own, contribute reflections and even lead worship. Sure, your minister could do it all on their own. But then you’d be missing out on the gifts and voices other people can bring. Your minister is not the only one with insights and wisdom to share. So, worship is just not the same if the congregation isn’t “giving weight” too. It’s like trying to get a really good spin going when one’s partner’s arm has gone all floppy.
On the flip side, ministry falls flat when congregations treat their minister and professional staff as merely employees to be told what to do. Our religious educators, musicians, and ministers have creative gifts and talents, professional expertise, and their own wisdom. Occasionally congregational leadership, instead of being like the dancer with the floppy arm, pulls way too hard. Shared ministry isn’t tug of war either!
There are so many opportunities for shared ministry in worship, music, social justice, religious education, pastoral care, and more. Where are there chances for the ministry of your members to be part of the ministry of your minister and professional staff?
The same is also true in lay led congregations. No ministry of a congregation really works long term led by just one or two people. Where are there short and long term opportunities to share the ministry? To offer new ideas? To experiment together? To share the ministry.
In our most thriving congregations we see this kind of shared ministry, with mutual investment, effort, sharing of gifts, leaning in, sharing ideas, and being vulnerable together. And such ministry is a dance!
If your congregation is calling or hiring a new minister this spring, including interim ministers, look for outreach from your primary contact about a “ministerial start-up.” This is a facilitated workshop with regional staff to help launch your shared ministry with clarity so the foundation of that shared ministry is strong. This worship doesn’t happen right away in August, but after you’ve settled in for a few months. The goal really is to set your congregation and minister up for strong shared ministry together. Let it be a dance.