Soul Shrinking or Soul Enriching? (Winter Week One)

Dori Baker’s comment, “Six months into my first parish, I found church leadership to be soul-shrinking.” (Lewis, Williams, Baker, 2020, p. 11) really tapped into some of my deepest fears and concerns about ministry. I wonder if we were to put the portions of ministry that represent that “soul shrinking” alongside the portions of ministry that are seeped in white supremacy culture, if they would be identical? When we examine the hierarchies, structure, and business of running a church, not only are they the work that is rarely inspiring, but they may also be the spaces where the insidiousness of white supremacy culture is most alive. We can look at church and ask where and how we can see evidence of Jennings’ idea of “sick vision of maturity” that includes mastery, control, and possession. (Jennings)

The moments when I have feel most inspired and connected to something larger than myself come in many different forms. First, it is in moments of what Dr. Barbara Fredrickson calls “micro-moments” of love. These are those times when you feel authentically connected to another person in a way that gives your body the exact same physiological response as when you are connected with people you love deeply. These micro-moments make us feel joyful, transformed, heard, seen, and valued. The second place I feel connected to something larger than myself is when I am in community working towards a common goal of good. Whether that be the moment in a Christmas Eve service when we all hold candles in the darkness joined together in song or at a protest when we are fighting together for something in which we believe. The third way comes from being in communion with nature. Lastly, there are moments of meditation, reading, or other quiet times when I am alone when I feel the miracle of living or have an epiphany that connects me to the interconnected web of all existence. These are the ways in which I experience the divine.

Thinking about the “soul shrinking” aspects of ministry and the aspects steeped in systems of oppression, these also seem like the areas that do not include the areas where I feel most connected to something larger than myself. To combat these diminishing things, we can be inspired by Rev. Dr. Jennings’ reminder that “hope is a discipline.” What would need to change within my geographical, religious theological and institutional constructions for power to be a constructive, imaginative source rather than an oppressive and imperialist one? To answer this question, we can draw from Jennings’ description of Jesus who “took on the life of the creature, a life of joining, belonging, connection, and intimacy.” He goes on to say that this “posture would inevitably present the likelihood of transformations not only of ways of thinking but of ways of life that require presence of the risks and vulnerabilities associated with being in the social, cultural, economic, and political position to be transformed.” (p.7) This shifts the power of transformation away from one person (like a minister) to the process of co-creation. This focusses ministry into local engagement within the community it serves, emphasizing, as Deloria questions, “whether or not religious experiences can be distilled from its original culture context and became an abstract principle that is applicable to all people in different places and at different times.” (Deloria, p. 67) This approach would emphasize “the communal involvement in ceremonies and the continual renewal of community relationships.” (Deloria, p. 68)