Pastors have the power to convene conversations
When it comes to addressing local problems, proclamation isn't enough.
Pastors have two kinds of public power: the power of proclaiming and the power of convening. The first of these is usually the default position for pastors wanting to influence political discussion: they preach a sermon taking a stance on a particular issue or express their view in the newspaper. In a similar way, a congregation or denomination may produce a document that states its view on an issue. Such efforts have their place, but they can also be spectacularly ineffective in changing minds or shaping a conversation in the congregation or the community. (After the stunning vote by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, a Church of England official was heard to say: “I don’t get it. I mean, we issued our statement last month, and everything!”)
The power of convening does not replace the power of proclamation, but it can complement it. Convening is a way to draw on the expertise of the wider community and help model civil discourse. By virtue of their position in the community, pastors and congregations have the power to host deliberative processes for the sake of the wider community. Few other entities or institutions have comparable power to convene such conversations. It’s hard for political leaders to do so without being or seeming partisan. Business interests don’t want to risk losing customers by raising controversial issues.
Pastors may instinctively think of themselves as accountable only to the congregation that called them, and given that it’s the congregation that pays their salaries, that makes some sense. However, pastors who attend only to the needs of their congregations will soon become isolated from the community of which they are a part, which is bad for both mission and congregational dynamics.
