  The Amateurisation of Ministry...? I was reading yesterday on a blog about urlLink plasticbag.org | weblog | (Weblogs and) The Mass Amateurisation of (Nearly) Everything...
It was talking specifically about weblogs, but more generally about how publishing, journalism and many other things like photo processing and making movies are being taken out of the professionals office or studio and into the home for any Joe with a computer. I am a beneficiary of this for sure. I use iPhoto, iMovie and blogger to roll my own movies and slideshows and keep people informed about what is happening in the ministry here in Japan. The article above reasoned that this is mainly because equipment and information is now readily available where before it wasn't.
The cost of entry has come down so low that anyone can get involved. The upshot is that where a missionary/church in the past could not afford to produce a movie documenting their ministry, I am producing movies regularly to do everything from promoting the next retreat to showing people what our church is about. Where it would have been impossible for us to produce (and mail) a magazine even yearly with color photos to all of our supporters, we can now provide them with daily updates at minimal cost.
This amateurization not only lowers the cost of creating things, but actually allows a vast larger of things to be created that never would have been created before. Now hold on a moment. Shouldn't some things remain professional? Last week in the prayer update devotional, urlLink "Signal to Noise Ratio" I mentioned that we need to consider the quality of the source when we look at information which is why the Bible tells us to "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
" With now millions of people all logging on with their thoughts and ideas about everything, how do you know what is true? How do you know what is quality? This is where we turn to the professionals. If some piece of news shows up on a few blogs it is interesting but if the same things starts showing up on CNN then it has more weight.
But this isn't the only meaning of the word "professional. " We are used to thinking in terms of a professional being someone who gets paid and exhibits a higher quality of work. But there is a deeper meaning that we should not forget. A profession is not just a career but also a statement of faith or belief. The word "professional" comes from the idea of "professing" something. The original professions were all paths of life that required their practitioners to make a profession or oath.
Examples of this would be the medical profession and the legal profession. They are called professions because they swear to uphold an oath. This is different from tradesmen or artisans who are seeking to increase wealth by buying and selling or creating a product. The professions serve a higher purpose that is supposed to be above simply seeking after personal gain.
Ministers are also one of the classical professions because they are called into the ministry and serve God rather than man. The question then becomes, do we want to amateurize the professions? Do we want to sell kits to do plastic surgery at home? Should there be one-click litigation available online? Actually, I don't think that is what is going to happen. The mass amateurization we are beginning to see online is one of craft and not of profession. Many of the things that were once done by skilled craftsmen and artisans with expensive tools and equipment are now being accomplished by people like me with little skill and a computer. But the professions require more than just skill and equipment. They require belief in something higher, whether that be health, law, or God.
Now one of the main tenents of the Protestant Reformation was the "Priesthood of all Believers", the idea that we do not need a priest to stand between us and God because Jesus has closed the gap. Recently, there has been renewed interest in the church in making less of a distinction between clergy and laity, and many sermons have been preached urging people to get out of the pew and into the world to minister unto the lost.
This is right and good as the church had become something of a spectator sport rather than a participatory one. But where should we draw the line between professional and amateur? If everyone is a minister then who should I listen to when my "ministers" all say different things? There are some who would seek to disperse the church, do away with the paid minister, and have the body minister unto itself.
They think that this would solve the problems. They are correct in that there is ordained ministry that is amateurish and immature. There is also ministry that is unordained and yet of extremely high quality. But the New Testament example is that while every part of the body has a role to play and is essential for the whole, there is a need for some to be called; to go, to speak out, to proclaim, to pastor and to teach. There is a need for those who will trust God to make them sufficient to the ministry and not seek commendation from men. There is a need for those who will not be swept to and fro by every opinion poll or passing fad, but will seek first the things above.
There is a need today for professional ministry. For us to profess our faith in God and serve Him by serving the flock that He has put into our care. 
