A Reflection from the Messy Church International Conference
June 20, 2022
I might have been the most excited person in the room. I missed the 2016 AND 2019 Messy Church International Conferences (MCIC) – for good reasons, for sure – but I had been waiting for this 2022 conference for years! It was finally my turn to go! I knew it would be amazing. I had heard the stories, seen the relationships, witnessed the fruits coming from the previous conferences. I KNEW this was going to be the best weekend.
Maybe I wasn’t quite expecting the keynote speaker to speak directly to my heart within the first hour of the conference.
Learning from Dr. Paula Gooder
Dr. Paula Gooder, Biblical scholar and canon at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, was the keynote speaker for the MCIC. Reading Paula’s bio before the conference, I had to admit that I wondered what she might have to say to a bunch of Messy folks. Turns out, she had a lot to say.
Over the course of the weekend, Paula spoke on how we (in Messy Church) can make a difference by 1) being who we are called to be, 2) doing what we can and not what we cannot, and 3) who we are becoming.
Vocation…All are called!
As she spoke that first afternoon on calling a vocation, Paula mentioned how she – as a layperson in the church – had her calling constantly questioned. How could she serve as a canon at St Paul’s if she wasn’t ordained? Why wasn’t she ordained? When was she going to be ordained? I couldn’t believe it. I’ve heard those same questions, those same doubts about my own call to serve the church as a lay person. I’ve been hearing those questions, the snubs since my days in seminary. As Paula spoke about calling and vocation, I felt like she was speaking directly to me. I had a chance to talk with her afterwards and we laughed and commiserated about all the misconceptions about call and how it felt to be called to ministry in less conventional ways.
One of the great joys of Messy Church is how Messy Churches around the world are breaking stereotypes of church leadership. In the 2017-2018 Playfully Serious report, researchers found that Messy Churches are being led mostly by lay people (two thirds of those participating in the study were led by lay people), often led by volunteers (51% of the Messy Churches were led by all volunteers), and 76% of the Messy Church leaders (from this study) were women. Can you imagine a church denomination where the leadership is primarily laity, predominately volunteer, and over 75% women? It seems almost unheard of – and yet, here we are in all our Messiness. Messy Church continues to model radically difference forms of leadership within the church. We make a difference by being who we are called to be – and by letting people be who they are called to be.
Raising up New Leaders
But an overriding theme throughout the conference and world leader days that followed was that we Messy leaders need to be about raising up the next generation of leaders. The 2022 MCIC was the first without the “original” Messy leaders like Lucy Moore…a new generation had stepped up. But the question remains for local Messy Churches and even for our national organizations like Messy Church USA – who will join us in the mess? Who will continue the work?
Lessons on Vocation from Isaiah 40
Paula used Isaiah 40 as her guide for speaking about vocation, about making a difference by being who you’re called to be. She pointed out that Isaiah’s calling was for a specific purpose in a specific time. He was to speak to the heart of the people, to speak comfort to them about the ways God was moving SO THAT the people could in turn speak boldly of God themselves. His call including equipping others to join him in the work.
The same can be true of us as Messy leaders. How are we equipping others to join us in the Mess? How are we working now to equip others to answer their calls from God to lead? Making a difference by being who we are called to be includes helping others to make a difference by answering their calls.
I’ve got plenty still to ponder, lots of thoughts still circulating as I reflect on Paula’s words (not to mention all the other amazing things that happened during the conference). But I find myself looking at my own local Messy team and thinking seriously about what it means for us to equip others to lead our Messy Church into the future.
Dr. Johannah Myers Contact Info
Contact Johannah at [email protected]