As Amy demonstrated in class last time, the principles Saul Alinsky puts forth in Rules for Radicals could be very useful in a congregational or community setting. The introductory meetings Amy suggested in class have much promise as a way to get to know people both in the congregation and the surrounding community. I hope to have these kinds of meetings starting very early on in my first call and continue to do so as time goes on.
The greatest value in Alinsky's work, however, is its insistence on action. There are many things that frustrate people on a daily basis, and it is very easy to give up and develop a defeatist attitude in the midst of these struggles. This is certainly true of community issues, but it is also a characteristic of congregations as well, as slow-simmering conflicts and actions that do not match up with speech can really begin to take their toll. In the congregational environment, exuding an Alinsky-style insistence on action can also go a long way toward helping the members embrace their vocation as baptized children of God. The pastor is not and never should be regarded as the "professional" Christian for the congregation, and nothing reinforces this principle better than turning pleas for action back on the people who make them. This is not to say that the pastor should not be helpful along the way, but pushing people to be an active and involved part of the solution redefines congregational ministry and even the notion of what a congregation is.
Regarding the ministry matrix we discussed in the first class session, advocacy and organizing fit best in the community ministry and congregational development quadrants. As I discussed above, organizing within the congregation could be a significant form of development as people begin putting more time and energy into their faith lives. Organization would also be a natural fit for community ministry, as the surrounding community is where proficient organizers will be able to do the most good for the most people.
Advocacy probably fits best in the community ministry section, as one would be most likely to petition the government for legal changes that benefit the people in the community rather than for changes that favor a specific religious group. In most cases, the latter would be a violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution anyway, making it an even less likely situation; however, advocacy could also fall into the congregational development quadrant if the pastor gets others in the congregation involved with advocacy initiatives. As people do more and more advocacy work, a new sense of suffering with the poor will develop in the congregation (as demonstrated by Shane Claiborne in The Irresistible Revolution). At any rate, though, both advocacy and community organizing must use the other two quadrants--context and your own leadership--as catalysts for the work that falls into community ministry and congregational development.
Of course, all this is not to suggest that there will not be difficulties in beginning to operate this way. Some people will lash out, contending that the church should not intervene in the public arena because of the separation of church and state. Certainly, the two are and should be separate, but it is critical to actually think about what this separation means in a practical sense. Simply put, the separation of church and state means that the church is not in the state's pocket, and vice versa. There is no reason why the paths of the two cannot cross, and moreover, the fact that the two are separate entities puts some responsibility on each to check the other's power and influence. The state has already exercised this checking power against the church by regulating things like prayer in public schools, so it is not only possible but also necessary for the church to engage in advocacy and community organizing to correct the injustices being perpetuated by the government. If anything, our sitting on the sidelines doing nothing is itself a violation of the separation of church and state, as silence equates to compliance in the public realm.
